Pursuing Adventure

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I have a rule.

For every hour we spend in the car, we spend at least two at our destination.

This makes me feel like I am not wasting my time driving to the destination, but actually enjoying the destination—making it an adventure. If we are driving two hours there and two hours back for a one-hour event, we are not going. That is too much of my life to spend in a car, and it just feels wasteful.

It might be smoke in mirrors, but it has come to work for us.

Fostering Relationships

We have also made a family goal of doing our best to show up and foster relationships with others. Simply not going is a less than optimal way to achieve that goal. However arbitrary it may sound, what it has done is make us encounter our destination in a more purposeful way.

We recently attended a wedding out of state.

Instead of not going, or simply showing up in time for the wedding and then leaving, we made a trip of it. My husband went golfing with friends he had not seen in a while. My girls and I found a petting zoo where we were able to learn about a few new animals and discuss what farm-life looks like. They were able to ask questions of the experts rather than my having to google the answers to their questions.

Then, we went to a farm stand and grabbed lunch. We got fruits and veggies and left with sweet corn roasted on-site. We even tried what they called a “Kool-Aid Pickle.” (It was exactly what it sounds like, a cucumber pickled in vinegar and kool-aid solution.)  It was not to our liking, but at least we can say we tried it and took our no-thank-you bites.

Adventure + Experiences

I think I want my girls to pursue adventure and experiences more than they pursue zoning out in front of the television. I think I want them to see their circumstances and take charge rather than being bored and hoping for someone else to come up with something to entertain them. And I want them to look at a situation and see opportunity rather than feel trapped by an obligation. I want them to get excited about getting in the car because they don’t know what is yet in store for them, but they are ready for it. I want them to have the same fond memories of that small cow town in Texas as they do that big city in Florida.

In that, I understand that I have a responsibility to lead by example and foster that adventurous spirit.

So, I guess, here is to adventuring in the places we find ourselves to be in rather than waiting for that all-encompassing vacation to save us from our monotony. Here is to celebrating small moments and taking charge to make them memorable.

Cheers, adventurers, to discovering your next favorite spot.

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Rochelle
Rochelle is a desert-rat from Arizona who kept moving north until she hit Colorado Springs; good luck getting her to leave now. She wasted no time snagging her husband under the pretense of athleticism and outdoorsy-ness. Among other things, eleven years of marriage has yielded two beautiful daughters, Harper and Quinn. Momming these super-sassy littles is her biggest adventure yet, and provides for some serious writing material. Rochelle works out of the home also, and has a diverse background in public relations, social work, student advising, youth ministry and pyrotechnics. She is presently finishing up her MBA and is juggling all of it fairly well for a person with little to no hand-eye-coordination. She is a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child and she is beyond grateful for hers.