A Gift

Katherine gave me a gift yesterday, an amazing, wonderful gift. It's the kind of gift that you could only give me if you understood where I am in life, what kind of person I am, and what ALS is doing to me. It's the kind of gift that while keep me busy for hours, keep me focused and happy for days, keep me wanting to get up in the morning. Katherine asked me to plan a road trip to Alaska.

I told her I have no money, that I cannot contribute anything to another road trip. I told her there was a chance I might not even have my truck by the time we could get to another road trip. She said "Don't worry about that." I asked her again if she was sure, since I couldn't pay for anything. She said, "Make a plan. If it works, we will go."

I am not sure if we will actually go. I have found Katherine to be good for her word; if it works, we will go. It's the whole "if it works" part. Katherine is not cheap, nor tight-fisted; she does not use money to maintain control. Neither is she a spendthrift; she knows the value of a dollar, along with the importance of using it well, and wisely. The only real proviso she had for the plan was that I do a better job of budgeting for hotels, that I actually check the hotel rates in each location for the real price.

Of course I am going to build a plan far to vast for reality. I am going to build a plan for a dream trip, to Faro in the deep Yukon, through Dawson, up to Inuvik and back, over to Fairbanks, down to Anchorage, out by way of Whitehorse. Of course I will make a plan that takes too many weeks and sees too many places. Of course she will object, and I will be happy to reduce the duration and the expectation.

Katherine's gift to me was the idea that there might be another adventure in my life. In spite of my loss of finances, my failing ability to drive, my exhaustion, my frustration, in spite of all of these things and more, I just might have another road trip in me! After all, without a dream, what's life for?