Potted Plants and Door Wreaths

"Be a simple kind of man. Be something you love and understand. Be a simple kind of man."-Lynyrd Skynyrd

I don't know that Lynyrd Skynyrd should be your guiding light in life, unless you are Mark Lobsinger. But according to the lyrics his mom gave him that advice so she is probably legit. As Clay and I have spent the last two months in the backcountry our daily lives have been reduced to pure simplicity. Our only concerns are food and shelter. Occasionally thoughts of self preservation enter the priority list as well. It is a very free and simple lifestyle. Everything we have to exist for these three months we carry on our backs. Even when we are not tramping around foreign countries we aim to keep our lives simple and mobile. Everything we have fits in or on our cars. (not 100% true. We still have stuff stored in our parent's attics. We planned on returning for it after our first summer in the Tetons. That was 4 years ago.) I realize that this sort of lifestyle is not for everyone. I was recently explaining to someone how Clay and I (and many of you) move every six months. Their response was, "Well I guess you can't get much stuff." No I guess we can't. But I am not really sure I want stuff. We don't have a flat screen TV. (although I probably would not turn one away if someone offered) We don't have any potted plants. We did have a bamboo plant that moved around with us for a while though. Not really sure whatever happened to it. We don't have any wreaths for the front door that we change with the seasons. We don't even have a front door right now. Our Christmas decorations fit in a box just a bit bigger than a shoebox. We don't have any throw pillows, or throw rugs, or throw blankets. We don't really have any sort of decor item that you would throw about your house with the intent of decorating it. We don't have bookshelves filled with many leather bound books. And our house (when we have one) does not smell of rich mahogany. Unless of course that was Clay's choice of wood for his latest project. We don't really have many of the items that go along with a permanent type of lifestyle. For now we are quite content with that. I appreciate the simplicity of being able to pack up all our belongings in less time than it would take me to read the Federal Government's EEO Handbook that they give me every summer. I hope that I never measure my life by the stuff that I have. But rather by the experiences and the people in my life. The memories I make with each one of you reading this blog will be my measuring stick for a good life. If/when the day does come that I quit forwarding my mail around the United States, I will embrace it just as I do 16" of fresh powder. Smiling and loving life all the way down with minimum visibility and no idea where I am going :)