Life....a Spectator Sport?

On Boxing Day this year, we began our adventure to Florida.  We don't fly, we drove; as a large family who enjoys going places, it's what we've always done.  Our mantra:  "part of the journey is in the getting there".  True in road trips and true in life.

11 people (3 under the age of 8), 3 vehicles, 2 days.

You may not believe me if I tell you it was fun and I don't know that everyone who took part would agree, but for me there is something about the getting there that I enjoy.  There's a mindset, a groove....and on this trip we had several vehicles and many drivers which provided us with lots of mobility. 

Though the resort we were at shared one of Disney's boundaries, we didn't "do Disney".  We wanted flexibility; wanted to enjoy what the resort offered, enjoy some family time as well as leave time and room for people to do their own thing.  Brad and I sacrificed a morning and sat through one of those high pressure sales things....the reward?  4 free passes to Gatorland and the balance at a reduced cost.  Kids had great fun. 

One afternoon Meg and I took Declan, Rhys and Tess to a petting zoo.  I know...it's a long way to go to a petting zoo, but this one was on steroids.  Lots of animals, some familiar and some not-so-much.  They offered a hay ride, train ride and pony rides.....the kids even had an opportunity to milk a dairy cow and on our way out Declan, Rhys and Tess got to choose a stuffed toy!  Tess and Rhys took advantage of any opportunity to go into the pens.  Declan, however, wasn't as eager.  He went with me into the sheep pen and he held a baby chick, but he wasn't near as excited as his younger siblings to meet the goats or chase chickens and ducks around despite encouragement from Meg and I.  He told me he enjoyed watching and eventually we stopped suggesting he take part.  He's got a quick mind and a wicked imagination, but when it comes to some things, he seems content to be a spectator.  It bugged me.

I've done that.....not all the time, but all too often I've been content to observe as others live out their dreams, despite huge encouragement to the contrary.  For a long time I believed.....me, myself and I.....that my role in life was to encourage and support others and though I want to be that person, it should not exclude me from pursuing my own dreams and passions. 

Life is definately NOT a spectator sport.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  (John 10:10 ESV) 

You can check out our adventure in pictures here:  http://www.tripcolor.com/user/2039/trip/6da0f049-4732-4266-a578-59b7969e0356?ref=nf#spot-59521 

 

   

Get-away

Yesterday my husband blessed me by telling me it was my turn to get away.

Woot! Woot!

I don't get away on my own (sans Brad or any number of children) often .....in fact the only time I can think of being away on my own in recent years was a couple weeks ago when I had to return to St. Joe Island for a family funeral.....not exactly the sort of get away one looks forward to. When you work for yourself, there are no paid vacations. You pay for the vacation before you go and then you pay for it again when you return in time.

Big family + self-employment = fewer vacations. I'm not complaining, it's the choice we've made.

But I'm excited....I've invited a friend along and we don't know where we're going yet but the anticipation and planning is half the fun.

When Brad worked for the Federal Justice Department and we lived in Yellowknife we had 3 great family vacations well, I missed the 1st one 'cause I started working for the Mounties and whey wouldn't give me the time. Brad drove back to Ontario with 5 kids.....that's a great story, but I digress. We took the entire month of January (Yellowknife = very cold + very dark) and hit the road.....it was awesome (and I don't use that word often). There wasn't "a" destination, but several: the one I most enjoyed was a circuitous route that included stops in Calgary, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Disney Land....well, you get the idea. We had no end of trouble on that particular trip with the vehicle we drove. It was a big white suburban with polar bear license plates.....we looked like a moving snow bank. The rear heater stopped working as we were driving out of the territories (in - 30 degree weather); the radiator went when we were driving through the desert; a belt broke in one of the front tires as we were driving through the red woods of BC and we lost power driving through the rockies. Add to that a problem that no garage seemed able to fix (even a chev specialist in Vegas); the burb would keep going slower and slower until Brad would just pull over, shut off the vehicle and wait......10 minutes, 20 minutes......whatever; eventually it would start fine and off we'd go again. But ya' know, it didn't ruin the journey but added to the flavour of what was already a great journey and provided us with some great memories and stories to tell!

A good trip reminds me our spiritual journey....it isn't just about the destination (though it's gonna be fabulous) but about enjoying the ride, "the journey" and even those hard things add to the flavour of our lives and leave us better off than we were.

So cool......

Where to go, where to go... Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Boston (love Boston), New York City.....I've always wanted to go to New York City but Brad has no desire to go there......I don't know but I don't care. It's gonna be fun 'cause I'm bringing a friend along for the ride.

Oh yeah.....the big old white suburban ran like a top for the final 2 hours of our month long trek. In fact, Brad's ankle got sore from holding his foot off the gas!

Go figure.

I'm stealing an idea I got from Tracy's blog (thanks Trace).....what great get-aways have you enjoyed? Did you encounter any problems along the way and, if so, did the problems add to your enjoyment or take away from it?

Anybody got an idea as to where we should go??