(photo from June 2012, 37 years old, after climbing a 50 ft rope wall and riding the zip line)
It’s January 1, 2018.
Wow.
As always, time goes so fast these days, but these past 4 months, since we decided to take this road trip, well, just flew right by!
Up until now I had other things I needed to concentrate on. Things that were higher priority than thinking about a year-long road trip. Family vacation. Family birthdays. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Shutting my business down. You know – those kinds of things.
But now all those things are done and here we are.
January 1, 2018.
And so it begins.
After a year and a half of running a successful subscription box company – I sent out my final boxes on December 11th and told all my subscribers that I was closing shop. I loved my sub boxes and had such an amazing time creating and sharing my passion for health, safe skin care and handmade delicacies. I had a great tribe who appreciated the art of handmade skin care and health as a lifestyle. They encouraged and motivated me. I considered taking the business with me on the road, but with the way it was growing – it would have been next to impossible. For one, we wouldn’t have enough storage space for all the stuff needed to run a sub box company. Then there’s the reality that I wouldn’t be able to do it all on my own. I was at a place where any more growth would have forced me to hire help. Not possible on the road. Most importantly, it would defeat the purpose of taking off on the road for a year to reconnect with the family, make memories and live intentionally.
Some decisions are hard, but I believe that the pros outweigh the cons on this one.
So, now I am free. Free to think about the trip. Free to plan. Free to prepare. I have no excuses and have to finally face this reality head on.
Everyone asks me if I’m excited. Absolutely – 150% excited! At the same time, I am a bit overwhelmed. Why? Because I’m the kind of person who likes a plan and a well laid out plan at that. Everything in order and in its place. So, to take on a project like this is an undertaking. We need someone to watch our house. We need someone to foster our 21 chickens for the year. What do we do with our mail for 12 months? How do I get two kids completely prepared to be homeschooled while on the road? What is the best way to store all of our clothes – for four seasons of weather? Where do we keep all our extra vehicles that won’t fit in the garage? What will we do for Christmas decorating in the 5th wheel? What appliances do I take? Do I cancel my Amazon Prime membership? What about Netflix? What am I going to do to stay busy while on the road? I mean, I’m a hard-working, always on the go person. AKA…I don’t like to sit still. How is this going to pan out?
So many thoughts floating around my head day in and day out.
But now I have the time to work on all of this and to make sure that I will have a well prepared household on the road and as solid as I have a well prepared household here on our property.
I’m confident that as I step into this new “job” everything will begin to fall into place so the transition for all of us is smooth. Easy? Maybe not easy, but smooth.
And so it begins….