Although it was so nice to sleep in my own bed last night, and I'm sooo excited to see & get caught up with all my friends, I'm going through some sort of "post vacation let-down"; like I'm more depressed that our travels are over, than I am excited that we are home. I've always said that I need/want balance in my life; that I enjoy a "normal life" for 9 mths, with a weekly routine and schedule of activities, seasonal traditions, etc. But this might be a sign that I could travel for longer after all. The tentative plan is to retire after Jonas graduates and travel full time, but obviously we'll see what God has in store. "Traveling" could mean short-term or long-term missions. Joey would love nothing more than to initiate that plan starting NOW, but I keep insisting that the kids need to have a "normal" life for at least 9 mths (during the school year). It's important for them to build relationships, be involved in church, sports, music, clubs, community activities, etc. Alea made it VERY evident that God did not design her to be a full-time traveller; she is a home-body through & through! Jonas is highly social and thrives when he is around his friends (although he is a much better traveller than Alea; he could just go & go as long as he's engaged & stimulated). I believe we need to respect those needs (how God designed our children) and not force our "selfish" desires of travel on them. Plus I absolutely LOVE my career and feel that God has called me to be in the Deaf Community. I welcome the 3 mth break in the summers (and with my tennis elbow getting worse&worse I physically need the break from signing) but I'm always so happy to start back up again, see all my clients and get back out there in the community! I know that if we would retire early, there would always be this void inside of me. BUT throughout the whole 9 mths school year we are constantly craving & dreaming about seeing the world! Oh the bitter-sweet life we live! Lol!
The only thing that made me road weary was the WAY we traveled (small cramped quarters, no leg room, things falling on me & poking into me in the car, tent up/tent down, pump the air mattress up then turn around and smoosh all the air out of it, packing/unpacking the car, etc, etc...!) When Joey & I retire and ifff we do indeed end up traveling full time, it will NOT be in a tent. We definitely don't want a huge RV, but maybe one of those little silver pull-behinds; at least something where we can just pull over and climb right into bed & something that we don't have to set up/take down in the rain!!! So it's not the missing home or missing my own bed that makes me want to go home; it's just being exhausted by the logistics of living out of our tent & very small car. However, Joey & I were talking about how you just trade tasks...I haven't vacuumed, dusted, loaded/unloaded a dishwasher, or cleaned a sink/mirror/toilet for 10 weeks (all the things I grow weary of at home), so really what's the difference? Along that same sentiment is the issue of the kids' behavior....Of course the kids' bickering is always exhausting and it's amplified being in each other's space 24/7 when we're on the road, but we always say "we can stay home all summer and have them fight at home or we can we can go on the road and let them fight in the car; either way they're going to fight" (unfortunately).
Bottom line is, that any amount of stress from traveling is most definitely worth it for all we got to see & do this summer!!! I feel sooo blessed to have been able to see so much of God's amazing Creation this summer! We live in such a vast, diverse country. It still amazes me how we experienced such extremes of hot & cold all on the same trip! My prevailing emotion all summer was simply gratitude: so thankful to be with my 3 favorite people every day for 10 weeks, so thankful for the fun memories we were creating together, so thankful to have jobs that allow us to have summers off, so thankful for healthy bodies to hike & climb & swim, so thankful for safety on our journey thus far, so thankful for the resources to be able to take this trip, so thankful that our govt preserved so much of the land for public use & enjoyment, so thankful to live in such a beautiful country, but above all thankful to God for creating it all!
I only wish all of our family & friends could share in our experiences, or even just see half of what we saw. Americans just don't seem to value travel like Europeans & Asians do (that's who is crowding our national parks, NOT Americans). Granted, Europeans get 6-8 weeks of vacation every year, while the average American only gets 2 (and those 2 weeks are usually spent visiting family, which is of course more impt than a national park). So I get all that, but it still makes me sad. I truly believe Teddy Roosevelt had his own countrymen in mind we he set aside all the national parks, not Europeans. Americans love theme parks, not national parks. We want to be entertained/thrilled/dazzled by man-made attractions, instead of being awed by God-made attractions. Now of course I'm speaking in generalizations and our family loves theme parks as much as the next guy. But one couldn't help but notice the stark differences between visiting national parks full of foreigners, pristine beauty, quietness, everyone drinking out of reusable water bottles, recycling bins and "leave no trace" signs everywhere THAN visiting theme parks full of Americans drinking out of plastic water bottles, overflowing trash bins, crowds, long lines, noise, and a parking lot carpeted with litter! At Joshua Tree Nat Park, I saw a lady with a perma-smile on her face; she literally couldn't stop smiling! Finally she just gushed to me in her strong accent, "Oh isn't this so wonderful?!? It's absolutely amazing!!" My response to her was, "Yes it is! I just wish my fellow countrymen shared your sentiments!"
Another analyzation Joey & I made is that you can either work the land or you can travel the land, but it's really hard to do both. Some people might be jealous of our travels, but I'm jealous of their gardens! We REALLY miss not growing our own produce. I believe there is an instinctual desire God put in us humans to work the land and there is such gratification in seeing the fruits of your labor (whether it's food or flowers, just seeing God grow something that you have planted and so carefully watered, weeded & tended). There is great satisfaction in eating food out of your own garden, sharing your fresh produce or fresh flowers with friends & neighbors. There is something about getting your hands dirty; a deep connection with the earth. I gave a sign to my mother (an avid gardner) that says "One feels closer to God in a garden" and it's true! We should put a sign in our front yard "One feels closer to God in a national park" because that is also true! So how can you do both? Gardens tie you down and force you to stay close to home. Well maybe when we're retired we can travel during the 9 mth school year and stay home in the summers to have a garden when the kids come home from college! ;)
THANKS to all of you who prayed for our safety & well-being throughout the 10 weeks! We are soo grateful! When we made it to our family in IND there was a big feeling of relief, thinking "we're home free". But then the thought occurred to me "we could still get in a car accident driving thru Chicago the last leg of the journey"!!!
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