Things that brighten my world

1. dew on the ground
2. a meadow
3. granite
4. your smile
5. mud
6. a light drizzle
7. a sunny and freezing day
8. a sweltering hot and humid sunny day
9. sweating
10. feeling needed and receiving approval
11. victory
12. full out sprints
13. wrestling
14. climbing
15. driving aggressively
    
16. an amazing conversation
17. sharing your ideas
18. imagining
19. playing make believe
20. clarity
21. building something
22. camp
23. feeling your embrace
24. the beach with its constant roar
25. being out of control (but surviving)
26. flat smooth stones
27. getting tan without laying out
28. good movies
29. fire
30. feeling your hand in my back pocket
31. friends
32. idealism
33. believing that idealism is possible, at least in small doses
34. talking about Jesus
35. reading and teaching the bible
36. quietness
37. slacklining
38. exploring
39. falling asleep to your voice and then saying funny things
40. loving you
41. feeling strong
42. finishing strong
43. worth enough to be trusted
44. sunrise and sunset
45. peace
46. orienteering
47. bright colors
48. sneaking around
49. walking hand in hand with you
50. dreaming

The greatest man I've ever known

The corset of my wedding gown got tighter as my aunt laced it up. I was anxious but excited to see his reaction. This was going to be a special moment for both of us. With approval from my nana and aunt I tiptoed out of the bedroom and stood across the living room from where he was sitting in the rocking chair looking out the window at the beautiful fall day. Nana walked over to him and quietly said that he should stand up for this moment. With his hand on hers he grounded his feet and pushed himself up from the chair. I waited nervously as he was slowly turning around.

My papa is known as "The Vike." Being a descendant of the Norwegian warriors he rightly so is built like a viking...or a corn-fed farm boy that was as strong as an ox and worked hard his whole life. Legends of him being tougher than nails and stronger than a horse preceded him and yet his five grand-children knew him also as a loving man that adored them and wrapped them up in "bear hugs".

Watching him now carefully shuffle around so not to lose his balance, I knew this wasn't the same man I had known five years ago but I loved him just as much. His memory loss had escalated this past year and his interest in life was declining but he remained loving and kind with the added characteristic of a young child. I saw his eyes catch on my dress and his face lit up. "Ooooooooohhhh," he exclaimed, "Aren't you just beautiful!" My heart was filled with warmth at his approval. We walked toward each other and met in the middle of living room. He put his big hands on my shoulders and tears filled his eyes. I knew at that moment he could remember me as a little girl in his lap and now I was about to move across the world and get married. My eyes welled up too and we embraced. We cried on each others' shoulders, tears of love and tears of sadness for lost time and forgotten memories. He pulled back and smiled at me with admiration. Then he asked me for the 28th time that morning when I was getting married and I answered like it was the first, "In just 2 months papa! I wish you could be there."

The fear of adventure

The most common response to my latest news, "I'm moving to New Zealand," is "Wow! That's so exciting! What a cool adventure!" Yes...it is an adventure alright. But what is adventure?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines adventure first as-

a : an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks b : the encountering of risks

and secondly as-

: an exciting or remarkable experience

I tend to view my adventures in light of the second definition and ignore the "risk" side of things. Risk is like gambling. It means something really good could happen...or something really bad. I understand that you can't have adventure without the risks and I do enjoy walking into the unknown but maybe the optimist inside me is the one believing that I'll come out on top every time.

It's nearly 2 am and the optimist has gone to bed so I'm left with the realist and the pessimist discussing this endeavor I'm about to embark on in 10 days. I wish every blog entry about my time in New Zealand was going to be positive and full of grand exciting "adventures," but I know that some will be filled with homesickness, questions, and culture shock...the other side of adventure but adventure none-the-less.

1 month

Butterflies in my belly
Not long 'til I go
Big stuff on craigslist
Boxes for clothes

Good-bye to my kitties
So long to my friends
Praying and hoping
This isn't the end

New Zealand awaits
It's not that far
Take a boat or a plane
But don't try a car

I'm excited to go,
Start a new life,
Take on adventures,
And be a cool wife

One month to the day
I land over there
What will it be like?
I can't wait to share

The Move

Alaska -> Hawaii -> Idaho -> Michigan -> Australia -> Oregon -> Texas -> Tennessee -> California -> ...and now New Zealand.

Since I was 9 years old I wanted to live in New Zealand. I don't know why but I was always drawn to it. Now fate has smiled upon me giving me a Kiwi fiance' and an easy way into the country.

Unknown adventures lie ahead as I move to a new country. This blog will be my diary.