Roadmap

This post is coming to you from the open road!

Early this morning we packed our bags and hopped in the car for a 13 hour journey west to the World Dairy Expo.

At hour one  I was already calling to check on the dog. He said he was fine.

I made it until hour five before checking in on the cows. 

Probably because I was making up for every nap I missed in the last few months.

My husband has carried on his usual road trip tradition of playing I Spy- Farm Equipment version while I have scoped out every Starbucks for the past 770 miles.

As we drove through the foggy mountains, next to the river bottoms and by the endless miles of corn fields, I found great fun in checking on our whereabouts. 

How much further to go?

The best place to eat?

What state are we in now?

But then rather unexpectedly, just after we passed through a lovely town in Illinois...

I lost phone service entirely.

The feeling, while trivial at the time, felt remarkably familiar.

I didn't have a map, a plan so to speak.

You see today is the first time I have left that red barn on the hill in quite some time.

60 days to be exact.

And when I return to it in a few short days, I know there will be no map waiting on my desk as to where to go from here.

This past weekend we celebrated my baby sister's 16th birthday.

As I racked my brain for the best advice I had to offer her, I smiled at where my own journey was leading me.

Just this week...

I found a micro SD card on our lint trap, along with straw of course.

I relearned the value of fun

I remembered there is strength in unity

Patience is a virtue

Just because it's dirty doesn't mean it can't be fun

Life is precious

Beauty is everywhere

And then I told her this...

"Hit rewind
Click delete
Stand face to face with the younger me
All of the mistakes
All of the heartbreak
Here's what I'd do differently

I'd love like I'm not scared
Give when it's not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on You."

~King and Country~

Because sometimes it's okay to not know where you're going as long as you know how you want to get there.