Wow what a busy season it has been. First we were busy preparing for our trip, trying to get our possessions under control. When we were originally discussing how this would go, it seemed like it wouldn’t be terribly difficult. Well… it’s been harder than I would like to admit, but here I am at 6:22 in the morning enjoying the quiet, pondering our current situation. We are camping in our roof top tents. This is a lot of work. It seems like keeping everyone fed and making trips to the bathroom is a full time job. We are using this time to adjust our setup and re-evaluate our gear (we brought too much stuff). I have come to the conclusion that doing anything with 11 people is difficult. This is a fact. So I am presented with a choice. I can have intentionally positive outlook, or look at the downsides of every little thing. I wish I could say that I have been handling each challenge well, but that wouldn’t be true. The first couple of days went well. Since then my attitude has been following the direction of our trip, SOUTH! I have a long list of agitators, rain, broken taillight, kids snapping at each other, having to pack up camp to go to the store, making a wrong turn in Texas (a 30 min mistake each time). Thirty minutes may be a slight exaggeration. That’s enough whining for now. The truth of the matter is that we are on an adventure. Every really great adventure has difficulty and challenging situations. Whether or not it is a good adventure depends on the attitude of the travelers (pause to clean up one of the little guy’s “accident”).

Before we left home, we were watching old Bob Ross painting shows. He often says that we don’t make mistakes. We make happy little accidents. Anna (my wife) was reminding me of this while I was in the middle of a wrong turn in Texas. I think Bob has a point. I have a choice to make, or rather a lot of small choices. Being on an epic journey doesn’t exempt me from keeping a positive outlook or choosing words that build up, rather than tear down. I am learning that my attitude is not circumstantial. I thought I knew this, but somehow forgot. It is a beautiful morning and we don’t have to go anywhere today. I’m really looking forward to walking on some of the trails and going swimming. The kids are looking forward to roasting marshmallows. Everything is looking up, or at least I am.