Adaptability and the Beginning of a New Journey

(Written July 1st)​

After a couple months of slowly chipping away at camperizing a 2006 Dodge Caravan, it was time to embark on the next season of life. 

Spending time in Chilliwack and Hope this past year has brought many memories, new friends, and some time to reflect. One of the biggest realizations was that I’m not ready to settle down yet. But I also realized I haven’t seen much of our own country. 

This trip was inspired by a dear friend of mine, David, who I met in Hope many years ago. Originally, we were going to go together, but life has a way of revealing many opportunities, and another one came up for him. So with that, Annika and I are going just the two of us. 

It’s only fitting that we leave on Canada Day. Annika, being from Estonia, has yet to celebrate a Canada Day since being here, so why not set off on a big road trip to celebrate?​

The past few days leading up to departure were filled with visits with friends and packing. Asked what were the things I was nervous about the trip, many of the hesitations had to do with reliability of vehicle and getting stuck in potentially dangerous situations. Though those are still things in the back of my mind, there’s something that I was reminded of as I had a visit with my parents on the way to the ferry terminal in Tsawwassen. 

It’s amazing to see how adaptable humans are. Given opportunities to be challenged, to be pushed, to be creative, many can rise to the challenge, and through difficult odds, manage to persevere. 

I find those who are the most creative, innovative, and adaptable are those who are open and willing to take on challenges head on, finding ways to come up with solutions to problems. It reminds me of the most important thing that my last boss and mentor shared with me while I was in Copenhagen: “There’s always a solution.”

We prepared hard for the trip, building a set up that worked for our needs, going through packing lists, downsizing, repacking, repairing the AC and other mechanical issues (thanks to dear friends who were so generous in helping us), we did our due diligence to be as prepared as we can be for what’s ahead. 

But no matter how much you prepare, you will never know what gets thrown at you along the way. That’s part of the excitement, right? Who wants everything to be predictable? 

I just have to remember that no matter what gets thrown at us, we do have the ability to adapt and find solutions, it’s just a matter of whether we want to or not. Sometimes the solutions won’t be what we expect or what we might want, but I have to believe that it will be yet another chapter of growth and learning. 

So to the next month, two months, or however long this season goes for…cheers, and stay tuned for updates.