I’ve vigorously tested myself in unexpected ways more than half a dozen times in the past decade:
2013: my then-boyfriend/now-husband + I were invited on a 16 day, 225 mile private Grand Canyon rafting adventure. We said yes, shut our businesses down for 30 days, and drove to Flagstaff to meet the group. Sixteen people completely unplugged, carried all food + gear in rafts for 225 miles and through +/- 80 rapids (from riffles to Class 10). I learned how to be bold + brave 14 seconds at time (because those rapids in Grand Canyon are HUGE).
2014: I got married. Forty one years old + first marriage (I waited a long time to find my person). Lessons: trust, how to use my words, and how not to be at war with someone (because he always has my back and isn’t at war with me).
2016: hubs and I rafted all 149 miles of the French Broad River. We were a (mostly) self-supported hella good team. Also, river expeditions are just delightful, especially 13 day immersions.
2017: hubs and I sold everything, moved into a 38′ motorhome and traveled the country. We were reminded again what a great team we are as we got used to this huge, complicated used machine we’d bought. Lots of trouble-shooting, manual reading, and repair shop calling is how I’ll describe the first six months. We eventually traveled 25,000 miles throughout the US, across Canada, to Alaska for four months, Utah for two, and then back to NC. It was AWESOME.
2019: we came off the road to deal with a family member’s illnesses, including an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Family first is a core value and we made a deliberate choice. Alzheimer’s is incredibly hard for everyone. SO fucking hard.
2020: I sat outside in my backyard for up to 30 minutes every single day for a month and did…nothing. I just sat there. I watched. I listened. I smelled, I tasted. I EXPERIENCED my backyard and MYSELF like never before. It’s an incredible practice to be able to be with myself in stillness day after day. It was hard at first and I was peaceful by the end.
2021: two friends, my husband and I kayaked 340 miles from the Atlantic Ocean at the Florida/Georgia line, up the St. Mary’s River, across the Okefenokee Swamp, and down the entire Suwannee River to the Gulf of Mexico. Why did we do this? Because we could.
For each one of these adventures, I have been WILDLY outside my comfort zone, often from the first moment.
But, I have learned that once I make up my mind to do something, I don’t quit. I keep going through bad thunderstorms, overwhelming anxiety, tears, freezing cold, HUGE rapids, hunger, sunburn, anger, frustration, and 100 other big and small things.
I have learned patience, persistence, and resilience; things I didn’t know much about until I really TESTED myself.
Over and over…I’ve found myself worthy.
PS: FB is the place to read about these adventures. Except the Alzheimer’s. There’s no good picture of that. But all the kayaking + rafting? HECK YES!