In Motion

We are a family who likes movement.  Movement, through sport, is really what brought us together as a family in the first place.  Our lives have been moving forward very nicely for a number of years.  We have been truly blessed to have wonderful kids and a supportive extended family.  We live in what we think is the best community in Canada and we have what we are convinced is the greatest network of friends and colleagues possible.   It would be easy to just stay still and relish the goodness of it all.

As most of you who are reading this likely know, however, this past year has been difficult for us.  My brother fought for his life and lost as did others in our circle of friends.  We did not just weep for family and friends but also for our “first born”.  Our cherished family dog Tinker, who brought smiles to our faces every day she was with us, left to chase bigger sticks in doggie heaven.  As fifty closes quickly in, it seems as though the transient nature of our lives is becoming ever more apparent.  Time marches on, our kids are getting older and so are we.  All of the clichés are true and we just never know what lies ahead.

So…. we decided to try a different variation of something we are pretty good at – moving.   For the next year we will be on the move exploring Asia.  In the past we have given a fair bit of lip service to the benefits of international travel with our children.  We have admired many family friends who have taken the plunge and have only had good things to say about how their extended adventures have added richness to their family lives.  Maybe this is our mid life crisis, our attempt to recapture the carefree days of our younger travelling selves.   Whatever it is, we are moving forward with it and, in the long run, it will likely cost us less than buying that fancy car or that garage full of fancy sports equipment, common entrapments of mid life crisis.  It will also, we hope, be better for our children and for our family memories.

Once we decided to get on the move, we pulled things together is what seemed like record time.  Within a couple of months we prepared our house to leave for a year, found an amazing family to rent it to, made arrangements to leave Rob’s business in good hands and completed as much as possible, my contract obligations.  With the help of a solid distance learning model, we hope we have figured out how the kids will keep up with their school curriculum while we are on the road.   What we haven’t really figured out is how the next year will evolve.  We were so busy planning to get away that we haven’t really planned what we will do now that we are away.  Neither have we, until now, three weeks into our trip, started putting fingers to keyboard and recording things.

Thus far into our trip already we have, as is to be expected, had good days and bad.  We have been completely awed by some of the wonders of the world.  We have at times reveled in and at times wanted to run away from the chaos of Bangkok and China.  We have run in the sand, swam in the ocean and played together as a family.  We have laughed and cried and wanted to go home.  Every day I think of my brother and he is with us as we travel in a way that he wouldn’t be if he was alive.  When times get bad I will continue to think of him and the amazing strength and courage he had as he dealt with his inevitable death.  Never complaining and never losing his humor he became, in his illness, an inspiration.  Thank you Gordy for giving us the strength to move forward with this adventure – You are with us every step of the way.