WITHDRAWAL

Good thing I"m not a drug addict because I would NEVER be able to get off them.  I HATE goodbyes !!! I can NOT say good bye to anyone OR anything without going through at least 10 minutes of tears.

Husband used to make fun of me all the time and tell people "She cries about EVERYTHING". And he was right but he used to say it like it was a negative thing. I consider tears to be very cathartic and soothing once the sobbing is over and all the snot dries up. I DO in fact cry over lots of things. I have to laugh at myself when a TV commercial sets me off or a Hallmark greeting card gets me going. (I NEVER watch the Hallmark TV channel for just this reason.)

This past month has been a particularly difficult time for me.  There have been too many cases of withdrawal. First and foremost has been my sporadic separation from the internet.  (I bet you thought I was going to say "family". They do rate up there in the top 10 but I honestly think I'm having more trouble in not having internet connection on a regular basis.) I din't realize how "connected" I have become. With no texts and e-mail I have been "cut-off" from my friends and family. I love being in touch with everyone and have become so spoiled with just picking up a phone and either calling or FaceTiming or emailing or texting. My family is just a push of a button away when I can't see them in person. My friends are at the other end of some electronic device that I can pick up at anytime of the day or night.

All that changes once you leave civilization . . . as in traveling to the U.P. of Michigan or going across the ENDLESS miles of Canada. Thankfully Alaska is more "connected" than Michigan so at least I had the opportunity to talk with family while I was visiting in Fairbanks. That wasn't the case for most of our travels in Valdez, Homer, Seward or Anchorage. To be fair to the state of Alaska we were traveling through a shit load of mountains and I guess it is pretty hard to put up cell towers on a glacier or on top of some massive mountain.( Maybe they could come up with a way of putting "cell tower hot spots" on mountain goats ? ) At least Alaska has an excuse for no internet or cell phone reception. I have yet to figure out what the problem is with Michigan. (I personally think the problem is Dwayne and his $12.00 a month phone and internet bill. I mean, what do you expect for that price!)

Moving on with my list of withdrawal issues . . . I am missing family and friends. Not getting all those hugs and smiles from my grand kids is a killer. I love how they light up when they see me and those shouts of, "GRAND MA!!!!!" are the best.
I miss yaking with my friends just because I can. I miss going out to lunch with my friends at any one of ten thousand GOOD restaurants near my house. I miss my bed, my TV, my house and my car. I miss picking up and going someplace when ever I want.

I REALLY miss sleeping in the DARK ! Holy Crap . . . do you know how hard it is to sleep with 21 hours of daylight ?
I miss eating HEALTHY . . .I know you will find that hard to believe but I honestly just want a week of healthy food and a good salad once in a while.
I miss having a LARGE kitchen with all sorts of pots, pans and utensils and a pantry that is stocked with my favorite foods.
I miss my shower and not having to carry a "bathroom bag" and a towel with me.( Camp ground showers are usually nasty.) Showers at other peoples homes are never as good as your own shower and forget the weird water that you find in other places including Florida. Let me tell you there is NOTHING like East Coast water. That water is the freshest and cleanest in the country. This well water shit that comes out of faucets in the rest of North America just plain stinks, literally !!

But the thing I am having the hardest time leaving are the adventures and people of the past month. This trip was fantastic and I HATE leaving it all behind. Today as we finally drove out of the last of the beautiful mountains in British Columbia, the Yukon Territory and Alaska I had a serious melt down. Withdrawing from that amazing world and knowing it would be at least another year until I can see the awesome people I just spent time with hurt worse than I expected. With tears rolling down my face I said good-bye to it all and got ready to travel on.

I HATE GOOD-BYES !!!!