What the hell?
Why on earth would you want to do such a thing?
Isn’t it irresponsible to quit perfectly good jobs and spend part of your retirement?
Why would you want to go to those places?
I mean, I suppose these are valid questions. Lord knows we have been asked them numerous times.
I know that this kind of travel isn’t for everyone.
I know that doing something like walking away from a job is unfathomable to some people.
I know that spending this amount of money in one fell swoop on travel could be considered irresponsible. Even panic inducing.
It’s just that, it makes so much sense to us. This trip makes us happy in a way that is nearly impossible to explain. We were meant to do this. Now. In this way. With our kids. It is right so deeply in our bones that we can’t deny it.
Not that one ever needs a reason to justify wanting to travel the world. But we have one. In spades. And it seems to color every decision we make about life.
Thirteen years ago, Mason’s mom died, quickly and unexpectedly, from a brain aneurism. She was 47. Just five years older than we are now.
She and Mason’s dad had plans. Dreams of the things they would do once they retired. Plans to take the grandkids to Disney World when they were a little older. Plans to travel together. They, like all of us, thought they had plenty of time.
From the moment Mason lost his mom, we have been living in real time. In right-this-moment time.
It’s not that we don’t plan for the future, we just don’t wait for it. The time to chase our dreams is now. The time to do all those things we want to do in our lifetime is now. Maybe we will live until we are 80 and have plenty of time to fulfill dreams. Maybe we won’t.
The only guarantee is that nothing is guaranteed. And that’s how we live.
So please forgive us if our choice to take this trip offends your sensibilities. This real time we live in urges us to choose living to the fullest right now instead of 25 years down the road. It’s a promise we made to each other after the funeral. And we intend to keep it.
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