Taking my cog out of the wheel

Sabbatical?

Adult gap year?

Early retirement?

Mid-life crisis?

There really isn't a word for what I am about to do.

I have decided to take a full year off from my current life. I have quit my job and I will be paying myself to travel and write. My plan is to go on an extended road trip across America, visiting state and national parks, camping, hiking, and visiting friends and family wherever I go.

While traveling, I will spend time reading and writing. I will develop more personal discipline and commitment when it comes to writing. Eventually I hope to finish projects that I have dabbled with since college.

Many have asked me what kind of writing I hope to do. My honest answer is that I don't know yet! In the past I have started many creative endeavors: a travel blog, poetry, short stories, screenplays - even a cookbook! I am not quite sure where this new discipline will lead, but I look forward to giving my energy and time to any creative effort.

Years ago I taped a handwritten note to my mirror, upon which was written 5 simple words...

"Live the life you love."

I have been fortunate. I have had the opportunity and privilege to live the life I love with the person I love most in the world. Mike Rule and I were married in 1997, stayed married and in love for 23 years, raised two amazing boys together, and we were holding hands when he died in 2020.

I guess now I'm trying to figure out what that phrase means without Mike by my side. The life I loved was being Mike’s partner, being Luke and Josh's mom, and working to provide for my family, I've been living that life for a long time. And now everything has changed. So...who am I now? Who should I be? What does it look like to live the life I love?

One thing I know for sure is that I love to travel. I love the planning, the anticipation, the long stretches of road, the unique local radio stations, the cultures, the landscapes, all of it. I love inviting my friends to travel with me, creating unique playlists for each stretch of road, and wandering in new places, welcoming aimlessness. I want see the world, starting in America. So when it comes down to it - living the life I love means hitting the road.

So I found the courage to go for it. I started dreaming big, cooking up a plan, and taking baby steps toward the dream. (It took a lot of encouragement and help - but I'll get into that more later.) I have officially resigned from my job, and my last day will be 3/1/23. I am deep, deep, deep into the planning stages - creating a year of adventure, a year of sojourns, a year of NOT being a cog in a wheel anywhere. It will be a year of finding my discipline, my passion, my self trust, my bliss (ew), my path....wait. Switch that - maybe not FINDING anything. It will be a year of seeking all those things...and more.

If you're still reading and you're not bored to tears right now, then welcome! You are officially invited to come along for my soul-searching sojourn. At www.CampSojourn.com I will post in three areas - WORDS (blog entries), VIEWS (photos only), and MAPS (this one's pretty self explanatory).

This may be the first and last post. My first trip is to go surf at Cocoa Beach in Florida. Have I surfed before? No I have not. I may well be injured or eaten by a shark. But for now let's hope this is one of many posts, and I'll see you down the road. Sojourn on!

One last thing: Are you living the life you love?