Finding Contentment

My Greatest Adventure

05:19 PM, Tuesday, October 16, 2007 .. Posted in Family .. 4 comments .. Link

http://mylifeasannie.blogspot.com/

Tell us the most adventurous thing you have ever done!

What gave you the courage to do it or try it and how did you feel afterwards?

The most adventurous thing I've ever done.... it could be riding with my mom and younger brother from California to North Carolina on a Greyhound bus when I was 17.... it could be taking a pack of boys camping in the woods for Cub Scouts..... or it could be embarking on this whole homesteading journey. But no, I would have to say it was a trip that I took with my younger brother in late winter of 2005.

My younger brother and I are very close. He had recently seperated from his wife and was feeling lonely. And so, with my husband's blessing, we took off for a week in New Orleans. It was the same year as Hurricane Katrina. But while Katrina struck that summer, we were tourists in late February. We wanted to go before it even started to get hot, but also didn't want to be stuck in the Mardi Gras crowds of early February.

We had a great time visiting all the sites. I loved the old plantations, and the St. Louis Cathedral was beautiful. We had the obligatory cafe' au lait and beignets at the Cafe Du Monde and shopped all afternoon in the French Market.

It was a great adventure, and I feel very blessed to have been able to go. We felt very lucky to have seen New Orleans months before it was devastated by the hurricane. But almost better than the site seeing was the special time my brother and I had together. We created wonderful memories touring the old cemeteries in the pouring rain, laughing as we left the first (and only) casino we had ever been to after only 10 minutes of losing quarters on the machines, and floating amongst the alligators in the swamp. Even the 13-hour drive each way holds special memories.

We probably will never be able to do something like that again. Since I quite work to be a SAHM, I can no longer fund such a trip. And because my husband works long hours just to support us, I would not feel right asking him to give up his vacation time to watch the kids so I could go on a vacation. In truth, my lifestyle and ambitions have changed so much in the past couple of years that I probably wouldn't choose New Orleans for a vacation, anyway.

But the memories are there - and always will be - of our great adventure.