Headed south

Headed south

Wow what a busy season it has been. First we were busy preparing for our trip, trying to get our possessions under control. When we were originally discussing how this would go, it seemed like it wouldn’t be terribly difficult. Well… it’s been harder than I would like to admit, but here I am at 6:22 in the morning enjoying the quiet, pondering our current situation. We are camping in our roof top tents. This is a lot of work. It seems like keeping everyone fed and making trips to the bathroom is a full time job. We are using this time to adjust our setup and re-evaluate our gear (we brought too much stuff). I have come to the conclusion that doing anything with 11 people is difficult. This is a fact. So I am presented with a choice. I can have intentionally positive outlook, or look at the downsides of every little thing. I wish I could say that I have been handling each challenge well, but that wouldn’t be true. The first couple of days went well. Since then my attitude has been following the direction of our trip, SOUTH! I have a long list of agitators, rain, broken taillight, kids snapping at each other, having to pack up camp to go to the store, making a wrong turn in Texas (a 30 min mistake each time). Thirty minutes may be a slight exaggeration. That’s enough whining for now. The truth of the matter is that we are on an adventure. Every really great adventure has difficulty and challenging situations. Whether or not it is a good adventure depends on the attitude of the travelers (pause to clean up one of the little guy’s “accident”).

Morning company

Before we left home, we were watching old Bob Ross painting shows. He often says that we don’t make mistakes. We make happy little accidents. Anna (my wife) was reminding me of this while I was in the middle of a wrong turn in Texas. I think Bob has a point. I have a choice to make, or rather a lot of small choices. Being on an epic journey doesn’t exempt me from keeping a positive outlook or choosing words that build up, rather than tear down. I am learning that my attitude is not circumstantial. I thought I knew this, but somehow forgot. It is a beautiful morning and we don’t have to go anywhere today. I’m really looking forward to walking on some of the trails and going swimming. The kids are looking forward to roasting marshmallows. Everything is looking up, or at least I am.



7 thoughts on “Headed south”

  • Jonathan, today you remind me of your mother. In ever pile of Mud there is that golden grain of sand. I needed your story today. You may not see the brighter side until the sun comes up and you have new rays to brighten your day.

  • What an honest forthright post Jonathan. You are on the right track, and i commend you
    for correcting yourself (attitude) when you realize the necessity…we all live lives full of
    choices, to just let it all fly & React, or to ponder our possible reactions in time to correctly
    Respond instead. This is a sign of spiritual maturity & I am proud of you for being so
    honest (w/ the masses) because everyone can take a lesson from this…e v e r y o n e ! Bless
    you today, enjoying the time with your family of 11…swimming in February…awesome!
    Wishing you a very happy day together enjoying the deep south!

  • I love reading these posts they actually are turning out to be more educational than I thought they would be both on an attitude and traveling I can’t wait to see what happens once you cross the border. And thank you so very much for showing your setup I was very curious about that period when you were packing up and it was sort of halfway hang in there I was like thinking what in the world is that saying but now that I see it all set up that’s actually really cool to way to sort of be self-contained while you’re all asleep I like that. Well good luck guys and safe travels I love you all stay safe.

  • Your words remind me of something we learned from Stephen Covey: “In the space between stimulus (what happens) and how we respond, lies our freedom to choose. Ultimately, this power to choose is what defines us as human beings. We may have limited choices but we can always choose. We can choose our thoughts, emotions, moods, our words, our actions; we can choose our values and live by principles. It is the choice of acting or being acted upon.” Your self awareness is one of your strongest character traits, so I’m sure recent struggles(and those soon to come) shall prepare you and your family to develop the principles required to be successful in this journey. Thanks for sharing the emotional journey with us as well.

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