When I accepted the offer to write for Women’s Adventure Magazine as one of their Adventure Mom columnists, it caused me to become more introspective about how I engaged in adventure, and how I defined it.
Sure, I’ve undertaken some pretty epic adventures, but having a three-year-old and a baby at home has definitely thrown my idea of what constitutes as adventure into flux. As many of you with small children know, sometimes just getting out the door is a fairly sizeable quest. Backcountry canoe trips have given way to toting our six-foot pop-up trailer from one family-friendly campground to another all summer long; even the ski hill that we once flew down several times a week in the pre-baby days feels a bit like shangri-la at this point. Though I’m confident my truly adventurous adventuring days will return, in the meantime, I’ve been given the gift of realizing that, to small children, absolutely everything is an adventure, and that I have the choice to cultivate that within my family.
Sometimes, though, I feel like I might have lost track of my inner adventuress – especially when my days consist of a lot of breastfeeding and, well, not a whole lot else. To reassure myself, I made a little list of all the ways I’m adventuring this year. I found that the list fell nicely into some categories that I imagine I might use in years to come when planning my adventure goals. If they resonate with you, either as a seasoned or budding adventurer, feel free to adapt and use them to motivate your thrill-seeking this year, too.
Travel
This year, for us, it’s a bucket list trip to Hawaii. We’ll do a bit of local travel as well, including a camping trip to a great paddling destination and another awesome local surf spot with my SUP in tow.
Learn something new
I’ve got this one covered in 2015 with a lengthy list of random things I want to take a crack at: I have already learned how to make a video, how to crochet, and how to make DIY natural remedies. Still on my to-do list for the remainder of the year is to learn how to grow, dry and blend herbs for tea and join a Samba Band (with the ultimate goal of becoming the Whistle Blower),
Take on a physical challenge
If my postpartum body allows, I’ve got my sights set on a 10km race and a sprint-distance triathlon.
Do something that scares me
The big thing I wanted to do this year scared me a tiny bit, but mostly filled me with elation and warm and fuzzy feelings of self-indulgence: I booked a cabin in the middle of the woods and spent a long weekend there, nestled in the snow-covered trees, stoking the wood stove. This was only really scary after dark, when things started to go bump in the night, as they have a way of doing in the wilderness, but nevertheless the weekend made me feel confident and re-charged. The other scary stuff I’m doing: getting more proficient on my motorcycle, which I found surprisingly terrifying when I first starting riding, despite the fact that I had always wanted to do it.
Compiling this list made me feel reassured that, indeed, adventure can come in many forms: the only true prerequisite is that you endeavour to do things that push your edge a little, make your heart go pitter-pat with excitement, and allow you to take a step in to the unknown.
How are you adventuring this year? Do you make adventure goals?