As I’ve grown older I’ve noticed, I suppose as most do, that a year just isn’t that long of a time.
Recall how they used to drag… school being an interminable slog between summers. Now it’s tax time again, another birthday, and the kids are driving already?
So here we are. 356 days of not working, 320 on the road, 168 of those already behind us, and it’s flying by. It’s surprising to me, as there were concerns in both our minds, I think, about it feeling too long. Our previous long-haul trip was nine weeks and by then end we were itching to get back home.
Perhaps it’s not about the duration, it’s about the ends and beginnings, the transitions. While we’re solidly in it we don’t feel the tug to move onto that next phase, but at the outset everyone’s anxious to just get going and on the return you’re just ready to “get back to normal.”
It’s worth thinking about, really. What defines this “normal?” And if the normal we’re going back to is less fulfilling than the “abnormal” we’re living now, how do we bring more of one to the other? That’s what I want to think about more. What do I like about this trip? What’s changed for the better in our family, marriage, myself?
Maybe I’ll give it a try right now, Sharaun’s driving and Keaton’s riding shotgun so I’ve got the time…
- I love the time we spent together; the shared experiences which I hope over time continue to ripen into fond memories.
- I like the time I have to think, or to not think at all. I like having little chores to do around the RV, and the time I have to complete them and gain satisfaction in doing so.
- I like being closer to what and how effectively our kids are learning.
- I love walking daily with Sharaun, and the way it affords us captive time with each other to talk about real things vs. routine daily interaction.
- I like traveling and seeing new places and things and meeting new people, but this kind of feels like a luxury vs. something one could realistically expect as part of everyday.
- I like the small space and little stuff we have, it makes things easier and faster and less worrisome and busy feeling.
Enough for now. Peace.
Also written on this day...
- a nice way to start the day - 2008
- cold and far from home - 2007
- blues on the speakers - 2006