Soul speak

Humbled to understanding I may know why
I have been here before which brought me to you
no pain so great than known defeat
Christ our Lord stood the way only One can stand
Incredulous I stand holding up my palms
Please God bring me within your guidance
I stood too proud and was shown the power
Forgive me Lord Almighty
for I have no excuses and stood unarmed
I put down my Sword unaware
and have been awestruck consumed
The power from above will man the helm
Guide me away from these times I wish not
I will follow
I will follow
My God will I follow
Feel the pain
discover the good
Remembering the pain becomes Known the pain
and humbled yet again
Thank you Lord for calling me yet again
retrieving me from the prey I have been
Please God Almighty... please God Almighty... please God Almighty
For I know my sin
How can it be
ever so sly
theft in front of my eyes
theft in front of my eyes
Leaving me pierced and bleeding with sorrow
Strength comes in the healing wound
Reminders of what brought me near
Thank you Lord Almighty for drawing me deeper as understanding comes clear
Of the realms we tend to forget
Arm me with the belt of Truth and the sword of the Spirit

We are striving to be Christ like suffering wounds along the way. With a firm belief in our Lord - we battle on and pursue the prize. "Forgetting what is behind and straining for what is ahead."  I will follow.
Pick up your sword. If we hold together we will survive. 

AA

5 things to do in preparation for a "getaway" to South America

In July 2009 my wife and I decided to push pause on life for one year and see what it's all about by traveling and volunteering through South America. The experience opened doors to my dreams. South America is a wonderful place to travel, explore, learn Spanish and Portuguese, as well as to experience many diverse cultures, foods, music, and most of all the comfort of genuinely happy people. 

Reflecting on our time there makes me realize just how easy it really is to travel through Latin America.  Preparing for a trip to South America can be overwhelming if you let it, but the following pointers will help propel you into an unforgettable experience:

Buy your plane Ticket – probably the biggest thing as it ensures your departure.  Once you got it – you’re going.  Get it for about two months out at least.  Then you’ll have a timeline and reality underway with an actual date to plan.  It’s amazing how smoothly things come together once the decision is made and you have a countdown.  Your mind automatically switches into an initial survival mode and completely surprises you with the organization that comes together. 

We rented our house out for one year.  Once the mortgage was taken care of and all the other bills associated with the house (as the renter’s would be paying them), it made it very easy to do away with other small bills like cell phones, gym memberships, etc.  We put our phones on standby and sold one of our cars to pay off the loan.    

Make sure you’re passport is good to go and any visas you need are applied for and in process.  Don’t stress yourself with thinking you need all the details set up before your departure.  Worry about the majority of the details when you arrive as it will be far easier to figure out when you’re there as opposed to several thousand miles away.  Just plan the few you need for your arrival and first couple days.  The rest will fall into place. 

Get necessary shots – yellow fever, tuberculosis, hepatitis, tetanus, and malaria pills (although you will most likely not use the pills unless you are within the Amazon).  Some diarrhea pills would be good too.  You will most definitely have battles with the lower half of your body.  It just happens… ______.  It does.  I don’t even have to say the word as we all know the bumper sticker.  Set up an appointment with your Primary care physician or a local Travel clinic that specializes in traveling abroad.  You can choose which shots you want in relation to where you will be traveling.

Call your bank and tell them where you’ll be traveling and for how long to ensure your debit cards will work and you don’t have problems accessing money.  We used our cards more for cash as you can almost always bargain with cash.  Many places will take visa if you don't have any.

Packing - you truly won’t use very many items in heading south.  Go easy in packing.  People always say it, but seriously, pack light.  This also allows extra room for souvenirs and memorabilia you want to bring home.  Wear the same few items often.  You’re not going to be seeing the same people each day.  Take only one large backpack (35 liters is plenty) the 50 liter backpack is too big and tiresome.  Also bring one small bag or backpack.  After you lay everything out on the bed before packing – take away one or two items from each pile.  Be sure to have a nice pair of walking shoes.  Also a “nice casual” pair that are still good for walking and sandals.  I recommend reefs that do not have any fabric type material on the thong section.  The fabric is awesome at holding in the funk of the smell you develop walking around in your flip flops all day.  A small cosmetic bag for your deodorant, toothbrush, shave essentials, and clippers is great to have as well.  Always have a good book to read in your bag along with a small Spanish dictionary – it’s nice to have a quick reference.

All else you need is a few survival tools such as matches or a lighter, a good knife, small first aid kit, and a good LED light – I’d recommend getting the nice head lamp types – hands free baby!  Plan to bring along an IPod or small mp3 player as well.

The number of days you’ll actually be traveling is important for factoring in reality.  All of us want to see everything, but believe me, if you want to experience the beauty of South America in all its ways from culture, to food, to landscape, and everything in-between you must be practical in the amount of time you have and what you can do. 

Otherwise you’ll end up spending most your days and nights traveling by bus or plane and not allowing yourself to get settled a bit.  You’ll also find yourself exhausted and most your memories from transit.

If you have at least 2 weeks (14 days) I’d highly suggest a few destinations for sure to get your feet wet in seeing what South America has to offer.  Machu Picchu, Peru, Iguazu Falls, Argentina, and the “Mercado del Puerto” in Montevideo and the Uruguayan coast.  Each of these destinations you can pull off rather easily, safely, and comfortably on the budget.  These places will allow you to witness some spectacular cities and also two wonders of the world.  Make it happen – buy that ticket to Buenos Aires or Lima.  All else will fall into place.

Definitely bring a digital camera and I also recommend a small “net-book” computer to use for internet access, media storage, and communication with home whether via email or “Skype.”  Technology these days is wonderful.  Its 2011 – internet can be found under rocks.  We took a bus from Punta del Diablo, Uruguay to Montevideo and had WIFI on the bus the entire time – it was awesome!  You can always go to “internet cafés,” but it’s much more convenient having your own small, lightweight, computer to use at the numerous WIFI spots throughout S.A.  Ours was 2.4 pounds and made it very easy to travel with – big fan of net-books.  Whatever comes in our future that serves better than the internet is probably along the lines of “beam me up Scottie.”

Lastly, accept the possibility that you just may never come back.  South America is truly a wonderful place to travel, explore life, and definitely holds the potential to reset priorities.  Especially when finding yourself among the warmth of the cultures, people, and way of life.

Manger

I absolutely love Christmas.  The week building up to Christmas is a wonderful and joyous time - it reflects all over in peoples' hearts at this time.  Peace and love fill the air and show themselves through the multitudes of heart.

Traveling through South America this last year taught me several things.  One of the more fun ones that I've come to recognize was the ability to not impulse buy or spend money for the numerous gifts, memorabilia, trinkets, or art that I wanted to bring home with us.  I had only one main backpack and shared a normal size, everyday backpack with Jen.  That was our butter bag - for the most part.  I would have most likely fought to the death if anyone were to try and take it from us.  BOOM!  Look out boys - this ain't yours!  :) hahaha..... no... who knows though right?!  Come 'ere you little....!  hahaha....

Anyway, we each had one main backpack for all our things for 1 year.  Wow - that was tough at first when packing and deciding on what to bring.  After our arrival we definitely had to have some limits or at least execute very wisely when purchasing anything.  Was a good lesson.  Funny thing was though - given a few months, I thought I had packed way to much and began leaving some clothing behind in places.  I mean I honestly switched between 1 pair of pants, 2 shorts and a few shirts.  Then I had a light Columbia jacket.  No one ever knew if I had worn the same outfit the day before, or two, or past three days... no just jokin', but seriously - I had no idea before traveling how much use you could truly get out of a certain pair of shorts or pants (as long as you didn't spill something on them - which I'm prone to do.  Just ask my wife). I mean - right there's a false assumption we're raised with in this society.  Oop - you wore it today for 4 hours - throw it in the laundry - it's dirty!  Sheeeesh.... yeah right!  Now I really know how it is.  Jenny and I have cut back our cost on detergent and dryer sheets by 40 percent already in the few months we've been back.  Definitely puts some more cushion in other categories of the budget.   HA!  I just made that up - but it sounded great didn't it??! 

So, where was I?  Oh yeah:

Well when Christmas came around I was wondering what in the heck am I going to do with gifts for my bunner?  I gotta get my bunner something and wow are there so many things I want to get her down here.  I had to think and yet again exercise the creative side in me that keeps this beat goin'.  What came to mind for entertaining mi amor since she's one of those intelligent and quick witted individuals was something that wouldn't take up any space, but yet be a fun gift.  I figured I had to make it take some time for the gift reception process to last a tad bit longer.  My little bunner loves puzzles and figuring things out - very good at formulas, solutions, and patience.  Hmmm... sounds like she'd be a good science teacher - oh wait, maybe that's why!  :)

I decided on making her a word scramble that would fit easily inside her bag and cause no extra weight.  I was wondering in the coming days before Christmas what it is that I might put together for the phrase, thought, or sentence of the scramble.  I was also wanting to hit home in myself what the reason of the season and meaning of Christmas was really all about and also share it with her.  After all, I give it all to Him for providing the opportunity to travel with my wife for our first year of marriage as well as the protection and guidance we were shown.  My belief deepened each month as we made it through injury free, healthy, and clear of danger.  I constantly looked to Him through our travels.  In His honor, I wanted to know more about Christmas, the true meaning, and try to grasp it.  I've always known it was Jesus's birthday and what not, but never really thought much more about it.  Then the scramble came to me and with solving it she'd discover the real meaning of Christmas.  Awhile back I had been shown a verse in the bible that puts it into perspective.  Now being the creative dreamer that I am - I definitely decided to read in between the lines and really feel what it may have been like when what the verse talks about happens.  It must have been absolutely terrifying yet wonderful!  I read it and just imagined what I would have done or how I would have responded and what my composure would have been.  I can't wait to find out.  How would you have reacted:

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you:  You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."  Luke 2: 8-12

Merry Christmas all,

Dbl A - ron

Channel and Harness

Explosions would be happening everywhere.  Fireworks would be thundering all around.  Parties and dancing would be taking place as far as you could see and happiness and excitement would encompass you if you could actually shrink yourself to cell size and leap into my bloodstream and chest.  The impulsive passion that hits me is truly some kind of wonder.  If I could keep this alive continuously and constant I would be some type of super hero, but I'm not, so it leaves and basically pulsates into me at it's own surprising schedule.  Luckily it's quite often as I love the outcome and feeling.  How awesome it would be if I could bottle it up and sell it.  I suppose then it would be considered a drug - sure sounds like one.  Maybe it is - a self induced emotion and reaction.  Actually, I think not.

I'm not working today.  I have to listen to thy self and take the time I need in which South America taught me to realize.  Right now I need a day to re coop from a great Thanksgiving and weekend hunting pheasant in south central Nebraska.  Hunting those roosters with my Pops and two good buddies from Omaha I grew up with is always a great time.  We stayed at these "Sportsmens' Apartments" that are fully furnished in a town that is less than 145 people.  All the apartments are rented out from hunters all across America.  We have fun networking with them and learning what each group is hunting.  The place is full of all sorts of hounds and hunting dogs so a good nights sleep isn't likely, but that's ok as we're hunting and sleep doesn't matter.  These apartments are near Harlan reservoir which claims to have the best water fowl hunting in Nebraska.  I believe the lake is close to 12 miles around and over 13,000 acres.  Good size lake.  Most the hunters are there for the duck and geese.  Some are there for the rabbit.  We were there for the pheasant and quail.

Such beauty out there when you're actually walking the fields and hunting.  It truly gives you a sense of peace that can only be found in the country.  Alone, and far away from any farm house, town, or rat race back home.  What a feeling.  It also sheds light on the dangerous conditions that exist with the elements and ways of the wild.  Interesting to see and observe all the different wildlife you come across.  Sometimes they haven't a clue that you're present.  Also interesting to think of the animals that were observing me - while not having a clue.

Several places I would have loved to just lay down with my shotgun and take a nap.  Disappear into the grass like a little insect.  Especially when exhausted, trudging through the tall, wild, grasses of a meadow surrounded by a stream and several acres of picked-corn to the south and to the north more corn and an old overgrown railroad route from which the actual tracks and rails were removed decades ago.  Ducking into the grass and just letting it's thickness support your weight as you roll to a side could easily become a bed for a few hours.  Vanishing from the sight of anything and keeping you safe from the cold, late November wind.

I also need this day for creativity, rest, and mental preparation for the objectives ahead in terms of finances and income as well as spiritually to be where I want to be in the coming days.  I believe taking this time and putting life first and work second helps replenish the energy and drive I hold to make happen what I need to happen for my family, our happiness, and well-being.  Thank you God for giving me the time in South America to function mentally, physically, emotionally, and most of all Spiritually the way in which is best for me... and that connects me to you, Jenny, life, and work.

It is now noon and I've got a lot accomplished in terms of the personal life and filling the urge for my creative side.  I have an afro rockin' out from wearing a stocking hat the last few days over my long, curly hair, and a good 4 day beard from hunting in which I cannot WAIT to shower in the next few minutes and then shave off (or just clean up a bit with some nice angled shaves).  Gotta keep the beard.  It's super cold outside, gusty, and thick gray skies are lurking above trying to snow.  The streets are glowing from the sheen of freezing water and ice.  Definitely a cold, true winter day we all read about in the story books.  Glad I'm choosing to live this day instead of work. 

How's your story shapin' up?

Until next time, warm and comfortable, from my den.

AA

Riding the Wave

Before we left for this trip I heard all sorts of encouragement and astonishment from people that we were actually going to leave our home, careers, doggies, and everything to just take off and travel the world for a year – not really understanding how we could do such a thing.  I had several questions come at me quite often.  Several people even subtly inquired whether we had an inheritance or wedding gift of some large cash value.  I just smiled with these few inquiries and just felt even more blessed about our decision and direction to push pause on life and travel for 1 year.  Sell one of your cars, get rid of the cell phones, find homes for your dogs, rent your house out, and put your belongings in storage.  It's much easier to pull off than most people give credit - it's just the way we've been raised - our norms and structures of society that cause most people confusion and the absolute feeling that this cannot be done or isn't the right thing to do.  I don't know where my 401K will be due to the fluctuations of the market and what will happen with Social Security in 30 years so I was all about going now when  I'm young and able to do more adventurous things while traveling than to risk waiting until I'm "retired" and hopefully having a strong 401K and hopefully collecting Social Security.  I may fall over dead before that time as well!  If you got the window - go for it!  If you wait to see - you miss the opportunity.

The questions I was worried about or didn’t like hearing seemed to stick in my head more than just the fun ones I enjoyed hearing like where all are you going to go?  What are you taking?  Where will you sleep?  Do you speak Spanish or Portuguese?  I didn’t want to have any doubt in the decision we made and with so many questions coming at me from a variety of people it was relatively easy to start doubting when hearing questions not so fun and that emphasized potential hardships upon our return.  Questions such as:  What about your career?  What are you going to tell employers when you return?  That won’t look good on your resume.  What about the economy and job market? - It will be tough to find a job when you get back with thousands already out of work and looking.  What about this and what about that? 

All in all, I guess the rebellious nature I’ve had since I was young magnified at these moments and actually made it clearer that this is what I wanted.  I guess I'm still a little kid and if you tell me not to do something - that's all the motivation I need to go do it.  The other driving force and motivation was the challenge I would face upon returning in obtaining another good position and career track.  Challenge has always sparked interest in me and fueled my desire – same as many people say about themselves.  I feel it too!  

I will never forget how incredible this experience was for us.  Absolutely the best year of my life and worth every second.  It was wonderful, challenging, exciting, emotional at times, educational, fun, and overall - has created a deeper sense of awareness of what’s important to me and who I am.

I see this in myself weekly now that we've been home and in the way I look at the company I now work for.  I negotiated my salary down by $10,000.  Yes down!  One of the owners of the company just started laughing and said to me, "Let me get this right - you're selling me on why I should pay you $10,000 less per year?  Done!  No problem."  I just smiled at the fact that he said that.  I don't care about money like I used to - don't get me wrong I still want to make money and be comfortable and be able to save some money after the bills are paid, but pay me a little less.  I don't want these extremely high expectations anymore and constant pressures hanging over me that aid in bad moods, lack of sleep, consuming thoughts of work and less time for my family, things I enjoy, and bottom line - life itself. 

I can honestly say the time spent in South America was long enough for me to really understand what's important to me.  I will still make the money I need to make to be where I want to be for my family and our goals, but I am now all about the quality of life in having the time in general to do what we want to do with as minimal stress as possible that is manageable.  Pay me with flexibility and freedom - that's enough motivation for me to reach the desired results and goals for myself and the company.

The crazy thing is that with the worry and nervousness I had before we left of not being able to find a job in this market upon our return (which wasn't much as I knew I'd just cross that bridge when getting there), or having my resume look bad with a year gap, and the thoughts expressed by several lingering in my head that I'm potentially giving up my career all turned out better than I could have imagined.  It  turns out I've ended up in the best situation EVER for work now.  I truly feel everything worked out better than if I never would have left for this adventure with my wonderful wife.  Praise God Almighty!

I now work as a consultant and sales manager for Collective Networks - a Master Agent for telecommunications and managed IT services.  It's great as we truly have a solution for all companies as we have the ability to offer all the different providers and carriers in Colorado as well as several other states and regions.  The best part about it is that the owners were past colleagues and managers of mine, in which I highly respected, at the company I left in order to take this trip.  The integrity, friendship, and expertise created with them around business at this past company established the foundation, trust, assurance, and loyalty I desire and now have to have in a culture and work environment.  I have finally found my ideal workplace.  I have to give it all to the Lord for providing the assurance and confidence in deciding to push pause on life for one year.  He had and has the plan.  It gave me the time I obviously and unknowingly needed to find out my priorities, what's most important, where my strengths and passions are, and most of all - how I want to live.  Thank you God Almighty.

Onward and upward...

AA

Falling into place

The day we decided to take this journey was an exciting day and it’s such a fun story to tell people.  One of the first things we did was terminate our contract and offer on the house (even though it was pulled from short-sale our offer and contract still stood), and Jenny emailed her science department’s coordinator informing him of what she was wanting to do, our plans, and asking was this possible.  Unbelievably, we received even more assurance in this decision as he emailed her back within a few days describing how wonderful of a decision it is to do something of this nature, that he himself had done the same thing a few years back, and that no problem he would approve it.  She would have to run it by the principle for the final ok, but with his approval it shouldn’t be a problem.  The icing on the cake was when he asked if she would be coming back?  It’s in their districts policy that teachers are allowed a 1 years leave of absence (every 6 years) with approval and they’re guaranteed their job back upon their return!  Are you kidding me??? 

We couldn’t believe it.  Now only if corporate America was so kind for my decision as well – yeah right!  I knew from the moment we even started discussing the possibility that I would have to resign and risk not ever climbing the corporate ladder and reaching the status of goals formed in college and my first professional years.  I knew I would have to completely start over and earn my stripes again.  It didn’t bother me at all though, after all, I’ve always been strong willed, opinionated, and one of many surprises.  I was actually very happy to turn in my resignation.  Especially since the director of my department wasn’t my ideal type of leader.  I truly had no reservations about leaving a good position and foregoing the possibility that this may change my future and possible success in the corporate world.  I was ready to just go out and live life for a year, discover what it’s all about, learn more about myself, my wife, and our relationship, what’s most important to me, and the desires of my heart.

Ok, time to eliminate bills, find homes for our four dogs, and make preparations for a year away.  First off we needed a date of departure so Jenny took care of that by looking for some great deals price wise (which set the tone for our entire trip) – thanks to her we came in $1.81 under budget for our trip!  She found us flights to Buenos Aires departing from Orlando on 09/09/09 for just over $700 total – that included both of us!  We happened to end up flying LAN which I highly recommend.  The date was just under 2 months out.  Now we had a timeline to work with in accomplishing all our goals for the departure.  Obviously we had some major priorities to take care of first – homes for our 4 doggies and to find a solid renter for the house. 

My parents quickly agreed to take our little rat while we’d be gone; whoops, did I say little rat??  I meant our little Miniature Pincher, Hunie.  She could definitely pass for a rat though with what she gets into and also the size of her brain… No, she’s ok though, she’s just so cute and adorable when she sleeps and cuddles up with you that it makes you want to squeeze out what little brains she has and all the other times bearable.  My Mom wasn’t the happiest (even though she handled it well and played it off great) about taking on Hunie.  Let’s just say she’s probably more excited for our return to have her carpets steam cleaned than to see us.  Not really, but maybe that will create a little more perspective for you.

Dog one taken care of – now on to doggie number two, Kahlua.  This was a difficult one for Jenny as to start out 3 of the 4 dogs were hers in our relationship.  Yes I agree, she’s a bit of a fanatic about these little furry companions!  We really only had one option for Kahlua unless we were going to have some complete strangers take her for the year. That option was to leave her with someone she actually knew – a person from a past relationship of Jen’s.  He agreed to take her, but wanted to keep her for good.  This was a tough decision although it turned out for the best for everyone.  Kahlua got to be with some familiarity and a good home while at the same time we’ll have slimmed down to 3 doggies upon our return (4 is definitely a lot to handle) while I also believe you have to have some type of permit if you have more than three dogs. 

It was a difficult day the day Kahlua left – especially for Jenny.  I was having a yard sale at my house trying to raise extra travel funds and also clean house of all the things I had that I really didn’t need or which I hadn’t used in several years.  The yard sale also aided in the size of storage unit we would end up renting – definitely didn’t want to pay for storing a bunch of things I don’t even care about or need.  While roaming around the front yard positioning things and enjoying the sales side of it Jenny showed up with Kahlua so Rook (my doggie) and I could say our goodbyes.  It’s pretty strange in wondering what a dog goes through in a transition like that.  We’re just happy she knew who she was going to be living with.  Jenny called me later that day after she had dropped her off – she was crying so much she couldn’t even make words – I just sat there and listened to be there for her.  I’m pretty sure I brought her over flowers later when I had wrapped up the yard sale.

Booker, Jenny’s first doggie was going to road trip with us on our way to Florida (where Jenny grew up and parents live).  We had a few stops planned along the way to see some friends and family before the overseas trip and Charleston, where Jen’s brother lives, was the stop for Booker.  So that left me and finding a home for Rook.  Not the easiest task in the world when he’s a purebred German Shorthaired Pointer hunting dog and grew up for the last 2 ½ years on close to two acres.  He was used to getting all the running, exercise, rabbits, squirrels, and birds he could get his paws on along with having a wonderful area to roam. 

Rook definitely needed to be somewhere he could run – I’ve never in my life seen a dog that loved to run so much!  Fast too!  The only dog that I ever saw run faster than him (at all the dog parks I used to take him to) was a Greyhound.  I was proud of him for sure!  If I couldn’t find a home for him that had some space – it would have been bad for the people that took him in and for Rook as well.  Just too much energy!  He definitely needed somewhere to release it.  After a couple trial runs that fell through and with about 3 weeks until we were leaving Denver I got word of some interest from the Outdoor Life professor at the university my Mom works at.  All I could do was pray that this would work out – it sounded great.  He did a lot of hunting, fishing, camping and actually had a hobby of professionally training hunting dogs for several years in the past and now does it for fun with his own dogs. 

I called to set up a time to meet and introduce Rook to him, his family, and his 2 female Chocolate Labs.  On my way to his home for the first time I couldn’t help but ask God to let this be an awesome fit and a good place for Rook.  I prayed all sorts of things as if Rook was my little kid.  I couldn’t help it though – I love Rook like he’s my little kid although I know as soon as I really have a child (4 months away) the thoughts and love will not even compare.  As we arrived in Evergreen I quickly realized his house overlooks a large meadow and pond with all sorts of training space and room for Rook.  Around back he had built two year round kennels outside with shelter from the Colorado cold and snow as well.  One was for his older lab and the other was for his new lab pup.  He had a third up in Estes Park he was going to bring down if things worked out with Rook. 

It couldn’t have been a better match.  We let the dogs run around and get to know each other as we chatted and got to know a little about each other.  Soon thereafter we were showin’ what training we had givin’ our pups in the obedience and hunting arenas.  I was so impressed with how Rook was performing for him and was just Daddy proud.  After about 30 minutes of playin’ fetch and what not with Rook we switched over to his older lab Zoe.  To be honest – I’m not even sure how you begin to train a dog the commands she knew.  I was amazed to say the least.  I couldn’t believe that dogs could really be that well trained – it had to take forever I thought.

I brought Rook out about 2 or 3 more times and left him for a day or 2 to get him a little more comfortable and used to his new temporary home and master.  I tell you what – the first 6 months away from him was very hard.  I had no idea.  I literally had dreams about Rook several times a week.  I knew he was in awesome hands though by the little communication with Steve I had and hearing his (and his families) feelings for Rook.  I was just hoping Rook would still want to come home with me when I returned to pick him up after a year of being away. 

The funny thing was after having all these thoughts I received a Facebook message from him saying, “Quick note:  You might never get Rook back… Send a bag with $5 mil in $5 bills to an address we will send you later from Canada…  He’s doin’ good.”  It made me happy to know my boy was doin’ well!

Assurance

How our final decision to travel for 1 year actually came about is quite interesting.  I have always held a desire to travel for an extended amount of time or what I really like to say is just take off and fly by the seat of my pants somewhere and leave everything behind to see what’s out there and what the world’s all about.  I had put the seed in Jenny’s head several times, but never really tried to convince her or sell her on the idea cause as I mentioned earlier – it was still a dream and something that I didn’t think I’d truly be able to pull off.  

It was now April, 2009 and we were planning to marry in July.  We both lived in separate houses and wanted to buy a new home after we were married to help start our new life together.  We started looking and believe it or not we only looked at about 7 houses when we realized the neighborhood and house we already knew we wanted was actually the very first house we looked at!  The house was awesome!  It had a wonderful backyard for the 4 dogs that would also be living there – that’s right four – absolutely nuts I know!  There were several large, mature trees in the backyard along with several nice bushes, shrubs, plants, and flowers – most of which would have been most likely ruined with four dogs.  The main thing though was that there were numerous large trees and lots of bigger shrubbery for the dogs to be able to have some fun chasing squirrels and rabbits and also so we could have a relaxing and peaceful yard to retreat to after a long day at work.  It also had 2 areas to reach the backyard from the house – one little deck area and then a nice brick patio area with a trellis where the grill and an outside reading / eating area would be. 

The rest of the house was great as well with 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 fireplaces, a large kitchen and a nice finished basement with a small kitchenette.  I mean the house was fantastic for us and especially that it was only TWO of us!  I mean geez, obviously we needed that amount of space and especially FOUR bathrooms!  Ask me on that opinion now...  We let our realtor know we wanted this house and came to find out it was a short-sale (the stage before foreclosure).  Our realtor informed us these can tend to take awhile and we figured no problem since we had a few months until our wedding anyway.  We made an offer and began the waiting game. 

In this time of waiting I began saying little things to Jenny here and there like, “man, we should just take our money and travel.” I wasn’t totally serious when saying this, but I more or less wanted to see what her reaction was.  If she was to agree to it I would have dropped everything in a heart-beat.  Well after waiting nearly 3 months waiting for this perfect house we saw ourselves raising kids in we got an answer.  Our realtor called us and told us the house has been removed from a short-sale – this happened to be a Friday (June 26, 2009).  The banks found out the sellers had other assets they hadn’t disclosed.  Therefore, knowing they could still get their money owed (from the sellers) the house was taken off the short-sale status. 

Jen and I were pretty bummed to say the least.  So the next day Saturday I mentioned to her as we were driving down the road that we should seriously take our down payment money and travel the world for a year.  I told her, when else are we going to be able to do this?  When we retire and are much older and don’t have the energy or fearlessness to try numerous adventures or visit several areas and regions?  I also sold her on the fact that we don’t have kids yet and that surely when we have kids it would be a long time before we’d be able to make it happen.  Also on how awesome it would be to be able to do this together as lovers, best friends, and partners.  Every valid point that could have possibly been said was just flowing freely out of my mouth as if this was a destiny!  We had saved enough money for the last 2 ½ years that even if we used all our down payment money we would still come back to a good cushion. 

I couldn’t believe all the points I was making and how easily they were coming to my mind.  The main thing I was shocked by (and which must have kept fueling my sales pitch) was that she had no strong rebuttals or objections and the ones she did have were easily overcome.  I think she might have been experiencing a certain amount of fear or confusion in trying to accept the reality of just up and leaving our careers, house, dogs, family, friends, etc for a year.  I can understand as that is one of the toughest obstacles in making a decision like this.  It didn’t at all stop me from busting out laughing with the realization and happiness that I had sold her on the idea!  She must have known exactly what I was thinking because she just looked at me and smiled speechlessly acknowledging the fact that I had several valid points and there really was no reason not to do this.  I was pumped – success for the first time in truly trying to sell her on leaving and traveling for a year.  The door had just been slightly opened. 

The next morning we did our normal Sunday morning routine.  I left my house a little before 9:00am to pick her up, grab some coffee and a bagel, and then head to church – little did we know how impacting this service would turn out to be for us and the next year of our lives.  The entire sermon was about the sabbatical year, pushing pause on life, and filling up on God.  Our pastor was encouraging everyone, if possible, to take every seventh year off of work, use the time to reflect, focus, and deepen our Spiritual journey.  Basically, (and I love the way he put it) just 'push pause on life!'  Right in the middle of this sermon and as he was mentioning everything, the reasoning and taking off a year, Jenny and I simultaneously turned and looked at each other with huge smiles and just laughed... the door was now definitely open! 

I don’t believe we could have ever had any better direction for doing what we were considering doing.  It was absolutely incredible.  I can’t even describe the feeling and emotion we had during and after that service.  How could we possibly not go on this journey now?!  We felt we had just gotten the assurance and "ok" from the Lord Himself.  Ironically, it was our seventh year of work coming up as we had both graduated in 2003.  It was June 28, 2009 and that’s the day we decided “Yes” we will go for it.  We will take a year off, push pause on life to see what it’s all about, and most of all -  fill up on God as much as we know how or at least try and put him first in all we do. 

What a feeling it is when you finally and actually decide that you’re going to do this for sure.  Suddenly, everything around you seems so much lighter as your perception changes and is now something it’s never been.  It's almost as if you were just fitted with some new type of lens or vision.