So, it has been a crazy last few days. We have been waiting for Peace Corps news and still have none. However, we got a taste of life in a developing country this weekend!
I (Anne) was off to Arizona to resettle our 97 year old mother closer to my sister and nasty weather came to visit Indiana in the form of single digit temps and ice covered everything. In our absence the power to our neighborhood went out last Friday morning. That means no heat, no cooking, no internet, no tv, movies or music. For fear the house would get too cold and freeze pipes, we drove back from Michigan by midnight. The house was already below 60 degrees, so we bundled up, set an alarm to get up and check it 3 hours later and went to sleep. By 7 am the temperature was down near 50 so off we went to the neighborhood building supply store to purchase a gas fireplace insert. Not what I had planned to get for Christmas, but, heat is heat! We stayed busy Saturday cleaning up the yard and reading, and helped the local economy by eating out. It gets dark around 5pm here and that was a little early for bed so we played scrabble by flashlight and read in front of the fireplace, where we had spread our sleeping bags and blankets on the floor. The storm continued to rage through the night with tree limbs falling on the ground and the roof. By 5 am it was 50 degrees so we started up the gas fire again and curled up on the floor. By daylight we headed off to breakfast and a warm place for most of the day. Had dinner with good, kind friends who had their heat back on and came home to lights, internet and HEAT. Wow, how used to electricity we are! Now I think we are more aware of what we may encounter in our assigned area, which...we still don't know. Maybe soon......

No news is...no news

Well, we thought it was probably time we blogged again. The main thing is..... NOTHING!! We are currently "hanging in the wind" waiting for the medical paperwork to be reviewed by the Peace Corps. It now seems our train is on a siderail waiting...

Meanwhile we keep busy sorting things here at home and preparing to move Anne's mother to Arizona this Tuesday. Anne's mother celebrated her 97th birthday today with 3 of her children and a granddaughter and grandson-in-law. Not bad considering the distances involved.

We have holiday trips planned to visit family over the next few weeks as we celebrate another Christmas Season and New Year. Our wish is that each of you that read this also have a wonderful Holiday celebration.

We hope for more information soon, but are practicing patience! Keep checking back.

Still waiting...

Thanks to all of you who are following our blog. We really appreciate the encouragement and support and would love to see your comments.


We spent Saturday taking a break from the stress and worry of waiting, waiting, waiting. Our daughter and son in law got tickets for us to join them at the Purdue- IU annual Oaken Bucket Football game! Believe it or not after having 3 kids and one son in law attend Purdue and working for the university for 25 years we had never attended a football game. What fun! We had 4th row seats in the end zone so were up front and personal with the touchdowns! Lucky for us it was a Purdue game ALL the way.
Today it is back to the sorting, packing, planning and waiting, waiting, waiting! Roger's medical is under review, but mine is still in the land of "between" (here and there). Over the weekend we decided this blog might be better named "Over and Out" (that is over sixty and out of our minds). If patience is a trait Peace Corps wants you to gain, we are getting there.

November 15, 2008

Well, we seem to be moving along again. At least on our part.
I have submitted my medical file and we have listed our house for sale.
This weekend our son and grandson have come to sort through some of the toys; to store, take with them or to give away. It is a big job for an 8 year old because he has to stop and play with each toy to access it's play value. They have done a great job!
My sister came this week and we began the process of guiding our 97 year old mother toward the idea of a move for her too. Not an easy thing nor free of tension. However with the support and encouragement of our other siblings, we think she will be fine.
In the midst of all this we are trying to live somewhat of a normal life! We continue to feel this is the right thing to be doing in spite of the stress. Many people are encouraging for us and sending positive feedback.

one more step completed

Well I have been having all kinds of thoughts this week.
We have listed our house for sale and are preparing to move stuff to storage and our bodies to some yet unknown location! Preparing to move is like child birth! You are in the middle of it again when you suddenly say "what was I thinking? Didn't I learn how hard this is the last time? "
My other thoughts have been more along the lines of "You might be crazy if......" I think you can fill in the rest.
We are making tiny progress though. Roger submitted his medical "book" Monday and mine should be ready to go Friday when I get my last test completed! Yea! Here's hoping there are no more glitches in that.
In spite of everything we still feel this is the right thing to be doing. Even the sermon Sunday was about serving and living our faith.
So.....check back and perhaps soon we will have more of the puzzle, maybe a hint of our future location.
Keep smiling! We still are.

Moving on???

One of the questions asked of couples volunteering for the Peace Corps is whether or not you have ever moved and how you dealt with it. For us the answer was not too hard, yes, we have moved, in fact several times and we "did what we had to do and we worked through it together". Well, we listed our house for sale yesterday, in a recession market, and have NO idea of what will follow! I wish I had a better memory of how stressful all those moves were so I could draw on that now. We would eventually have downsized, so this seemed a good time, but there are a lot of issues attached to selling, moving "somewhere, sometime" and how to disengage from a community for an unknown time and to an unknown location. This is becoming a bit more like "chore".
So we are trusting that if this is the right thing for us to do with our lives, it will work out and the ducks will fall in line as needed. Meanwhile, if we show up one your doorstep with 100 pounds of luggage and our pillows, please let us spend the night....promise we won't stay more than a week! Keep smiling.
Here is my quote...."The only thing constant in life is change".

November 5, 2008

Just an update. We still have no news, but have had an article appear in our local paper. The article was pretty good and reflects our decision to try the Peace Corps. You can view it at http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081102/FEAT/811020311

We have started the process of trying to sell our house and store our things or pass them on to the next generation. It has been hard not knowing what to do and needing to make some big steps. Being a planner, I am struggling with all the unanswered questions. We are going to change our residency for the time we are gone so our family can handle the bills, taxes, etc. That was a bit frustrating!! We made it through the car insurance transfer, the taxes on the vehicle and the registration of said car, even the bank, change only to be short one piece of ID at the license branch!!! Duh! Looks like that part will wait until we make the next trip.

Meanwhile we hope to have both our medical papers completed and mailed in by November 15!
More later.

Keeping focused

Learning patience and process!

As you can see from Anne's post for Oct 29, We continue to work through the Medical stuff. I was able to get my labs done 'again' and the follow up to a specialist completed today! It was amazing as I was calling to schedule they asked ...can you come in in One hour? Sure...I dropped
what I was planning to do and went to the specialist appointment. Now maybe I am complete and should be submitting that part of the application soon!

Keeping focused!!

I have kept the following quote from a leadership workshop in a reference folder for a number of years and always find it insightful when working through change situations. It reflects a little of what Anne and I are experiencing as we continue to work through the application process.

"The Future is not a result of choices among alternative pathes offered by the present, but a place that is created - created first in mind and will, created next in activity.

The Future in not some place we are going to but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination."

from John Schaar

Roger

October 29

So here we are still waiting. No new information yet.
We have been trying to get our medical paperwork done and seem to keep hitting snags.
Aaaarg. I am still working through my appointments and extra tests. Roger thought he had everything finished and went back to the doctor for the reports and the signed papers.....well, the doctor had ordered one wrong test and had a blip in another one so....back to the lab and off to another specialist. Does it ever end??? It will be interesting to get the final bill for this part of our adventure. Peace Corps' contribution will be like a drop in the bucket. At least we will KNOW we are healthy inside and out, maybe crazy, but healthy.

In 2006 Anne and I traveled to Poland on an Exchange program with the Indiana 4-H program. We both found the experience stimulating and encouraged us to consider this venture into the Peace Corps.

First Post

Life After Sixty

October 5, 2008

Well, it seems like time to join the blog world. We have been thinking about it for a while now and suddenly our life is on a fast train to somewhere, but we aren’t sure where yet.

For those reading this you may or may not know that we have decided to join the Peace Corps. That is a pretty big decision for a couple of 60 year olds! But being in good health, retired and so less hampered by family related schedules and commitments, this “seemed like a good time.”

So when we started in June with the LONG application process, we thought we had probably 18 months to get life in order so we could be out of the country for 27 months. No big deal right? WRONG!!! As of now we have 5 to 8 months and have decided to sell our house and pack up belongings for storage. There are other things to take care of too related to the fact that our families all live in other states. What to do with our cars? Who will take care of our affairs while we are gone? Will we be able to get home to handle personal business? And the list of “to do’s” keeps growing.

But it is exciting as we wait to find out what country we will issue an invitation. Most of the people we have told so far have been more than enthusiastic, some even say they will visit no matter where we end up. Hummmm, we will see. Of course they are invited to come, our door is, as it always has been, “open”.

Enough for now. We will try to keep up on this new method of communication, adding pictures and experiences, trials and frustrations, joys and adventures as we embark on the next stage of life.

October 21, 2008

Just an update so you all know we know nothing new! As with many programs, it is a game of hurry up and wait. We have no new information, but we are moving along preparing the house for sale and our things for storage. Still lots of details to take care of and not a lot of time.