The finer things in life is a euphemism that is often used to describe fancy houses with marble inlays, maid service and handcrafted wood appointments along with a half dozen or more bathrooms and bedrooms.  It refers to fancy, expensive sports cars, having one's own private jet or helicopter.  Perhaps dining at lavish restaurants with $1,000 bottles of wine and extraordinary wait service with the finest chefs the world has to offer.

And while that may be true for those that see it that way, there are other ways to view the finer things in life.  

The other day, the friend of Maria's came out and did some work for me - free of charge - he is basically a very lonely, older man who has no friends in this area.  He has lived a loner's life, he is also a truck driver and that is the way of many drivers who spend days, weeks, months, years, lifetimes on the road.  You see your friends and family infrequently and tho you can text them or talk on the phone, it is far from being the same as being there with them, in person.  

I've seen more than one retired driver's writings on the internet about the regrets they have in not seeing their children growing up, missing important dates for them, being away from wife, not being around friends - the things "normal" people take for granted.  

You see, I was sitting here in my office desk chair musing such things after being invited to be a part of a local Christmas parade. Participants have to be there in - 30 minutes actually. Yes, I am going, the starting point is a 5 minute drive from the house. I did donate the use of my trailer for these people's part in the event tho I did not ask to be any part of it.  They are doing all the work in dressing up the trailer to make it look Christmasy.  My small portion of simply loaning the vehicle with which they will use to partake in said event gave me no thoughts of being automatically presumed a part of it.

On the other hand, many of these people are the same people that we do card nights with rather frequently.  I'm slowly coming to know some of them, it's not like  I would have ever met such people in life if it hadn't been through Taylor/James.  I'm not at all saying these are bad people, not at all, we just wouldn't have ever met in any social circles.  

The whole circumstance with which I came to know Taylor and James is rather unique  in itself, at least as far as I'm concerned and isn't something people have happen every day. I won't be going into all of that here, that would take many paragraphs of text.  Most people that I come to meet or talk with online or wherever do not like the idea of living with other people.  That's probably more on the normal side of things.

I just happened to have lived with strangers in my teen years after getting thrown out of the house and then ending up in an evangelical missionary organization for 5 years after that with completely shared living in all aspects.  Housing, bedrooms, bathrooms, eating, everything.  No, it wasn't sexual in nature, it was just a modicum for people like-minded to come together, stay together and do what we believed the bidding of the Lord was.  

I did live with wife and son for 16 years after that with no shared living, but after that marriage ended, I was all about renting out rooms. Not out of desire but out of necessity. To have a house and actually live any kind of normal life, it was necessary to invite complete strangers in to pay a monthly rent in exchange for a room with everything included.

That went on until I moved out here, to Texas and ended up "temporarily" renting a room out at James/Taylors house which eventually led into a permanent situation.

I don't know if this arrangement will last forever. Things happen that you don't expect and circumstances change that you wouldn't have even dreamed of happening, much less actually foreseeing it. Been there done that.

But, while I'm here?  I enjoy every moment of it. Even the pouting kids crying over ridiculous nonsense, not that I enjoy that but it's an everyday part of living with a family with young kids. I get to partake in such things and for the last almost 4 months, have been living that life without spending it on the road.

I can tell you, I do not miss the road. Not even a little bit.  I am in various trucking groups and see videos all the time and I actually cringe at the thought of going back to that life.  I may very well have to, but I won't want to. I will work to have that time spent on the road as limited as possible.  6 months to a year at most, if I can get the business up and running and turning a decent profit. 

Well, it's time to leave.  I just was meditating on life and all the things that happen in it.  And not missing the trucking lifestyle.