In Real Life
I've been hiking my local trails as long I've lived in this area as an adult. So, when I came across a new-to-me trail, or segment rather, on my run today, I was giddy. I kept stopping mid-trail to spin in a circle to see the terrain from all angles. Every time I made it to the top of a rolling hill, I climbed up on a boulder, a bench, or a tree stump to see as far as I could see. It was amazing. It's why I run trails. It's why I don't care about my running stats.
It's also why I still feel a sense of adventure though I've been logging the same trail miles for years. There's always something new to discover. Today's hike was an especially appropriate avenue for today's blog topic "in real life." By now you've noticed the title of the blog, I suspect. Clearly, one of the themes is adventure. But why "in real life?" It's a pretty simple answer.
I'm pretty normal. I'm a woman in my mid-thirties (late-thirties?!!?). I'm a wife and mother of two kids, 8 and 7. I'm a stepmom. I'm also a short-order cook, a maid, a chauffeur, a manager, a therapist, well, you get the picture. In addition to that, I'm a writer, a substitute teacher, a coach, a business consultant and a project manager. I do a lot of things, and while in my soul I'm an adventurer and a seeker, I'm also just a normal person living the same kind of normal, chaotic life that everyone I know also lives.
The thing that sets my experience apart is the choice to include as much adventure in my daily life as possible. But it's "real life" adventure. I don't have unlimited income with no responsibilities. I have a job and kids and all sorts of obligations. So, more often than not, my adventures are local, short and comparatively small. I follow some pretty amazing women on Instagram that do incredible things seemingly ALL THE TIME. It's awesome. I'm jealous. I don't get to live that way. So, when I drive 15 minutes from my house to hop on a local segment of the Ice Age Trail, I've got to be able to find the adventure in that.
Some days I'm better at it than others and today was a great adventure day! I was less than a mile from a major highway, but a million miles away all the same. If you listen with just your ears, you can hear the traffic buzzing nearby. You can listen to the screams and laughter of children who live in the houses that sometimes peak through the trees. But if you open your heart, let your mind wander and really listen, you can be startled by a runner not 4 feet behind you because, out there, everything was silent and alive all the same. And that is everything. It is adventure.
I'm grateful for my beautiful life. I have incredible, warm children who tag along on my hikes as often as they let me go on my own. I have a husband who encourages my adventuring in all its forms and broadens our world with his own. I have extended family and friends who, though they don't always understand, trust me enough to just smile when I tell them of my plans. And I am grateful for all the ways I get to escape into the wilderness, in all its forms, even when the wilderness is just down the street. So welcome to my world, adventure in real life.
It's also why I still feel a sense of adventure though I've been logging the same trail miles for years. There's always something new to discover. Today's hike was an especially appropriate avenue for today's blog topic "in real life." By now you've noticed the title of the blog, I suspect. Clearly, one of the themes is adventure. But why "in real life?" It's a pretty simple answer.
I'm pretty normal. I'm a woman in my mid-thirties (late-thirties?!!?). I'm a wife and mother of two kids, 8 and 7. I'm a stepmom. I'm also a short-order cook, a maid, a chauffeur, a manager, a therapist, well, you get the picture. In addition to that, I'm a writer, a substitute teacher, a coach, a business consultant and a project manager. I do a lot of things, and while in my soul I'm an adventurer and a seeker, I'm also just a normal person living the same kind of normal, chaotic life that everyone I know also lives.
The thing that sets my experience apart is the choice to include as much adventure in my daily life as possible. But it's "real life" adventure. I don't have unlimited income with no responsibilities. I have a job and kids and all sorts of obligations. So, more often than not, my adventures are local, short and comparatively small. I follow some pretty amazing women on Instagram that do incredible things seemingly ALL THE TIME. It's awesome. I'm jealous. I don't get to live that way. So, when I drive 15 minutes from my house to hop on a local segment of the Ice Age Trail, I've got to be able to find the adventure in that.
Some days I'm better at it than others and today was a great adventure day! I was less than a mile from a major highway, but a million miles away all the same. If you listen with just your ears, you can hear the traffic buzzing nearby. You can listen to the screams and laughter of children who live in the houses that sometimes peak through the trees. But if you open your heart, let your mind wander and really listen, you can be startled by a runner not 4 feet behind you because, out there, everything was silent and alive all the same. And that is everything. It is adventure.
I'm grateful for my beautiful life. I have incredible, warm children who tag along on my hikes as often as they let me go on my own. I have a husband who encourages my adventuring in all its forms and broadens our world with his own. I have extended family and friends who, though they don't always understand, trust me enough to just smile when I tell them of my plans. And I am grateful for all the ways I get to escape into the wilderness, in all its forms, even when the wilderness is just down the street. So welcome to my world, adventure in real life.
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