​Weathering the Storm with the WP#151

I just returned last Friday from an amazing time in Vietnam and Cambodia and still jetlagged but that happens when you cross so many time zones, and you must remember that I had returned just a week earlier from Africa. I do wish I had more time there, specifically Cambodia, but I was able to get a feel for the country and accomplished what I had set out to do, a trip that was originally supposed to be at the end of 2019 as I had previously mentioned. The people I met, the food I ate and the experiences I had over the course of those two weeks were very special and something I will remember for a long time. ​

Really though, it was an absolutely amazing 2023 for me on many different levels and so for me, this post is a review of the past year, one that will forever change my life, as I got engaged last February to the most amazing lay and now this year, we are getting married. I also traveled between 4 continents, went to 4 new countries, Albania, Botswana and the previously mentioned Vietnam and Cambodia. Perhaps, not on one’s main list of places to experience, but ones that should be considered. I also did a bit of travel around the US this past year, perhaps doing the last road trips of any significance here in America, before I return to Europe in the long term, as my future is there with Rosa, and you will hear more moving forward.  Rosa and I spent time in the UK together and caught Billy Joel at Hyde Park this past summer and then went to Brighton where she had gone to school. ​

I guess that before Rosa, my goal was to continue to “conquer” more countries, and then the pandemic happened, so travel early on was limited, and then I met her, and my focus changed. I also experienced new places like Jersey and Guernsey in the UK, and places in America I had not ever been like the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. I went to York and to Hull in the UK, as well and more new places in Italy when I lived there this past summer. I even hit another Hard Rock in Siem Reap, so I still have more Hard Rocks under my belt that countries visited, but that is not as important now. I promised I would not count South Africa, even though I have the stamp in my passport twice (in and out), nor South Korea, another transited country. Of course, I could list them with an asterisk, but for now, my focus is elsewhere as I am now preparing for a very different future.  Yes, there will be travel and Rosa does not want to stop that part of me, but we will do some travel together including our honeymoon in March. ​

These events listed and places visited are all special moments in my life of 2023, and they all hold importance, but the most important was my engagement to Rosa and her saying yes and the passing of my birth father, Kenn and life goes on, some good, some bad and that is the balance we all have to wade through in our lifetime. I know that we will all go through this scenario in our lives and as it happened so suddenly and caught me off guard, it still wears on me. It was not that long ago, only October. I even inadvertently called his number one day, and then realized that there would not be an answer. I suppose Nora, his wife, could have picked it up, and I would have told her it was a mistake, or maybe not. I still have not deleted messages on my phone that he left over the years, including some on my birthday where he sang Happy Birthday as he did each year, even as he was losing his memory, and called on the wrong day. ​

For the business end of things, what a year. Only once before had Wandering Puffin LLC hit a milestone sales year, not income folks, and that was some time ago, but that happening changed how I did business and I believe since I changed my model, I have become better at what I do as I have gained more experience overall to better assist my valued clientele over the years. Your business and support are truly appreciated as I move forward and adapt to the ever-changing environment in which my industry finds itself. I plan on being around for a while and without my clients, the Wandering Puffin does not exist, so from a very good year in 2019, to the crash of the pandemic and the rising from the ashes with fits and starts, I feel very comfortable moving forward in this new year of 2024. 
To quote Charles Dickens from a Tale of Two Cities, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Life is full of challenges, and it is how you handle them that will define who you are. We all have them, and we all deal with them in our own way. I push forward the best way I know how and have learned to ask for help when I need it. Of course, I have the best support system now, as I look forward to my marriage to Rosa come February. As an amazing teacher I had so many years ago said on many occasions, “there ain’t no easy answers to nothing”. Thank you, Dick. Finally, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, for your support of my crazy little world and business and all your well wishes for my future with Rosa.

​Have a safe, healthy and happy New Year!!!