3-month break from real life.

For this second day of Blogtember, the prompt is:

 If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? 

   Oooo, that's a tough one.  And this blog post is taking an embarrassing amount of time to write because I keep switching things up and changing my mind!  There are so many ways this thing could go.  It's tricky because it didn't say "current job" it said "current life".  So what does that mean, exactly? If I didn't live in Oregon?  If I didn't have kids?  If I wasn't married?   Then that starts to seem too broad....like, anything?  Like, be a rocket scientist, an Olympic athlete or brain surgeon?  As in, I could do anything I want, even if I'm not capable of doing it?  I just start to get a little confused.  Clearly I am over-thinking this whole thing. 

3 months off from my current life, doing anything in the world.......

   After much thought, and coming up with multiple options each too precious to discard, I think I've come up with a compromise of sorts:  Fitting them all into the 3 months.

   For the first month of our journey, we would start off camping our way through the United States in our newly acquired Airstream.  The purpose of the road trip would be to visit as much family and friends as possible in one month's time, while also experiencing all the states have to offer.  Grand Canyon, Times Square, southern BBQ...you get the picture.

via

via

via

via

   The kids would have no reason to get bored as there would always be something to see out the window as we traveled the good ol' USA.  I'm already salivating thinking of all the festivals and BBQs and small town parades to frequent, not to mention the breathtaking state parks to pitch a tent in, lakes to dip in, fires to build, flannels to snuggle in and stars to sleep under. What more could you ask for?

Well, apparently you could ask for more, because I still have two months to burn. 

   For our next month, we would all be boarding a plane headed for Thailand to do a little mission work.  Ever since attending missionary school there for almost 5 months back in 2007, I have wanted to return someday with my family.  It is a breathtaking place, and has a way of getting under your skin and never really fully letting you go.

via

via

via

via

via

   As is in all dreams, the details are a bit fuzzy.  I don't know if we'd be helping teach English to Thai school children or prayer walking in the red light district.  It is a country ripe for the harvest, but the workers are few, so maybe perhaps even in our small, limited way with two little children at our heels we could find SOME way to be of help.  

   And now for phase 3.  For the last leg of our 3-month sabbatical from real life, we would board yet another plane, this time head to a destination even I cannot guess at.  It could be Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, Peru, Greece....I have not an inkling of an idea.  All I know is that we would hopefully stay near some sort of water, and we could spend time in the sun and sand and waves every, single, day.  Our only two ambitions would be to relax, and connect with each other.  Can you even think of anything more perfect?  

via

via

via

via

I guess it wouldn't really matter where, because we'd all be together.

    I will just leave you with this one, last single picture of a place that seems straight out of a Dr. Suess book.  Can it be real?  Do places like this really exist?  Photos like these are ones that sink down deep into my marrow and breathe the wanderlust into them until my skin feels stretched too tight and the air all around me a little too thick and my whole body whispers "GO, GO OUT INTO ALL THE WORLD." 

Someday, perhaps someday, some small part of these dreams will come true. 

via

via

So what is it that YOU would do?