Discover

My mom has a nickname which was given to her by my friend Angel. She likes to call mom "Alice G. O. " (gee oh!) My mom is the most energetic retiree I have ever known and considers it a bad day when she has to stay home and has nothing planned. Hence the G. O. moniker. She is always on the go! In addition to a 6 week auto tour of The South this spring, she just informed me, quite casually, that yesterday she booked a trip to Panama for August. How exciting!

I was raised with the privilege of going on a lot of different adventures with my family and my mom. As a result, I, too, get the wanderlust that my mom has for exploring, discovering, and seeing as much of this world as I can. Poor Kevin has had to learn to adjust to my need to "go" and is a great travelling companion. It doesn't have to be anywhere exotic for me to be satisfied... just Somewhere!

One of the tricky aspects of having such a large family is trying to find the time and means to have adventures. I want our children to have the same love for learning about new places and experiences so I have to make efforts to give them that opportunity. I am always looking ahead into our schedules to see when the planets may align in such a way that we can venture out and see what we can see. In my book, it isn't often enough but we do what we can.

Thankfully, this weekend is one of those serendipitous times when we will be able to seize the moment and build new memories together! We will pack up the car, with no elbow room to spare, and drive west... straight to Ft. Bragg and the amazing Pacific Coastline. Megan and Thomas have never been to the North Coast, and I am looking forward to seeing it all again for the first time through their eyes. What new things will we discover about our earth, other people and each other?

What about you? Are you a modern day explorer? Be it through a great book or by hopping in the car and going somewhere you have never been I encourage you to venture out of your daily comfort zone and try something new. New places, new faces, new foods... just GO! Try it! You never know what you will discover and it just may add a little SPARKLE to your life.

May your day be filled with SPARKLE, from the inside out.