The only place where one can easily park a dually pickup truck with an extended bed is in Texas. In fact, that's where I left it this evening. I just walked home. I'm kind of tired now.
Just kidding. We sold the truck a few weeks ago.
But I bring that up because many days we all reflect for at least a moment on some aspect of full time life that we miss. Less often I find myself thankful for some little annoyance that I do not miss, and parking the Chevy Ginormica is one of them. Did I ever tell you about how I went grocery shopping in San Diego and could not find anywhere to park within walking distance of the closest store? I did the only thing I could think to do: drove eleven miles to the store I saw that morning because I already knew I could park there easily. True story.
So what else do we miss or not miss?
We miss the dramatic peace of the wilderness.
We miss the night skies far from city lights and alive with more stars than you would think possible.
We miss bison, ravens, marmots, coyotes, and jack rabbits.
We miss the adventure of never quite knowing how God will blow our minds next.
When we were in Valley of Fire State Park I went out alone one evening to shoot sunset. As I surveyed the landscape and considered the best angle I got this sudden urge to just run. Not like Forrest Gump or anything, but to bound around that surreal and break-taking moonscape as fast as I could go and with no particular destination except the intersection of Out of Breath and Giggling.
So I did. And I keep thinking of that evening.
I thought by this point in time we would not be following any other full-time family blogs because it might hurt too much to not be out there with them. As my curiosity got the better of me and I kept reading I have noticed that instead I am being encouraged to hang on to the sense of adventure. I am glad I did because I have made some new social media friends who are just cool enough to welcome us to their circles and camp-outs and call us "nomadic" even though we are a bit stationary at the moment (but just for the moment...)(hint).
Then there are the others we met along the way through this blog, the ones who are about to or have just launched their own adventures and we can't wait to see it all over again through new eyes. But as we watch them embark on something new and more than a little frightening, we are thankful. Thankful for how our year prepared us to step out again in faith on something else new and risky. This one is not so much about us, it's about making sure we don't look back in regret.
-Jenni
Just kidding. We sold the truck a few weeks ago.
But I bring that up because many days we all reflect for at least a moment on some aspect of full time life that we miss. Less often I find myself thankful for some little annoyance that I do not miss, and parking the Chevy Ginormica is one of them. Did I ever tell you about how I went grocery shopping in San Diego and could not find anywhere to park within walking distance of the closest store? I did the only thing I could think to do: drove eleven miles to the store I saw that morning because I already knew I could park there easily. True story.
So what else do we miss or not miss?
We miss the dramatic peace of the wilderness.
We miss the night skies far from city lights and alive with more stars than you would think possible.
We miss bison, ravens, marmots, coyotes, and jack rabbits.
We miss the adventure of never quite knowing how God will blow our minds next.
When we were in Valley of Fire State Park I went out alone one evening to shoot sunset. As I surveyed the landscape and considered the best angle I got this sudden urge to just run. Not like Forrest Gump or anything, but to bound around that surreal and break-taking moonscape as fast as I could go and with no particular destination except the intersection of Out of Breath and Giggling.
So I did. And I keep thinking of that evening.
I thought by this point in time we would not be following any other full-time family blogs because it might hurt too much to not be out there with them. As my curiosity got the better of me and I kept reading I have noticed that instead I am being encouraged to hang on to the sense of adventure. I am glad I did because I have made some new social media friends who are just cool enough to welcome us to their circles and camp-outs and call us "nomadic" even though we are a bit stationary at the moment (but just for the moment...)(hint).
Then there are the others we met along the way through this blog, the ones who are about to or have just launched their own adventures and we can't wait to see it all over again through new eyes. But as we watch them embark on something new and more than a little frightening, we are thankful. Thankful for how our year prepared us to step out again in faith on something else new and risky. This one is not so much about us, it's about making sure we don't look back in regret.
-Jenni