In 2014 my family took an 18-day trip to 20 states (in the shape of a heart across America). During this trip, we did 1,000 acts of kindness. And then, I wrote an ebook about it. Which you can find here.
*The book is less than $3 y’all. Treat yo’ self!
It’s the first of the month. So at our house this means, it’s a day of food prepping, clothes folding, and domesticated chores. These are the days I really wish I lived on a boat lol.
And these are the days where I see the beauty in having a home and a family to help out. It all has its place in the world.
I have lived in hotel rooms with nothing but my family and a crockpot, and I have lived in really nice homes filled with modern luxuries. And some of my happiest memories came from those simple hotel rooms with happy (much younger) children closed to me (and the giant swimming pool someone else took care of lol).
I have always longed for a home, and I’ve always longed for travel. I think, if I play my cards “right,” I can figure out how to have both someday…
But for today, my household duties call. (And I really need to dye these roots!!! AGH!)
BACK TO THE ROAD TRIP!
So, This was the part of the trip where I got into two accidents in two days. It was very discouraging.
I remember the crash vividly. I remember the loudness. It was so loud and I barely even touched the other car.
I remember screaming for Gabe (my littlest) who was in the backseat of the car in his car seat. He seemed completely unaffected and his usual happy self.
I remember getting out of the car to rush and see if the girl was okay, and then breaking down into uncontrollable tears when I had seen how close the door came to her. This could have been bad.
I remember calling my husband, who was very concerned, but very supportive.
I felt so awful. I felt so guilty. I felt so stupid for taking this trip.
And I’ve done many stupid things on many memorable trips since then…
I don’t think any of us are truly immune to bad things happening. However, I do think I could have been more cautious. I could have been more aware of my surroundings. I could have taken a different turn, or waited a little longer. I know this one was a bad thing that could have been avoided….
And it wasn’t the last bad thing that could have been avoided on this trip…lol… but we will get to that later.
The point I’m trying to make is that we all do stupid things. We all make bad choices. And we can totally keep moving forward in life after doing so.
You are allowed to continue your journey. Mistakes happen. Bad choices don’t always make us bad people. Even if it takes you years to learn a lesson, as long as you learn something from it, you are still making progress. Just keep moving.
It might not end up as you planned, but the sights you see and the people you meet along the way make it all worth it. It is all about the journey.
Okay, enough sage advice lol… I haven’t finished my caffeine intake this morning and I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me today.
Here is the blog entry I wrote on day Eight of our trip:
Day 8: Bloomington, Illinois
“In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. They keep the young out of mischief; they comfort and aid the old in their weakness, and they incite those in the prime of life to noble deeds.” ~Aristotle
Today’s act of kindness was to visit a friend…
Not a big numeral addition to my trip, but with the last two days I’ve had, it was much needed.
So, remember yesterday when I ran into that snowy ditch?
Well, my bad luck continued today when I got into yet another accident.
Maybe I should change my project to 2 crashes in 2 days….or then again…maybe we’ll just stick to the original plan.
I am still a little shaky, but every good story needs some drama, so I am chalking it up to that.
And no worries, everyone walked away okay. Except for my front headlight….
The important thing is, that every one walked away with no injury, and we will still be able to continue on with our trip.
But back to the whole friendship thing…
Today we are visiting our friend Chris in Bloomington, Illinois.
Chris was a friend of ours from college, and one of the groomsmen in our wedding.
It was nice to have a familiar face to visit, and a free place to do some laundry 😉
Plus, we had some killer good pizza.
Well, its time to relax for a little while…
Hope you are all having a good night.
Thanks always for reading.
