A couple nights ago I got grumpy with my husband about how we don’t get time to adventure anymore. About how I want to go hiking, travel, and do exciting things. Please note, i know how utterly selfish this sounds, but I’m turning 30 this year and I have it stuck in my head that I’m running out of time to do all the things on my list of adventuring. He–for the most part–brushes my grumps off, with the exception of “lets do something,” even though we both know that between the kids, work, and lack of babysitters, we can’t just do something. He tries and puts up with me, so i accepted this and went into the bedroom and swooned over our pictures from our trip to Ireland, when i came across this one:
On one of first adventures in Ireland last summer, we went to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (click the link and check it out). The walk to the bridge and over to the Island is tiring and not because it’s a long hike (almost 2 miles), but because it’s very hilly, windy, and cold. The only way back is to walk back across this swaying bridge and back to the information center. Don and I had just spend the earlier part of our day at Giant’s Causeway and the Bushmill’s distillery, but pushed ourselves to do this too (worth it, County Antrim is amazing, i fell in love with Northern Ireland). When we got to Carrick-a-Rede Island, after my wonderful husband pushed himself to cross the bridge (he’s not a fan of heights), we were embarrassingly out of breath, but the view was amazing, and the lady in the picture above was thriving on the trail. She was 90 + year old woman in a pair of loafers with a small heel, wearing a skirt suit fashioned for the older crowd, but she did this trail. She was with her daughter (or a female family member) and had always wanted to see the vast beauty that Ireland has to offer–she’s from England. Don helped her down the last little, rocky hill on the Island. I wish I had taken a picture, because it was so sweet how he just offered her his arm to grab on to–I married an amazing man. With the assistance of a tour guide, the woman made it back across the bridge (she even explored the Island while on it). She walked the two miles, at 90+ years old in heeled loafers with no complaints and just took in the beauty. This beauty:
Although i doesn’t look it, getting into the little grove Don and I are standing in (the above picture) was scary because i was right on the edge of the Island. Don actually slipped and it was pretty damn scary, but we got this amazing picture out of it.
It was an exhilarating experience.
…and a windy one too!
My point is, he and I have a lot of world to see and a lot of time to see it. Sometimes I get caught up in what I want and it consumes me. Then I take time to reflect on what I have in the here and now, i reminisce about what beautiful experiences i’ve had, and learn that instant gratification isn’t the answer. There will be adventure, there is always adventure (right now, i’m writing a blog post while my little ninja sons fight bad guys around me). Life, the life I share with my family is adventure. The path i’m taking to become a better me is an extremely big adventure. I (we all) need to take in the beauty that is constantly surrounding us, because finding that joy in the little things will ultimately make us appreciate this great big world we live in that much more. Close your eyes, take a big breath in, now a big breath out, open your eyes, and see all the adventure that is in front of you…even if it’s tackling the mess in your kitchen that has accrued through the week or getting past a hard time you’re facing in your life right now. Make it an adventure. Make it something more than a chore. Make it an experience.
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