Why Not!

It feels surreal to be on the West Coast.  After 7000+ miles, I can’t believe we did it!  We made it!  We just saw our first mileage sign to San Luis Obispo.  143 miles. It gives me butterflies in my stomach to think we are almost ‘home’.  Wow.  Home. What a thought. 

Ya know, it all started with a thought.  An idea.  A dream.  And we took it seriously.  Weird to think back...  Some people ask why? And I guess we simply said,  ‘why not?’  WHY NOT move our family from the east coast to the west coast.  Why not go from the city to the beach?  Why not try out sunny, warm winters over the wet and cold.  Why not try something different?  Why not follow a dream?  Some people dream and then wait for the lightning bolt from heaven or the writing on the wall or for EVERYTHING to line up P.E.R.F.E.C.T.L.Y. before they do something about it.  But sometimes you just gotta GO.FOR.IT. (thank you Auntie Jayne-o)  regardless of the rain or the tide or the moon or the whatever! Usually there are more reasons not to than there are to.  But why not go?  What do you have to lose?  Just try. Isn’t DESIRE enough of a reason to go? Isn’t the dream itself big enough of a reason? Whatever the dream is, IT IS worth it.  Here we are – crazy kids – 2 seniors, 2 adults, 2 kids & 2 dogs, 31 feet in a motor-home, almost 8000 miles, 3 months, coast to coast.  

-- Let me just say, it was worth it all, AND I would do it all. over. again. --

We haven’t made it to the destination yet, but my goodness, the journey has been worth the ride!  And I would venture to say the destination will be worth it as well.  Great moments. Lasting memories. Amazing experiences.  So many treasures along the way.  At the beginning it felt like a long journey, now it feels like a life LIVED.  Not that our life before wasn’t fulfilling.  It was.  It was happy, safe, and comfortable. But sometimes there’s something inside of you that whispers, “there’s something more”.  And if we chose not to go, life would have been fine.  Good. Happy. Secure.  But we would have always wondered…..WHAT IF?

Even when you make a decision to follow your dream, it’s not smooth sailing all the time.  Let. Me. Tell. You. =)  Even in the beginning, even before we left, I thought,  ‘what the heck are we doing?!’ But I knew that the dream to go would be worth it. Sure we’ve had our times – flat tires, rainy days, stinky toots, melt-downs, plumbing mishaps, grumpiness.  But we’ve also had rainbows, starry skies, snuggle-mugs of coffee, date nights, sandy beaches, tube-rides, majestic views, (did I mention) lobster rolls =).  

To be a FULL time traveling mom has probably been the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  You’d think I’d have time to read magazines while one the road, pin on Pintrest, watch movies, exercise, go on leisurely strolls.  To tell you the truth, it was about 2 1/2months into it before I opened my first mag and watched a movie!  But the other day Kai said, “It was nice to have a Mommy & Daddy day.  It was like a Sunday”.  Even though we are with each other 24/7, living together  is different than spending  time together. We still have had to be purposeful to carve out time to spend with each other. Watching our kids grow and change everyday together has been special. And the moments carved out have been a priceless experiance. I can’t help but know that this time will be forever engraved on the hearts of my children, whether they remember the journey or not, their hearts will know. 

As we flipped over the calendar to December, (I still can’t believe it’s December!) we read words ‘THE JOURNEY IS THE REWARD’. How timely! Has the journey been good?  YES!  Has it been worth it?  Yes. Every moment of it has been worth it ALL.  Will the destination be as good?  I’m sure it will be.  Oh, Yes. Yes, it will!

So……..Why not? Why not follow a WHAT IF?