why blog

I talk about my life anyway because if, on the one hand, hardly anything could be less important, on the other hand, hardly anything could be more important. My story is important not because it is mine, God knows, but because if I tell it anything like right, the chances are you will recognize that in many ways it is also yours. Maybe nothing is more important than that we keep track, you and I, of these stories of who we are and where we have come from and the people we have met along the way…

~Fred Beuchner, Telling Secrets

I like to write, the problem is there never seems to be time for it. I am a sometimes spontaneous, often disorganized, determined to be thoughtful, half adventurous, half paranoid parent to two pretty cute, obstinate pre-teenage boys and a sweet seven year girl who teaches us about accessorizing and Justin Bieber. They are a spectacular average bunch and I love them a lot. My husband too. A smiler; he never complains, even as we enter the tedium of middle age.

We had a tough year though. Bad stuff happened: friends got sick, loved ones died, markets tanked. Three boys in our town went to the railroad tracks and stepped in front of trains. It was a challenging time for everyone. Average stuff that grates on average kids and their parents happened too. Homework overwhelmed, sports kept us running –and driving—in different directions. We struggled to keep up, often wondering what we were doing and why we were doing it. And then, out of a clear blue-bird sky, came an inspiration: A year away-in Idaho. More time outside-together-as a family- for a new kind of learning. A chance to spend more time in nature and to focus less on competing (much as we love it!) We had visions of being together: hiking, fishing, skiing. We’d fantasized about spending a year out west in years past, but suddenly it felt like the right thing to do. We found a school that inspired us with its wonderful outdoor program, and easily we found a place to call home. We traded our fuel efficient Volvo for the largest vehicle known to mankind, packed it to the brim-and then some- and now begin our family adventure; a sabbatical of sorts. There will be challenges, disappointments and infighting (probably before the first rest stop) coupled with joys and no doubt a lot of learning. We’ll share some of that here, and use this as a place to process our experience. So with some laziness about sending e-mails to all the people we are going to miss so much, and some wariness of becoming the self-important sharer of TMI, but mostly a lotta excitement about the road ahead, we are launching our little adventure. Time out for a breath of fresh air.