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Hello, how are ya’ll? I am so happy I could fly. I am on a two-month trip house sitting for an engineer and his beautiful family. I never, and let me repeat this, I NEVER get tired of new experiences and adventures.

If you have read my column for a while, you will know that is true. Now, let me explain, staying or living in the same place for any great length of time makes me feel like I will suffocate. And be nauseous. There are some people who judge me harshly, they say I am running to escape something, (a ludicrous theory, but okay, like whatever, I could care less), I’m too busy having fun. I have dear and darling friends who mean well when they say I should stay in one place, they mean well, they just don’t understand me. I love my settled friends, friends are one of the best things about life, but what makes them happy would not make me happy. I would rather be shot with a twelve gage than never have any by the seat of my pants adventures. There is a reason one of my favorite songs is Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac.

I have lived in California, Oregon, (a personal favorite), Charlottesville, Virginia, where I had a penthouse apartment with a solarium that had a view of Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello. I have lived in Alabama, Ohio, Connecticut, where I researched my family, the Mathers in 300-year-old graveyards. Lord, I love to travel.

I have lived in nine log cabins in the state of Tennessee. Acquiring a new cabin is an adventure in itself. I have lived in a split log cabin on a private lake outside of Chattanooga. In the evenings I would sip a little George Dickel on the front porch and then quietly tour the lake in a canoe. I lived in a cabin on a mountain outside of Chattanooga on a bluff. I would sunbath on the edge of the cliff with a stunning view of the Sequatchie Valley. I lived in a three-story log cabin in Afton Tennessee on a road called Gunsmoke Lane. No, I kid you not, Gunsmoke lane. Every minute of these experiences still fills me with a thrill and also has given me tremendous memories. I am proud of what I have done and accomplished as a single woman.

I have lived in a darling cottage that I rented with a view of Lake Erie. I have a lot of friends in North east Ohio. One evening coming home from friends for dinner a huge blizzard came. There was four feet of snow. I had to park and walk three blocks through huge snow drifts to get to my cottage. It was dark with big fluffy snowflakes gently falling down from the night sky, with the sound of the roaring waves of Lake Erie in the background. An experience I would never trade.

I bought my own red Mercedes and had a license plate put on it that said, “can go.” And yes, buddy it could.

Oh! And careers! If I like new challenges of new careers. I have been a columnist for eleven newspapers, starting in 2010. I was a sous chef on a riverboat on the Tennessee River, my boss and owner of the boat won gourmet restaurant of the year two years running in Chattanooga. I was the first to arrive on the boat in the mornings. My stainless-steel kitchen had a window with a view of the river. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything in this world. I have been a personal assistant to a billionaire couple in Bristol Virginia, where they lived on a private reserve. All of my food was prepared by the chef, and if I gave the pilot enough warning I could fly on one of the private jets on my day off. I ran two estates for an heir to the Sherwin-Williams fortune, and lived in Chattanooga and Coco Beach Florida while on that job. Sadly, the heir died or I would still be with the family traveling the world. I have been a high-profile nanny, working for a lot of wonderful families and caring for the children that I absolutely adored. I traveled quite a bit with my nanny families. I have been a tutor. I was a social worker in Child Protective Services and Adult Protective services. Oh, the tales I could tell! I have been a wife and mother to four beautiful and accomplished daughters. I can’t even remember everything I’ve done. I got sick with a pneumonia virus that went into my heart eight years ago, or I would be a governess in Europe. My friends would really freak out then because I would-be all-over Europe. Ha.

So ya’ll, don’t be sorry for me. I’m proud of how I’ve lived my life. It took guts and confidence to get out and do these things, especially as a woman. Catch me if you can, until next time, have a good week, and have a literary week.