Finding The Way

March 29, 2012...it's movie night.  Nothing unusual in that -- it's always movie night at my house.  This night's selection was an Emilio Estevez film starring Martin Sheen.  I've loved Martin Sheen ever since I saw him on an episode of The Mod Squad back in 1971. Tonight's film?  The Way.  A father honouring his son by walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela...the Way of St. James.

Have you ever had a feeling that was instant and all consuming?  The knowing you have to do something?  I suddenly knew what I was going to do with my Green Jar fund. In six years, at age 60, I was going to walk 800 kilometres from St. Jean Pied de Port in France, across northern Spain to Santiago.

Then several things happened in fairly quick succession.  My father passed away in May.  In June a friend died.  He was 61 years old.  In July my healthy dog developed a bleed into his stomach and was dead in a couple of hours. Another friend died in his 60's.  A neighbour in his 50's had a sudden fatal heart attack.  BAM...it hit me -- I'm not guaranteed tomorrow, much less 60. So I bumped up the date for my trip, taking into account familial and work related obligations.

I started throwing more money into the jar.  If there was a five dollar bill in my wallet on Sunday, it went into the jar along with the change.  At the end of the month, I threw in a $20 if I had one.  Now I know I'll never get to Spain on spare change.  There's a separate travel fund in the bank.

The jar is symbolic.  It represents all the grand adventures I'm planning on having.

And my Camino?  September 2014.