“The real measure of your wealth

is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.”

~ Unknown

We are home from a ten-day road trip.

We didn’t go that far, staying in British Columbia, mostly some time at Nicola Lake and then the Kootenays.

But it’s a funny thing about waking up in a new place each day; figuring out where to source food, where to find a good coffee and whether it’s worth risking the campground shower or squishing my body into the tiny shower in the Pod…it all tends to use up a little brain energy.

And then – just like that – it’s over and we’re back in our furnished townhouse with a leafy view by the Sechelt Marsh.

Once again, I’m shocked at how easy life is when I’m settled into our own world and routine. Everything is just so damned handy and spacious. Now that our vehicle no longer has to serve as a pantry and a walk-in closet, it too, is rather voluminous.

One of the things I love about going anywhere is how it shakes up my perspective. It is easy to be comfortable and complacent at home in a routine day, but waking up somewhere else, well, things just are different aren’t they?

And when one thing is different, it gets easier to imagine other things that might be different and bing-bang, there we were, imagining ourselves living in Kimberley.

We found ourselves looking at a pine-filled piece of property and then ended up talking to the potential neighbours. They were lovely people and had retired to Kimberley from Ottawa. At one point, talk turned to the actual moving of ‘the stuff’.

“That won’t be hard,” I said, “we only have two beds and a barbecue.”

Kevin, noticing their reaction, offered, rather helpfully, that it was a really nice barbecue.

Sometimes I can only see myself when I notice others’ reactions. I’m not suggesting they were horrified. Far from it. They too, were talking about how much they had purged to make the long trip from Ontario. But when I heard myself and realized it wasn’t really a joke and that it wasn’t very ‘normal’ for people like us (aka seniors!) to not own more things, it got me thinking…

To be fair, we do have stuff. We own a TV, a couple of throw rugs, pillows and art. Apparently, I keep creating more art. Oh, and a couple of months ago, I bought a really cool retro martini cart. So there’s that.

And when I consider how empty the vehicle is after this trip, there is no doubt that we have many small miscellaneous things that include shoes, rain jackets, hiking boots, cans of beans and tins of herbs. However, when it comes to major pieces of furniture – it turns out my joke is true.

We are seniors, renting a furnished flat.  We own two beds and a barbecue.

And you know what?

I feel wealthy beyond measure.