The fact that I’m sitting here writing a blog post about why my family and I will be packing up a 5th wheel and traveling the United States for a year, reminds me of that handsome adventure I married 17 years ago.
I’ve always thought of myself as somewhat of a free-spirit, even though it’s probably more along of the lines of “I wish I were a free spirit” – but still my imagination has made me a modern day hippie in so many ways. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to travel. I always thought it was because we didn’t do much traveling as a family when I was growing up. We did make some weekend jaunts to Wyoming for family reunions and we loved our long drives in the mountains, visiting old mining towns and cities. Other than that, travel wasn’t a part of what we did. Don’t believe me? My first commercial airplane flight was when I was 25 and that was flying to Mexico for my honeymoon. Exactly.
So, travel, for me, has always been intriguing. Unfortunately, I have a small issue. I’m a home-body. For the past 17 years of marriage my job has required me to be a home-body. Not somebody who sits at home all day and never leaves the house, but someone who has roots at home. Not a job. Not an outside career. But a person who tends to the things and people who pertain to their home. A home-body. As Merriam-Webster defines the word, “one whose life centers on home.” That’s been my life thus far and I feel like an absolute expert in this area. I took care of my nephew for 5 years. Then my daughter was born. When she was 3 1/2, my son was born. So when my nephew went off to kindergarten, I still had my daughter and then eventually my son to raise. Then when my daughter went to kindergarten, my son was still at home. Then the year my son started kindergarten, I started homeschooling my daughter, so she was back at home and still is to this day.
One whose life centers on home.
I like routine. You have to learn to like those when you have children. Routines. They are comforting. They are predictable. They offer a small scope of security. I’ve grown to appreciate and enjoy my days and my routine. I’ve spent 17 years raising children, taking care of our home, raising and taking care of animals (pugs, pot-bellied pigs, chickens), running very small businesses, serving at church as a youth leader (for almost 6 years), in the women’s ministry and as a deacon; attending school functions, running kids back and forth to play dates, birthday parties and Tae Kwon Do, homeschooling our daughter (going on our 3rd successful year at this); and I’ve watched my husband come and go everyday to a job over an hour away. Unless it was the weekend or he had the day off/worked from home – we haven’t had breakfast as a family during the week in over 15 years (although this past year, that has changed a bit too). Usually the kids only get to see Daddy in the evenings for a couple hours before bed and on the weekends. In the earlier days, he was able to work his normal hours and be home at a decent time, but that eventually changed. His days grew longer for a period of time and travel became normal.
Travel. Wait. That’s what “I’ve always wanted to do”, not Charley.
Travel wasn’t on the itinerary when he was hired, but as he was promoted and changed positions, it was now a real thing. Sometimes just overnight, others were 3-4 days at a time. Trips could be planned way ahead of time, other times I’d get a call telling me he had to leave the next day. That kind of schedule during the growing years of young children isn’t ideal nor was it always easy for me. Add into all of that, after my son was born, I became sick and for years couldn’t figure out the cause, but lived without sleep, stamina and energy for way too long. Needless to say, he wasn’t home as much as “I” wanted him home. Selfish? Probably, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the concept of getting married and starting a family and then hardly having any time to spend together as that family. All because of a job or career. Unrealistic? Maybe, but it was still an ever present question in my head. So our family time was always crammed and packed with “doing”. Those times together were always fast paced, sometimes stress-filled. Tired kids. Tired adults. Trying to squeeze everything into a day and possibly a half, because Sundays we were in church in the mornings until noon or later, then back at night for another 3-4 hours. There were days when I felt that not only did we NOT have quantity of time, but the quality of it wasn’t much better.
Sigh.
This, ultimately, has become my why. The personal driving force behind our epoch.
Time.
Time for Jesus. Time for relationships. Time for intentionality. Time for living life in a way that will leave a legacy for those who follow.
So, as we begin the 6 month planning process, I will learn to step out of my comfort zone and be that “free spirit” I’ve always said I was. I hope you will stay with us so you can live out these days, weeks, months, and ultimately, year with us. Be a part of our epoch. Watch us learn and grow from this completely unexpected journey we are embarking on, because believe me, I will be documenting all of this. And sharing them with the world. Exposed. Transparent. Vulnerable. Real.
Here we go. Epoch 48. Bring it on.