lemonade!

Maybe not all of you have been sitting around wondering what we're going to do with our lives. But, since October, we most certainly have been. Lots of questions, concerns, ideas and suggestions have passed between Fraser and me. It wasn't until about a month ago when the lightning struck.

I was sitting in the library reading a manuscript for a friend. He had written about an adventure he and his family had taken on the one of the Great Lakes. He wrote that after this amazing, challenging and exciting trip, regular life seemed pretty mundane and that the four walls of a classroom felt boring. And it struck me: what are we still doing here!? 

The world is a grand place full of wonder and cultures and foods and treasures and experiences and people. Fraser and I love traveling and have wanted to do more ever since our last trip, which was our honeymoon 7 1/2 years ago. But there have always been things that have stopped us: owning a house, having a steady job, having kids. And these are all very real things that do change life. And yet.... there is so much more to life.

We've been doing the status quo thing (job, kids, house) for six years now, and I wouldn't say either one of us is balls-out, spirit soaring, feel-the-rightness-to-your-bones, LOVE life and want to shout about it happy. I'd say we're fine. We're doing what we need to in order to feed ourselves and keep shelter over our heads, sprinkling in a few short-lived joyous moments here and there. I wouldn't say we're really living. 

I certainly don't mean any disrespect for people who do these things and are completely happy and fulfilled by them. That is awesome! It's just that... we're not. So we have made a decision that will, undoubtedly, change our lives.

We are going to shed some shit and shake things up. In other words, sell off all we can and travel the world. True statement. Not joking. This is not April, folks. The moment I thought the idea sitting in the library, I knew it was what we had to do. I came home and told Fraser that this was what our plan was going to be. And he agreed because he's that kind of guy (one of the things I love very much about him). 

There are so many logistics that we are in the process of figuring, and I'll be writing about them here. I hope to create a new blog dedicated more to the actual traveling and places we go, pictures included, of course. The "plan" is South America for roughly a year, give or take depending on how it goes. And that's it, at this point. It may not seem like much to some of you but it's what feels right for us. Finally.  

When something feels this right, I do it because it's my soul talking and who else knows what is best for me than her? I listen because otherwise I'll spend my days looking back with regret which will build into distrust of myself which really only leads to unhappiness. I listen because it's exciting and scary and powerful to jump into the unknown but it makes me feel alive. I listen because this is what makes me, me.

And yes, we're bringing the kids.