The Beginnings of a Great Adventure

 The Beginnings of a Great Adventure

Spending 5 to 6 months on the road, traveling to see the most rugged parts of the United States can seem like a challenging undertaking all on its own.

Now throw in two early elementary kids, two big rambunctious boxers, a husband who wants to help (even when I am yelling I don't need it), and a diagnosis of seropositive RA into that mix. Yeah, I think we must be crazy. Okay, I know at least I am.

But I love my husband all the more for suggesting the idea, because I needed this. Like air. Like a never ending foot rub. 

Photo by Milan De Clercq on Unsplash

Marginally because we have been cooped up for over a year because of COVID and I am positive that even road signage has to be more interesting than the walls of this house.

Partially because I am so seriously bored of this 'quaint' little suburban neighborhood just outside of Austin where everything is lined up in their neat little rows, all with the same color roof and color coordinated paint jobs.

And because I can see the new Amazon distribution center from my backyard and it is almost completed. Traffic will be a nightmare by next year.

Photo by Blake Wheeler on Unsplash

Mostly because... well, we don't know what I will be capable of in ten years and Mommy wants to be remembered for something a little more kick-ass than cupcakes, costumes, fatigue and bad joints and a not so clean house when the kids look back on their life growing up.

Is that selfish? Maybe. But we are going to do it anyway.

And if you are like me and agonize over every little detail for a week long vacation, you will know my pain when I realized that you can only plan so far ahead. Nailing down anything farther than a month ahead of time could risk a nasty cascade of missed dates and cancelled reservations the likes of only someone who spent weeks creating a 10 tabbed Excel spreadsheet has ever seen.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Who says you have to give up all your OCD habits when you move over into the slow lane? Now you just have time to do a better job color coding and aligning cells.

So now...

The house is packed away. We know where the mail will be going.

We have completed our trial runs in the fifth wheel without incident.

All that is left is to load everyone up and start moving down the bucket list.

At least, the parts that I could fit in the 10 tabs.

Everything else will have to wait until adventure 2.0.