Nov 01, 2013

The expected reaction from friends, family, coworkers and strangers alike was supposed to sound like that. Confusion, exasperation, exclamation.

What happened really couldn’t be further from that. Virtually everyone I let in on my plans to leave the country, my house, my job, my everything (apart from my wife) to travel for an indefinite amount of times to countries far and wide, had the same reaction.

THAT IS AWESOME!

I am soooooooo jealous.

I would LOVE to do that.

I do not know why I didn’t see it coming. Maybe it’s because, as my wife would say, I am a pessimist. I like to think of myself as a realist. Either way, my outlook on things that seem to teeter between good and bad, I tend to think it will be the latter. Maybe I have been burned by optimism in the past, maybe I am just a grouch (which I am not). I was ready to counter people’s arguments and negativity about this adventure.  I had my counter arguments ready. If all else failed I was ready to tell them to fuck off because it’s my life and my choice.

I understand people have concerns, but it is the normal, stuff; Being safe, staying healthy. The same things I am concerned about. It is the stuff people who care about you are supposed to worry about.  Other concerns were a little more specific, but no less realistic. Things like border crossings with overzealous militants waiting to fuck with the overfed Americans and only putting down their AKs long enough to do a couple lines of the local coke and invade my cavities with a flashlight. (Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen (which it shouldn’t))

The most common negative most people could come up with was us being missed and missing major parts of their life. Their weddings, them having kids, them moving out of the central hub we all call home.  Their moving forward in life and us not being there to share in it. Them leaving us behind.

None of those things people could or did say even came close to the outpouring of positivity I have received. People want to hear our plan. People want to share in our dreams and share in them in some way. The love I’ve gotten has been so encouraging it has truly validated our decision.

This is the best example of how being wrong is not a bad thing. Many times it is a damn good thing. I hope to be this wrong a lot in the future. It can only mean good things are on the horizon.

Please add a comment