Re: [at-l] Should I listen to the signs?!?

[kahley7 <kahley7@ptd.net>]

Kristen, I forget who told me this but I beleive it with all my
heart.  You will hike the trail when hiking the trail is the 
most important thing in your life.  But.....

In 1997, I hiked to train everyday.  Bought food, developed
menus, dried food like a maniac.  I bought and tested gear
and shoes.  Ploted schedules..the whole nine yards.  In Dec,
my folks informed me that they were both going to have to have
open heart surgery within the next six months.  I postponed
my thru.  
In 98, my formerly suportived husband changed his mind.  I
commited to a new job.  My parents lived thru their surgeries.

In 99, my husband had a heart attack, my mother had a stroke.
I gained a ton of weight and am in the worst shape of my life.  

So far in 00, we have taken a bad financial hit just
as we were begining to recover from the financial strain of
his heart attack.

Why am I dumping my past three year's history out on the table?
Cause I really should have hiked in 98.  The conditions that
I thought were too messy to walk away from turned out to only
get worse.  I was waiting for the perfect time to go hike and
in doing so missed my best chance.

Put it this way......what if 2000 was your last chance?  You don't
know what will happen.  Marriage, children, debt, arthritis.....
What will your future hold?  If you really want to hike, there
is no time like the present.
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