How do you pick a beginning? Where is the right place to start this story?
Maybe it was a little girl playing explorer in the Boundary Waters and a little boy learning to surf and falling in love with the ocean in Southern California decades ago.
Maybe it was the first vacation we took as a couple to Boston after dating for only a few months.
Maybe it was 10 1/2 years ago when we made a vow to have fun together no matter what and always support one another’s dreams.
Maybe it was the process to moving to the east coast 5 1/2 years ago when we got rid of all of our things and realized how fun exploring new territories can be.
Maybe it was two years ago in Europe when we really began dreaming of an epic adventure.
Maybe it was the loss of our two dogs this past summer where we realized that we no longer had responsibilities that were keeping us in one location.
Maybe it was setting the target date.
Maybe it was the first person we said it out loud too. Someone who had done something similar and would become an amazing sounding board.
Maybe it was clicking purchase on the tickets that would take us on the first leg of the adventure.
Maybe it was the moments we told our families. There was so much support and excitement.
Maybe it was the day we bought the 46L backpack to carry our things.
Maybe it was the day we officially resigned from our jobs.
Maybe it was the day we turned in our keys and said goodbye to our empty home.
Maybe it is today. The day we actually leave the United States.
It doesn’t really matter. The journey leading up to this moment has been fun and has involved a lot of coordination and so many lists. But there is such a journey ahead of us.
We are most likely pacing through the airport now to wear ourselves out or watching the millions of episodes of shows we downloaded for the plane ride. But in 24 hours, we will be in New Zealand and there are not words to describe our excitement.
