David and I just celebrated our two year wedding anniversary, which is crazy because it feels like not too long ago that I was blogging about wedding planning!
I realized that while I did a ton of work to make an awesome wedding video (which I put to DVD), I never shared it online! It’s below; note that the first 18 minutes are a video slideshow of the whole wedding weekend (set to music associated with it) and the second 18 minutes are the actual wedding ceremony. Enjoy!
Sam: This is it.
Frodo: This is what?
Sam: If I take one more step, it’ll be the farthest away from home I’ve ever been.
Frodo: Come on, Sam. Remember what Bilbo used to say: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
– The Lord of the Rings
Like Sam, this will be the furthest (and longest) I have ever been away from home. I am excited for the adventure in front of me and will greatly miss my home, my family, and my friends. David and I recognize that we are blessed and privileged to take this time and go out and travel. We depart tomorrow (Saturday, January 21) at 11:35am from Logan – fingers crossed that the snow cooperates so we can get out of this winter wonderland!
In anticipation of our travel, the blog has undergone some big changes and updates, with new sections added that include a new About section, FAQs, Itinerary/Timeline, and Packing/Gear. David has also been added as an Author, so you will start to see entries from him. More updates are needed and will be done from the road. I am excited about spending time on the blog and hope to grow it. Feel free to share the link with anyone you know who might be interested in our journey.
P.S. If you, or anyone you know is going to be in South East Asia while we are, please put us in contact! We’d love to meet up with people we “know”, or friends of friends!!
Being able to do nothing is something you need to learn to do. Everyone always feels like they should be doing something, with lists to guide them. Even fun, relaxing things like knitting or playing guitar end up on the list, and then they are no longer leisure because they are on the list! My response to this is “if it’s not on the list, how will I remember to do it?!” What if I just learned to not be doing something off a list, but instead just existed, and did things as they came to me?
Are we constantly volleying between and enjoying memories of the past and anticipations of the future? Do we need to learn to enjoy right now and be 100% in the moment? Have I (you) ever been fully present at any moment in your life?
One example of how I see this play out in my life is by taking pictures. I love to take pictures of the outdoors and mountains, and especially the sunrise. However, I couldn’t imagine going to watch the sunrise without taking a camera. I find that I spend most of my time taking pictures of the sunrise and the beauty around me rather than actually seeing it – saving it for seeing in the future as a way to remember the past, but not ever actually seeing and enjoying it in the present moment.
I don’t think I know how to live in the moment, but have felt like I have gotten closer to being able to do it in the recent months with quitting my job and feeling like I just know this is what I am supposed to be doing. On my recent road trip, on a long-haul day full of endless views of corn, I had a moment in which I knew and felt like this is exactly where I am supposed to be right now. I can’t explain it, but it was an overwhelming feeling that I made some good decisions and of complete contentment. That felt good.
Now, I just need to get rid of all of my lists…
For the complete photo album of my cross-country road trip, check out my Picassa album at: https://picasaweb.google.com/JennyDuquette/RoadTripSept2011?authuser=0&feat=directlink
We spent a lot of time in the car!
The Great Smoky National Park
Black bears..just looking for some grubs!
Gorgeous peppers at the Knoxville, TN Farmer's Market
Though we saw a lot of corn, it was beautiful - so flat and unending, and so different from the Northeast.
Boulder Indoor Cycling..where you get on a track bike with no brakes, go really fast, and ride on banked walls. Awesomely terrifying.
The morning of Sept 5, I depart for a 10 day road trip. Christy, who I am helping with the drive to move to Seattle, and I will be stopping in D.C., Raleigh, Asheville, Smokey Mountain Natl Park, Knoxville, Indianapolis, Ankeny (Iowa), and Denver. I fly home from Denver on Sept 14 to go to Maine for a wedding.
Amen. I’m not sure of anything – I’m not sure I should have quit my real job. I’m not sure I shouldn’t have renewed my lease or that I should just be working these seasonal jobs. I’m not sure where I’m going to live. I’m also not sure that I should be “planning” to move and travel to some unknown locations for some unknown amount of time.
But, I’m sure I’m getting something done and making changes, and that I will learn a lot, it’s an awesome adventure, and it all feels like the right decision.
