We skyped my husband, Brant, tonight. We (my kids and I) are in South Dakota and he is in New York, getting ready to fly to Greenland. This was our “Goodbye Skype”. We talked of events of the day and the kids showed him their gum (the gum in their mouths to be exact) and their art projects – really basic family Skype stuff. But I also had that sentimental feeling you get when you are saying goodbye to someone who is about to embark on a journey or a big adventure.
I will admit that there are times in our marriage when I have not felt such loving feelings about Brant taking off on yet another adventure. My kids were little and I sometimes felt left behind. Tonight I felt a shift in things. I looked at his handsome smiling face and felt a genuine excitement for him and all that he is about to see, accomplish, and experience. Adventures that stretch us and take us out of our normal day to day lives, whether they are in another country or close by, adventures such as the one Brant is about to be on, change us. They become very important chapters in the greater story that makes up who we are and who we are becoming. I am so glad Brant is having this adventure.
It was significant for me that I had these loving feelings and genuine excitement, where sometimes in the past I have not. I felt like maybe the adventures I have been on, both those that took me out of my daily routine, and the daily adventure of marriage, motherhood, and life , have shaped me into someone who gladly allows her partner to venture off and meet the unknown, fulfilling dreams, and maybe even making the world a little more full of possibility for others.
I know there will be more adventures to come, and now that my kids are getting older, I can see a stage beginning when we all get to experience such things together. All of this is so exciting – seeing Brant as he heads out, thinking of adventures I feel soon to embark on, and imagining all the adventures that wait for my children.
As we ended our skype session, I was tempted to say, “Be careful,” but in the spirit of adventure I changed my mind, smiled, and said, “Have fun!”
http://adventurelearningat.org/
