Mayo, Golf Balls and Beer

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the jar, balls, pebbles, sand and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.. 'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

• The golf balls are the important things --- your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions --- and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.


• The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.The sand is everything else---the small stuff.'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18 holes of golf. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first --- the things that really matter.Set your priorities.


• The rest is just sand.


• One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked. 'The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

Interesting conversion for a desk

I saw this when looking at used trailers today, and thought it a very elegant solution to not having workspace. I could do this with any chest of drawers using mostly materials that already exist in the RV. The slides and platform for the pullout could be easy to get from Lowe's/HD, and the drawer facia could be cut down to remanufacture smaller drawers on the top level. Everything could then be laid out on the chest, with the pull out left for the laptop.

Since just about every one of the units we've looked at has a chest of drawers like this in some format, I think my problem of workspace is pretty much solved in that fashion. then, if I ever did have to work late, and Jill were asleep I could take the laptop out into the LR without problem, as long as I don't always have to be out there.

God’s Country

Jill's Journal: The realization that our days in Kentucky are limited has me feeling a bit melancholy lately. I love this great state and will miss it. Regardless of how excited I am for our adventure, knowing we may not ever live in the Commonwealth again is sad – this has been a great home, full of wonderful memories.

I’m making a list of all the things I want to do and places I want to visit before our launch date. In the last two weeks alone, we’ve gone to Fort Boonesborough, the Kentucky Horse Park, and now today, the Salato Wildlife Center. Before that, it was Daniel Boone’s grave and the Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory (home of bourbon balls!). There’s already another 20 or so things I think we need to see before we leave.

I’m seeing this beautiful state with fresh eyes and that’s a gift. The stunning drive to Frankfort today struck me anew and reminded me why we moved here in the first place. The rolling green hills dotted with grazing Thoroughbreds and manicured fencelines are eye candy in its highest form. There’s nothing like it. I’ve been lucky enough to see some exquisite places around the world and this ranks right up there with the very best. Kentucky is truly God’s country.

They Know!

Jill's Journal: My parents came from California to Kentucky to visit us last week and other than enjoying their visit, my focus was in telling them about our RV plans. Truth be told, I was terrified! Here I am a responsible, grown woman with kids of my own, and I was afraid to tell my parents for fear of their disapproval. Crazy, right?

Turns out I needn’t have worried. To my great and wonderful surprise, they took the news FABULOUSLY. Astoundingly well. Kristi thought my presentation helped: I told them how we never dreamed we’d leave Kentucky, but we’ve learned the only way to be competitive in the Thoroughbred industry here as breeders is to have far deeper pockets than we do. I told them we want a farm again someday, but we can see the benefits of a regional market as opposed to the top Kentucky market. I told them how our trip to the Central Coast of California last year opened our eyes to the realization that we could possibly live somewhere else. I reminded them how Rob already telecommutes and can work from anywhere. And I told them how places like Montana were considerations as a future home, but we very well might still stick with Kentucky – we honestly don’t know what the future holds. They’ve been hoping we’d move back West since we headed East 12 years ago and got very excited at all the above…

And then I told them that we had thought it would be so neat to “live” in various places for a few weeks at a time, kind of as a trial or test of future hometowns for us. I said that idea had morphed even farther and melded with our desire to travel the country. And then I broke the big news: we’d finally arrived at a plan of buying an RV and spending the next few years traveling before settling down again.

I waited for any sign of disapproval, but there was none. NONE! They took it amazingly well. In fact, to my great surprise, they were extremely positive about it! They were surprised at the plan as it is out of the conventional world they’re accustomed to, but they almost thought it was kind of neat and said it’s the kind of thing we need to do now while we can. You could have knocked me over with a feather at their reaction! It made me very, very happy and I don’t think I will ever underestimate them again. :-)

My parents' fabulous response surprised me so pleasantly that the next morning I worried if perhaps the margaritas and bourbon consumed during our “talk” had impacted their judgment. I asked them about it again just to make sure and the reaction stayed the same. It was like Christmas in July for me! As a few days passed, they thought of new questions to ask and had fun little realizations like wondering what would happen to my marvelous Dyson vacuum during our downsizing. (Side note: My Mom wants to volunteer to babysit it!!)

They took it so great!! I love my parents.

Next hurdles: telling Rob’s Mom and his employers. Yikes.