They say that it’s the journey, not the trip. And as my family and I embark on our carefully planned trip across these great states that fill the culture of our nation, we gladly accept the unknowns of the journey that come hand in hand with us along the way.
I can remember years ago, while I was still in elementary school, when I was in third grade or even beyond. My mom had always talked about going as a family on a year-long trip around the country. It was an exciting thought, to travel the country together in an RV for a year. And all through fourth and fifth grade I still heard my mom talking about this grand trip we would go on. Last year, in sixth grade, my mom knew that she only had a few years to actually make it happen. We knew that I wouldn’t be able to make our dream a reality when I climbed up the ladder into high school. This year, my mom told me, sometime in the winter, that we were going on a three month trip around the country. That it was actually going to happen. We may not be going for a whole year, and we aren’t going in an RV, but I accept the opportunity none the less. Now a 7th grader, four or five years of talk has culminated into this trip across the United States, with my family, and with myself, in nature, in the culture of the states, in the joy of living, in hozho.
And I acknowledge and accept with open arms, the journey that will find us and take us for a ride called life.