Keep vs. Throw Piles

Christie: Our story has been featured in this summer’s issue of Concordia Magazine and Enews, the link is http://www.cord.edu/Enews/Summer/faith_and_Learning.php. I am quite sure now that Oprah will be dialing my number soon. I have officially filed my termination request at the hospital for August 2. My parents, the roaming, fifth-wheeling, “Central Command,” visited for 2 weeks. We said our good-byes, knowing the next time we see them again will be in Colorado at the end of August on our bike. With my BS in Nursing completed, I have some extra time on my hands and have been officially assigned to gather trip data from Lonely Planet, including desired border crossing, time it is open, entry fee/departure tax, visa requirements, currency, how to exchange money, nearest ATM, US embassy, and places to stay in all the countries we will pedal through including: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia?, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Although Eric has compiled a very through list, I have also included shower/hot water availability and the nearest beaches. The reality of the trip is here, homeless and jobless, by choice, in 8 weeks. We are “settled” into Eric’s parent’s basement as our temporary post. The middle of the floor has a small mountain of plastic bins too heavy for me to carry up the stairs and to my parent’s storage shed, so there it rests until Eric gets back from his Pittsburgh/Japan travel spree for work. Labels read “Vanuatu,” “Canning supplies-heavy,” “Scrapbooks, pictures, yearbooks-heavy,” the beloved “Nic-nacks” (that Eric says with a nasally “naaaaacks”), “Eric’s toys and childhood books-heavy,” “Eric’s stuff ????-heavy”….can you tell who the sentimental one is? We had a small garage sale and the rest is destined for the greatest store on earth… The Thrift Store. Packing and sorting is not fun for me, maybe because my family lived in one place for 22 yrs. I tend to be a quick decision maker when the “keep vs. throw/donate” issues arise – just to get the job done…where as Eric LOVES to sort…and it’s not really sorting because he tends to keep most everything…it’s more story-telling time. Each of his thin, armpit stained Jr. High and High School sports t-shirts have a story, “Stanley” the stick – of course must be kept, his baby teeth, the track and field ribbons from the last day of kindergarten…oh my…it’s torture for me. I encourage him towards the “throwing” pile from a distance (teetering on becoming the nagging wife)...usually a futile effort on my part, so the box is reluctantly labeled “Eric’s stuff????.” I smile when I look at it. And why he needs to keep 2 boxes of notes, mathematical formulas, graphs, and what-not from college is beyond my human understanding since the boy dreams in engineering equations…Lord help me. This is my high-school sweetheart and husband of 9 years (we just celebrated on June 3rd), the quirky fun-loving spirit, the adventurer, the dreamer, goal oriented, peaceful at heart, sarcastic as heck and full of faith. Everyday I laugh because of some random thing he does or says…more recently breaking out the Zumba Latin American aerobic dance moves…he’s sure he is improving with each attempt. I am ever grateful to have him at my side (actually in front of me on JoJo) and to be doing life with him. I guess I can understand why people say, “Why are you doing that?” and “I could never do that.” Without him, I would probably be saying the same thing. As a Christian couple, we are a unit that feeds off each other’s passions and shared sense of adventure.

Feeling Free

Out for a ride through Minneopa State park.

Eric: With 15 weeks on the countdown, we are truly blessed by the way things are falling into place. House is sold with an official closing date of May 14th, 2009. A good chunk of our move was completed early as Craig’s list once again came through and quickly sold our bedroom set and a kitchen island. So those are the boring details. What’s happening now? We are simply enjoying our time of preparation. It seems each day we are celebrating some of the “lasts” that we will do before our trip. It is an excellent way to bring closure to this chapter of our lives and make the transition to homelessness and the vagabond lifestyle smoother. People continue to amaze us. My dad was at the “Y” the other day and struck up a conversation with his neighbor (soon to be our neighbor). This neighbor is an avid biker and has known of the trip for a while. Over the past few years he has been quite critical of this endeavor. He’s a worrier and extremely nervous when it comes to safety. Their conversation began as normal: “Are your kids still going on the bike trip?” “Of course” responded my dad. With a look of worry his head sank down and began to shake, “I’m sure glad they aren’t my kids.”

We're thankful our parents are at a point where they can set aside some of their fears and enjoy the journey. What a blessing it is to continue to be at peace with this change and be encouraged by all the items that are falling into place. We are feeling very free!