As we age, you would think that we’d start to slow things down, wouldn’t you? Not so with me. If anything, I’m ramping things up. Big time.
For decades I was asleep at the wheel. Doing what society has told me to do. To be a good girl, have a full-time job, have kids (I love kids but I was able to skirt that last one). And while I was busy fulfilling the status quo, I let my true passions fall by the wayside.
Up until about two years ago. When I decided to throw caution to the wind and start this blog. I love writing and being the sole owner of a work in progress, but the love has been one of labor, no doubt. Some weeks I struggle to come up with a suitable blog topic (and some weeks I don’t get a post up, at all!) I still have a full-time job and other responsibilities that take up my attention, and by the end of some days, I’m exhausted.
Last weekend I was on the bus going home when I happened upon a large crowd of people gathering near the Rose Quarter (our premier concert venue and where our beloved Blazers play their home games.) Most of these people had purple t-shirts on, and when I saw this, a slight sinking feeling happened in my gut before I consciously knew what was going on.
Upon closer inspection, these people had the signature Alzheimer’s Walk t-shirt on. I got a lump in my throat, instantly.
Three years ago, I completed a degree in biochemistry, with grandiose hopes of joining a research team to help find a cure or suitable therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease. As with so many people, this disease hits very close to home, as my grandmother died from it. I miss her every day.
But when I graduated from university, I found that this field is very competitive, and there just isn’t much research or funding going on in Portland with respect to Alzheimer’s. So, I had to take the first decent job that came my way. I even attended an Alzheimer’s conference in Washington, D.C. so I could learn more about what other areas of the world were learning about it.
As the weeks and months wore on, I became less and less involved in Alzheimer’s news, and more involved in getting good at my current job. Then I started to pursue my original passion – travel, and writing. I found that by merging the two (this blog!) I could finally start to live my dream.
When I saw all of these people with the purple shirts, I was so sad that I missed this opportunity to be part of this walk and to raise awareness for the disease. I wondered, why? How could I have missed this? It was because I was so busy with the other interests in my life. There is only room for so much. And then one single phrase popped into my head.
I cannot do it all.
It just simply isn’t possible, as much as I would love it to be. And so I have to accept that and embrace it. And hope that perhaps at some future point in my life, I will be able to lend my loving hand in some way to help raise awareness, funding, or even help in research, to find an end to Alzheimer’s. Go HERE to find out more about it, and how you can help.
But in the meantime, I am going to keep pursuing my intense passion for travel and writing. Because I’m good at it, and most of all, it is where I feel most at home. I will be traveling to Austin later this month for my first travel bloggers and media conference. I’m so excited to finally talk face to face with others going on the same journey as myself. It is another hurdle crossed and a major step forward in getting to do this awesome travel writing thing full-time! Onward and upward.
“Wherever I Hang My Hat, That’s My Home”
