Butterflies Will Be Free
This is my first post. It is 11 weeks, 6 days ,11 hours and 17 minutes before we head out on our adventure but, who’s counting. In the past couple of weeks, I have started to develop butterflies in my belly. You know, that sudden fluttering anxious feeling in your gut that tells you to pay attention. Some of the butterflies are the kind that flitter freely on a spring breeze. Others are the kind that smash into your windshield at 60mph. Mostly they are the kind that flitter freely and the few others are the ones that keep me on track with all the planning I have yet to do.
This is my first post. It is 11 weeks, 6 days ,11 hours and 17 minutes before we head out on our adventure but, who’s counting. In the past couple of weeks, I have started to develop butterflies in my belly. You know, that sudden fluttering anxious feeling in your gut that tells you to pay attention. Some of the butterflies are the kind that flitter freely on a spring breeze. Others are the kind that smash into your windshield at 60mph. Mostly they are the kind that flitter freely and the few others are the ones that keep me on track with all the planning I have yet to do.
I think the butterflies have started because we are finally at a point where our commitments to doing the trip now outweigh the possibilities of scrapping the whole idea. The biggest one being the emotional commitment we’ve made to turn our lives completely upside down with no idea of what the future will bring. Once you are willing to go that far, you really can’t turn back without serious disappointment haunting you for the rest of your life. And with that comes the dreaded word – responsibility.
The Hippygeek and I just spent the last fifteen years settling in, digging in, and growing roots which is surprising to both of us since we both, in the past, have given our nomadic genes plenty of exercise. We kinda think we deserve medals for our 15 year commitment to “normality”. That being said, we actually have grown accustomed to the lifestyle ; working nine to five, shuttling kids to soccer practice, doing the weekly grocery shopping, going to school functions, planning birthday parties, paying bills, cleaning the house, doing yard maintenance , you get the idea. The daily routine can be comforting, rhythmic and even bring a feeling of security knowing what the next day will bring. But, routine can also mute brilliant blues, diminish the simple joy of watching a bird in flight and take the actual living out of life. That’s where we are right now and why we are willing to take on the responsibility of uprooting our family and set off for the unknown.
The idea for the trip started as an idea, a whim, an “oh, wouldn’t it be nice”. Back then, it was a dream far away. The idea evolved into “when we do the trip” and that’s when we started counting down in years. When it evolved into “we only have so much time to get this prepared”, that’s when we started counting down in months. Our idea is no longer an idea but has become a reality and now we are counting down in weeks. Join us and follow our final countdown to departure. I’m sure it will be full of comic neurosis, panic attacks, lapses in judgment, unbridled excitement and finally a release of all the butterflies that flitter on a spring breeze.
The idea for the trip started as an idea, a whim, an “oh, wouldn’t it be nice”. Back then, it was a dream far away. The idea evolved into “when we do the trip” and that’s when we started counting down in years. When it evolved into “we only have so much time to get this prepared”, that’s when we started counting down in months. Our idea is no longer an idea but has become a reality and now we are counting down in weeks. Join us and follow our final countdown to departure. I’m sure it will be full of comic neurosis, panic attacks, lapses in judgment, unbridled excitement and finally a release of all the butterflies that flitter on a spring breeze.
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.” Eleanor Roosevelt
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