A message to a friend....

Two or three months ago, just shortly after writing a blog post about heading out to Maine to see a lighthouse, I came home from school one day to find the "lighthouse" tin (shown above) propped up against the inside door of my front porch in Hutchinson.  It was a strange thing to find, no note attached as to who gave it to me....obviously placed there by a person who knew I would be in school all day long.  A mystery, just like many others that  I've experienced since this bucket list idea was born in May of 2011.

I posted online the day after I found it, wondering aloud who on earth would have known that I loved lighthouses so much~who on earth would have cared enough to go the trouble of finding the tin in the first place and then driving all the way to my house to "secretly leave it".  Couldn't for the life of me figure out who had done it.    And since no one "fessed up" to it, well their identity remains a mystery to me.

For whatever reason, it seems like I've seen a lot of lighthouse "decor" lately, especially during my drive back and forth to Hutch each day.  As I head north on Meridian, a few miles out from Valley Center, I go past a neighborhood whose entryway is marked by a tall, "Kansas" version of a lighthouse.  Just the other day, as I was walking my usual path around town, I turned off on a different street for a change and much to my surprise, I found a house whose yard was filled with different sizes and styles of lighthouses.  I couldn't believe it!  Seemed like everywhere I turned there was a reminder of the journey that was awaiting me.

Since I doubt I'll ever learn the identity of the "secret" person who left me the tin that day...I want to leave them the following message....I hope they are reading this~I hope they understand how much it means to me to write it.......

To my dear friend:
Sure hope that you are reading these words right now and understand that this message is for you.  I can't tell you how strange it felt that day to walk onto my porch and find your wonderful gift propped up against the door.  Who ever you may be, once again I say to you your gift was a very special one.

Since the days that I received it, I have gone back and forth many times as to whether or not I should even go at all.  I'm sorry to admit that I have "second guessed" myself many times in the past few weeks.  Sometimes when I look at the map and realize just how far I will have to go alone, it scares me.  Frightens me enough to make me stop and pause to wonder, "Can I really make it?"  But you'll be glad to know that I indeed am still going and will hope to make it to the Portland Head Lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth, Maine by one week from this Friday, on June 1st.

If I speak the truth, then I need to admit that it's a little unnerving to think of doing this by myself.  3,600 miles, to and from Ks-Maine, is about 3,000 miles MORE than I have EVER driven on my longest solo drive.  But I am preparing as best I can to be ready to go so that when next Monday rolls around, I can pull out of my driveway here in Valley Center with confidence to know that I CAN DO IT!

Thus, in the summer of my 57th year, I am setting out to do what I have at times thought impossible~and I'm doing it alone.  For more than half of my life, I've either been someone's daughter or someone's wife.  There has always been someone to rely on....if I got in trouble along life's way, help was always just a phone call away.  This time, I believe without a doubt that I'm ready to do this on my own  It's been years since I truly believed in myself.  Today, dear friend who ever you are, I believe I can do this and you know what?  It kind of feels good.

Thanks for the gift and the inspiration.  Who ever you are, keep watching this blog.  My dream to find a lighthouse is about to come to pass.  I am beholden to you for your wonderful part in it.

Sincerely,  Peggy