Reactions to our trip among friends, family and colleagues have been mixed.  We are fortunate that we have a wonderfully supportive extended family.  Thus hints of disapproval are subtly displayed…perhaps in a nervous smile or quizzical look.  I read through the lines concern for the kids – one of whom particularly does not adapt well to change.

In the end, there are many reasons NOT to take this trip…just a few:

• Work
• School
• Aging Family Members
• Beloved Dog
• Newly Remodeled House
• Money
• Fear

What’s helped propel me forward?  Knowing that I have yet to read of a family who has done this who hasn’t said it was the most amazing family experience.  My kids live a blessed life – they are loved and they want for not.  I’d like to show them a world without shopping trips to the mall (I will be secretly thrilled to never have to enter another Justice store again!), the quest for the next video game system, and pleas to go to Menchie’s.

And it’s not as if Kyle and I aren’t immune from the accumulation of stuff – we are just as guilty.  Case in point, Michael Kors shoes that I’ve worn only once because they nearly crippled me.

ouch

One of my siblings spent last year teaching in South Korea and he took this picture while traveling in Vietnam.  Ahhh, perspective.

Abe in Vietnam

This is not a mid-life crisis.  It’s personal evolution.