Don gave me this card on our anniversary.
Along with the fabulous scenery and Adirondack chairs (still dreaming of a pair for the cottage) and the lovely font, it is the message that resonates so strongly with us.
Life is an adventure and our life together is an adventure. We use that word all of the time.
Adventure.
As with any adventure, risks are involved. The unknown lies ahead. There may be sadness or fear or heartbreak. But there may be incredible rewards and joy and happiness. Who knows? You can do all your research, gather all your supplies, plot your course and set out on your journey. But what lies ahead is a mystery.
Maybe we’re crazy and maybe ‘adventure’ is our way of describing the stress we often feel. Certainly, two people with careers in the arts who deal with the accompanying insecurity and lowish pay might do well to call their life together an adventure. It’s a roller coaster ride, that’s for sure.
But adventure implies so much more. It speaks of possibilities, of new experiences, of discoveries, of the unknown. It speaks of surprise and joy.
Did I ever tell you this little story? Two years ago I had to have two procedures done. The first was an emergency procedure as I had a blocked bile duct that was making me very sick and turning my skin yellow. The second was the removal of my gall bladder. The only other surgery I had ever had was the removal of my tonsils when I was eight. Facing the first procedure, I was especially nervous about the anesthesia and everyone assured me I would be fine. In fact, as they were assuring me, I was going under and didn’t know it. Don was out in the hallway as they wheeled me out of the prep room and into the operating room. As I passed him, I thrust my arm in the air and shouted out, “Let the adventure begin!”
Needless to say I have no remembrance of this whatsoever. Don, on the other hand, laughed out loud. The nurses and staff were even chuckling.
We still talk about it and laugh. But the point is, even under anesthesia, the idea of life being an adventure stuck. Frankly, sometimes the adventure is a little too crazy and scary and it keeps me awake at nights and I’d like it to settle down for a long while. At other times, it is amazing and serendipitous and wondrous and beautiful. I think that your perspective changes when you think of life as an adventure. So I try to remember that. In the midst of worry or pain, I remind myself that life is an adventure.
I’m grateful I’m sharing this adventure with my husband. But adventures are not dependent on that. Adventures are there for all of us.
Here’s to adventures.
Happy Friday.