Suddenly, there is so much to do. Now that this commitment has been made, a lot has to fall into place. I am really excited, but also have some major concerns.
- Oakley getting hit by a truck. Really. I fear that long, exhausting, boring afternoon peddling behind Oakley and seeing him wander across the white line into traffic over and over. My heart in my throat. Tension throughout my body, yelling at him repeatedly to “Move over!” until I just can’t say it again and a distracted truck driver coming up behind us..
- Leaving my husband, Twain, for 3 months. I have never been apart from him for more than 10 days over the last 22 years and I am pretty used to him. I am lucky, I really love him. I worry about either of us changing while apart and having a hard time fitting together again.
- Leaving Cricket, my dog. She is really important to me. She comes to work with me very day. Will she remember me? Twain and I can facetime but…Cricket.
- Money. Money. Money. This is going to cost a ton. We are doing our best to get funding, but life is expensive. I won’t be working. We have three kids in college and Twain and I have our own student debt. We have a house, car, loans…yadda, yada. Twain is really supportive and believes that it will work out, but I have my doubts. Oaks and I will be building our bikes from recycled parts, we will beg and borrow as much gear as we can. I hope to get sponsorships and maybe even write a book. We will camp and cook our own food but I believe the trip will cost us close to 8,000 and I will lose about 10,000 by not working for 3 months. It is a fantasy that we can afford this.
But, here’s the thing. How can we not go? Life is happening now. This world is not terribly full of hope these days and I want to commit to engaging life and all it’s wonders. I want to trust in the goodness of people and not succumb to that idea that I should play it safe until my clock runs out.
My other children are doing great and they fully support this adventure (especially because they don’t have to go). Now is the time.
