(Repost May1st, 2017)
Is it possible to be so caught up in material possessions that the mere thought of having to part with them sends you down an emotional avalanche?  Yet here we are… This past weekend, as we prepared for our retirement journey to Costa Rica, we sat down and had a reality check. After much debate and contemplation, we came to the conclusion that we will have to sell our RV and motorcycles. It just so happens that these two lifestyles are too expense to maintain.

Let’s take the bikes for example, a simple oil change is $250 a new tire is $300. I should state that motorcycle tires are only good for 7k miles and if it is ever punctured, the tire must be replaced. The joke in the Beemer world is true, BMW stands for ‘bring my wallet’. The thought of selling the RV is breaking my heart though. After 10 years of begging and pleading my case, I finally got it, only to have to sell it 2 years later.

I’m reminded of the Boyz II Men song, “It’s so hard to say good bye to yesterday”. The lyrics to the first verse speaks the sentiments of my heart:
“How do I say goodbye to what we had
The good times that made us laugh, outweighed the bad. I thought we’d get to see forever, but forever has blown away. 
It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.”

Yes it is hard to say goodbye to yesterday but, all in all we can’t complain because we have truly been blessed.  We have traveled along the winding roads through the Ouachita mountains in the fall to witness the spectacle of foliage in Arkansas on our bikes. We have traversed the nail-biting mountain passes heading up the Rocky Mountains in our RV. We have camped along the beach in South Padre relaxing under the awning while we watch the sunset over the horizon and everything in between.(sigh)

These possessions were just vehicles to allow us to create lasting memories. Even though we are getting rid of them as we wrap up Part 1 of our journey, we can’t help to be excited about Part II, which is just beginning.