A devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake has struck Ecuador resulting in death and massive destruction. Among the most impacted towns is Canoa, Manabi; just a few miles off the epicenter of the earthquake, leaving it 90% destroyed.Our good friend Sara Coppler, who has experience in disaster relief, relocated from Cuenca to Canoa to aid in the recovery. You can read more about her efforts here. Other friends aided in the initial relief efforts by collecting food, money and clothing.
But the need will go on for a long time. Author Scarlett Braden, a close friend, came up with the idea of creating an anthology of stories written about expats by expats with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit Proyecto Saman, a project that provides housing and a safe living environment for people whose lives were shattered by the earthquakes.
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| FRIENDS IN FOREIGN PLACES |
If you can't buy the book, I hope you will tell all your friends about this extraordinary effort (and share this blog post). I bought it and I will be gifting a couple of copies as well. Thank you!
Reality intruded, as it usually does, and I ended up being the proud mother of two by age twenty. I really wasn't thinking much in terms of dreams; every day was an adventure in itself. Working in a hospital brought back thoughts of nursing, but the idea passed quickly. 
I did get to travel some, growing up in Massachusetts - moving to New Hampshire in 9th grade - relocating to Florida in my senior year. The service claimed my husband as their own and I got to see Georgia and Delaware as well as revisiting New Hampshire and eventually settling back in Florida. The travel bug was planted, growing slowly but there nevertheless. 
The twenties flowed into the thirties - a new marriage, a third child and a new state to live in, Iowa. Dreams? Who had time for dreams? I had discovered computers and started a real career! Part-time college student, full-time programmer, over-time mother and wife. I guess I thought I was living my dream - for the time being anyway.
Sitting back, looking at my life, I realized I was following the same pattern. Content with mediocrity in so many areas of my life, I had stopped stretching. I had given up reaching for my dream. Was this what I really wanted? Was this what my mother would have wanted for me? I didn't think so. My oldest children were out on their own, leaving only the eight year old at home.
It's amazing what can happen when you realize you have stopped dreaming and start again. My life turned around. I met my soul mate, my husband Michael. My career soared, and I reached a peak that I had never even dared dream about. I did all the things I had always wanted to do, but never quite could find time for. I tried out for community theatre and got several parts. I tried skiing for the first time and I proved myself wrong - not only could I ski, but I even enjoyed it!
Catastrophic events have seemed to shape my life in many ways. We had our dream house. Our kids were all grown and on their own. We were both at the top of our careers in well paying jobs.
The rest of the ride home headed us towards a new life. We both realized that we had a mutual dream that was languishing for lack of effort and if we truly wanted it to happen, we had better get busy. The elusive retirement was closer than either of us wanted to admit and yet we both knew we would want to continue working. Lots of research and reading, many trips to RV dealers & shows, questions - questions - more questions, but we did it. In September we bought our new (used) motorhome with plans to go full-time within 5 years.
But before we knew it, our plans had turned into a reality. A perfect job opportunity was offered to us and we jumped at it. It would allow us to work together, travel and live in our motorhome full-time! We would finally make our dream a reality.
