DEPARTURE IS FINALLY HEAR!!!

Well folks, we are just hours away from a plane ride to start this wild adventure. We're all checked in for our flight and bags are 95% packed. Excitement has been building all day as we ran errands, packed, cleaned, (Hey, who doesn't want to come home to a clean house!) and dropped off the puggle. It was a tearful goodbye, but he is off to Pamela's house. It's a happy place for Euchre and he has a special affection for Pamela. There have been some tidbits of anxiety creeping in every once in a while, but it's mostly just plain excitement.

People have been asking a lot if we feel "ready." That's a tough one because feeling "ready" might be an impossibility. Heck, we don't even know what we're in for let alone ready for. But I do think we are prepared. We have worked for years to get to this day. Literally years (mostly saving money until the last year, but whatever.) We are as prepared as we can be emotionally, mentally, financially, educationally, and professionally be. Who knows what will happen, but we'll handle it together.

We've been talking a lot with the kids about being flexible and brave and we've shared lots of stories of our own adventure (pre-kids). But this is something that the 5 of us get to do together. Each one of us has to do hard things from time to time. First day at a new school, doing a big presentation at work, getting a tooth pulled, setting firm boundaries with a friend. Sometimes we do hard things with our kids like ER visits. But this is something hard that we get to have each other for the whole thing. I'm curious how having your clan backing you up the whole time will feel. As brutal as parenting can be sometimes (and for those who have met our children, you get it), I actually can be comforted and supported by my kids. During some of the stress of the past few weeks I have received comforting hugs from both of the big kids. They had the wherewithall to see a stressed parent and offer a hug. Not sure what has happened to my real children, but these upgrades seem nice!

Finally, before signing off. The emotions have been all over the place, but by far, the dominant feeling is gratitude. We are so absolutely lucky to be in this situation. The opportunity fell out of the sky and the planets all lined up. It also feels more than a little glutinous. Like winning the lottery when you didn't even buy a ticket.

And overwhelming gratitude for the people who have helped us get here. For Diane and Barbara and Mary. Lucia, Malia, Mike, Joyce and Eric and the whole Eckes clan. Our helpful and loving neighbors. The great folks at CSUHN, especially the DAY staff. The wild bunch at SLICE. Thanks for covering for us while we're adventuring. Alicia and Tamara. Pamela and Karen. I know I'm missing a bunch of folks, but I can edit after posting so stay tuned.

And now, as our good friends Guy Raz and Mindy would say...

Here. We. Goooooooooo!

Pre-Voyage Interview Questions - Chris

What are you most looking forward to/excited about?

Chris: Country... Malaysia. I think the food will be amazing and I'm a beach person. Seeing the kids grow up right in front of us. Seeing the ocean every single day.

What are you most anxious about? 

Chris: #1. Seasickness for sure. I get a little dizzy on a swing set in my old age. How therapeutic is your therapy session going to be when your counselor is horribly sweaty and puking in a bucket from the floor. #2. Parenting in public. I am the worst parent I know and now the whole world will know too.

What is a risk you are going to take?

Chris: Giving the kids more independence and trust. Eating something completely insane like peppers that make your body go numb or exotic animal feet.  

What is the most important thing to you that we should pack?

Chris: Passports, credit card, a duffel bag full of patience. Jen would want me to say toothbrush.

What are you saddest about leaving behind?

Chris: My kitchen and cooking up meals that take all day to prepare.

How will you know if this adventure was a "success?"

Chris: No one is dead, including the dog. Jen and Chris are not divorced. The kids point to this experience their whole lives as a defining part of their story.  

Chris, age 43, Dec. 2019

Pre-Voyage Interview Questions - Jen

What are you most looking forward to/excited about?

Jen: Living a life without laundry, cleaning, driving the minivan, or planning/cooking meals.  I honestly don’t know what I’ll do with all of my free time!

What are you most anxious about?

Jen: In no particular order (I have a lot of anxiety):

1)Getting seasick,

2) Losing Guthrie,

3) Euchre eating another corncob (or other inedible) and having to make veterinary…or end of life… decisions from overseas,

4) Missing out on something awesome in Fort Collins or at CSU—FOMO!!,

5) Chris having a heart attack (this lives with me wherever I am but seems particularly nerve wracking on a ship and away from home),

6) Accidentally eating a mango and having a major allergic reaction

7) Feeling embarrassed if the kids act badly on the ship or in port,

8) Sharing a 100-square-foot room with Chris and the boys (including Wally’s stinky feet)

What is a risk you are going to take?

Jen: Likely risk – I’d like to start the “1^st annual Semester at Sea Treadmill marathon/half-marathon” (training throughout the voyage with the actual event toward the end of the voyage). I hate running on the treadmill, but I like things that are ridiculous and funny and this seems to be both.  Also, since I might be the only person to participate, I could get a 1^st place medal and a t-shirt. #goals

Possible risk (but feels significantly more risky to me) – shave my head when we cross the equator for Neptune Day. YOLO!

What is the most important thing to you that we should pack?

Jen: Jump drives with all the academic materials needed for my classes

What are you saddest about leaving behind?

Jen: Euchre the wonder pug (obvi)

How will you know if this adventure was a "success?"

Jen: I truly hope the voyage is disruptive in the sense that it causes us to reflect on our current life/lifestyle and align our behavior as closely as possible with our values and dreams.

Jen, age 42, Dec. 2019

Pre-Voyage Interview Questions - Wally

What are you most looking forward to/excited about?
Wally: Going to the Pokemon store in Osaka, Japan. 

 
What are you most nervous about?
Wally: I'm nervous about India and the different foods.
 
What is a risk you're going to take?
Wally: Kissing a fish. 
*This one requires a little explanation. Apparently there is a ceremony for everyone who is crossing the Equator for the very first time. It involves shenanigans that include shaving your head and kissing a fish. Wally's not so sure about shaving his head, but he will try kissing a fish.


What is the most important thing to you that we should pack?
Wally: My Pokemon cards.

  
What are you saddest about leaving behind?
Wally: My friends. 





 
How will you know if this adventure was a "success?"
Wally: That I learned different things, like how to prepare different foods.

Wally, age 7, Dec 2019

Per-Voyage Interview Questions - Rigley

What are you most looking forward to/excited about?

Rigley: All of the new foods and Malaysia and other countries and stuff.

What are you most anxious about?

Rigley: Getting lost in a country or split up.

What is a risk you are going to take?

Rigley: Either trying new foods maybe with meat in them or something, or doing something for the ship talent show. 

What is the most important thing to you that we should pack?

Rigley: My stuffed alligator, pictures of friends.

What are you saddest about leaving behind?

Rigley: My friends and family.

How will you know if this trip was a success?

Rigley: I will have learned something new from every country and made new friends.

Rigley, age 10, Dec. 2019

Pre-Voyage Interview Questions - Guthrie

What are you most looking forward to/excited about?

Guthrie: The ship and taking pictures and seeing the pool.

What are you most anxious about?

Guthrie: The sharks when we’re in the cage.

*So, somewhere along the line Guthrie must have seen some kind of show where divers were in a cage underwater surrounded by sharks. We are not going to be doing this, but he has been pretty anxious about for the past few months. At least I'm pretty sure we are not doing this.

 

What is a risk you are going to take?

Guthrie: If there was a toy there, I would not play with it.

*He needed a little explanation about what "risk" meant and we described it as doing something really hard. Not playing with a toy is the hardest thing he could think of doing. 

What is the most important thing to you that we should pack?

Guthrie:  My Chewbacca toy.

What are you saddest about leaving behind?

Guthrie: Euchre

How will you know if this trip was a "success?"

Guthrie: I would say “Good.” 

Guthrie, age 4, Dec 2019