Around the World in 83 Days

Peak moments in life are those that you remember after a year or 5 or ten. The only problem is, in the humdrum of life, they’re rare. You really have to work to create them in the place you live, and even if you can, it’s not a spontaneous evolving moment of wonder as random peak moments normally are.

In 2014, my family and I spent 4 months circumnavigating the world. While we were gone, we had so many memorable good and bad times together. While we traveled, we experienced being crammed on airplanes and ox carts, getting sick on a boat in China, and basking in the joy of snuggling baby pandas and elephants. It’s been 5 years since we made our last journey, and upon coming home- we learned a lot as we processed why that trip was so important to us, and how we were changed in innumerable ways.

Our journey was so chalk-full of firsts and sweet closeness that when I look back on my life, when I begin to think about the reel that will play in my head at the end of it all, it’s the first thing that comes to mind. Unlike the humdrum of home, the days traveling were rich in variation and challenged our ideals, value systems and bowels, and let’s face it, even most of those awful moments we can now look back on and chuckle at the craziness of it all.

When we came home, we purchased some land, built a home, Luna began full day schooling, moved schools and is now in 3rd grade. I really dug into my passion of coaching and have been building my practice. Josh has continued to do well with songwriting and having hits. We’ve built more community, created men’s and women’s groups, and have given back. But during these last five years, we’ve also felt loss. I guess at this stage of life is when the edges of death begin to creep in, but losing friends, family members, and seeing just how crazy the world can get made us really look our lives, and ask if we were indeed living the lives we desired.

With Luna in school, and us working, it seemed impossible that we’d ever have another large chunk of time together, focused on our family. And then Josh and I started to do some work, dreaming & envisioning the “what if”. What if we could go again? What if we could explore together once more? It felt too good to be true at first. And then, to be honest, I began remembering the bad stuff.

There were moments that were hard. Put a family together 24/7 and it’s difficult for some part of each and every day. In Japan, I was so tired that for two days I just didn’t leave the hotel. I’m a homebody and an introvert, so the go-go-going was hard on me. One day in Rome, Luna refused to leave the hotel. She was so tired of traveling at that point, that she snuck into the corner and wouldn’t leave. We had to drag her screaming and crying out of there and onto a train to the next stop. I felt like the worst parent in the world.

What a difference 5 years makes. Here we are, better equipped and now ready to go again. We can all read, we can all sleep in, and jet lag doesn’t affect us nearly as much. We can reason, talk and we’ve had 5 more years of parenting to understand the value of taking it slow while also practicing self-care. Luna won’t fall asleep in her pasta in Italy on this trip, so maybe we can stay out a bit later and really see the sights at night. There are a whole list of things that we could do- but the one thing that I know for sure is that we’ll be together. We’ll face challenges and new cultural ideas together. We’ll laugh and explore together. Hand in hand, facing the world and all it encompasses is what it’s all about for me.

Am I sure that there will be good times? Yes
Am I sure that there will be challenging times? Yes
Is it worth it? Yes

It’s important for me to travel and to connect to others in different places. I’m always assured while traveling that people are good. We all have much more in common than differences. I’m ready to throw myself into the world and see how it changes me. Maybe I’ve become a bit too accustomed to certain things in life and I desire to grow and feel the wonder of the world again.

So, on May 10th, we depart for another trip around the globe. Here’s our itinerary!

May 10th- Depart Nashville for Amsterdam!
May 11th-June 2nd- explore Netherlands, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia
June 2th-5th- Venice, Italy
June 6th-16th Dubai, UAE
June 17th-24th- Singapore
June 25th- July 9th- Bali
July 10th- August 1- Japan
August 1- back home

Much love and safe journeys,
Carly