The Next Adventure

So I’m heading to Ecuador in March. That’s sounding pretty fantastic about now, as wind chill is supposed to drop the temperature to around -27°F tonight. And we’re on the coast. Can’t imagine what it’s like farther north.

Yep. The equator sounds like a nice place to be.

And growing up here taught me that while it might be warmer (not necessarily above freezing — not consistently — but warmer), March is a pretty dank and depressing month to be in Maine.

Why Ecuador and not someplace else, maybe closer? Cheaper? Simple: a promise now over ten years old.

Oh, the things that happen when we start seeing bullshit excuses for what they are and call ourselves out over it. For ten years, I told myself I didn’t have the time/money/flexibility to make it happen. For most of those years, those excuses were mostly true. I could have made the trip if I’d made it enough of a priority. But first I made college the priority, then it was visiting the now-husband over four years of a long-distance relationship. After that came a wedding, honeymoon, and poverty. Well, the poverty was something of an on-going trend the whole time we lived in Seattle.

A month ago, I took a good look at where I am now and where I want to be a year from now. I saw that the personal independence and freedom I have now may see some drastic changes in the near future. Then again, maybe not. Life is an uncertain adventure. Right now, I can do it. So I’m going.

Like most things, it gets pretty simple once I’m out of my own way.