A New Year, A New Journey

We were riding in the car, I remember the exact location, and Larry turned down the volume of the radio and looked over at me and said, “I’m going to have to start traveling again. I’ve tried to delay it but I can no longer put it off.” My eyes immediately filled with tears. I have never liked the fact that travel is a big part of his job. I count the wake-ups (mornings that he is away) and the sleeps (nights that he is away). If he leaves on a Monday evening and returns on a Wednesday night, I count two wake-ups and two sleeps, and I continue to count down until I have no more wake-ups and no more sleeps left.  

I know that it might sound totally ridiculous to some folk in this day and age, but I truly enjoy being with my husband and I miss him when we are apart. Truthfully, our home runs smoother when he is home participating in the routine that we have established. He knows this.

“…he thought about how difficult this first trip would be for me…. “

So, he thought about how difficult this first trip would be for me and scheduled his work trip to Seattle (a city that I’ve always wanted to visit) during my birthday week. And luckily, we had just enough airline miles to make it happen. The miles and hotel points have always been consolation prizes for all the traveling he has to do, making it sting just a little less. But there has been no replenishing in over a year, so this trip scraped the bottom of the “airline miles” barrel.

If we rewind about two months ago, Larry asked what I wanted to do for my birthday. We were still so unsure about travel options and were not yet fully vaccinated, but I responded, “I want to be in a space to clear my head, to allow some of the fog to clear.  I want to hear my own voice, listen to God’s voice without interruption.”  So, Larry began to work to make that happen. 

Booking the trip was only the first task and perhaps the easiest of them all. For Larry and I both to be away, it requires a well-orchestrated schedule. I worked with my business partner to clear our schedule for the week, and Larry worked to make sure that all the personal boxes were checked.  All of which he handled beautifully.

• There must be someone dedicated to the care of our children, that is their only task and my Mother-In-Law stepped right up. She will feed them, love on them, handle all their needs and Cookie Elizabeth’s needs as well.
• There has to be someone that takes them to school and picks them up (this can’t be my Mother-in-law because someone has to be home with Mama until the Caregiver arrives at 8:30) …for this trip that required four different Loved Ones, assigned different mornings and afternoons.
• Because we will be gone on a Wednesday evening, then there has to be someone that takes them to Youth Group and picks them up (Youth Group is very important to the kids so it is very important to us) …another Loved One has been assigned this task.
• And then there is Mama’s schedule. My siblings will handle her meals during our trip and will make sure that she has anything else that she may need. Her Caregivers had to agree to not miss work and not switch shifts. (I can usually accommodate their request if I am present but, in our absence, everything needs to remain consistent.)
• There is our Farm Share (which is a double portion this week because I delayed last week’s portion) that must be picked up, separated, cleaned and stored on… my Neighbor/Sister-Friend/Loved One was assigned that task.
• And then there are the things that will ultimately pop up, the things that have slipped through the crack or reared their head unexpectedly…my tribe of School Mom/Friends will be ready to step up and handle those things. 

All of this is necessary for Larry and I to leave and we managed to pull it off. I exhaled and switched from planning to just being, surprisingly it happened the moment the plane took off. 

So, now I am sitting in the most extraordinary, idyllic location imaginable– Snoqualmie Falls in Washington. From the balcony of our beautiful room at the Salish  Lodge, I can see and hear Snoqualmie Falls. To say that I am grateful does not even come close to what I feel. It is unreal to me that at this moment. I am able to sit in silence and hear my own voice.

…”To say that I am grateful does not even come close to what I feel. “

My daily routine is filled with so much, silence is never in the equation. When we made the decision to launch the blog on my birthday, I had no idea that God would create a way for me to be in such a breathtakingly, beautiful space. This is the perfect example of a “God Wink.” What an incredible moment!

So, here’s to 51 years living and this new season of sharing “A Love Sandwich” with all of my Loved Ones. Let our journey together begin!