I flip-up the old silver latches that are secured tightly on my dark blue trunk.  It holds the special memories I choose to keep from my past.  My journals compile most of the space along with letters from secret admirers, family and friends; a few artifacts thrown in there to commemorate one thing or another; but all have meaning to me and really only me.

I started journeling when I was 10.  My parents had just divorced and other tragedies seemed to follow; so I wrote.  It was how I dealt with life and all that it  brought.  I didn’t really have anyone to talk to at the time.  I was the oldest and was the protector of my siblings; the pen and paper were my therapists.

As I was carefully pulling things out – I came across my adventure book; a list and pictures of all the things I wanted to do and places I wanted to go.  I was already the mountain explorer when I was at my dad’s cabin.  I knew every inch of that wooded floor.  But my mother had other ideas for me.  So… I walked down the runway and posed real pretty, but I knew that wasn’t for me.  My passion was traveling and exploring the unknown.  I wanted to write about my adventures and share them with the world.  Ohhhh… the dreams of a young child, never lack imagination.

As I was reading through the pages, I realized I hadn’t done or gone to any of the places I wrote about.  About the only thing I continued to do was write.  I began to feel sad that it took me so long to have my adventures; age 49 to be exact.  (Thank you F.A.)

But really, if you think about it, isn’t life itself the adventure?  

My adventures today are more like the scripted pages of my book that I wrote as a child.  My life between then and now was just a different kind of adventure –

Have  I climb mountains?  Yes! metaphorically maybe but I’ve done a lot of climbing

Have I felt that rush of excitement as if I were kayaking down a  raging  river?  Yes!  When I had my children; pain and joy all at the same time:)

Have I walked miles and miles, exhausted but feeling good at the same time?  Yes!  When I got my Masters Degree raising two kids on my own.  What an awesome sense of accomplishment:)

So… my life really has been an adventure.  The kind that has prepared me to live out my childhood book; as I travel and explore all over.  A single woman empowered to forge on to wherever the road takes her.  I am her!

All of our experiences in life bring us to where we are today; good or bad.  My choices earlier on didn’t allow me to be who I was.  But God had a plan.  Things don’t always happen on our timeline But they do happen.  I am so grateful that I am able to explore the unknown, meet new people, climb new mountains, and just experience all that life has to offer.

What does your adventure book look like?  Where have you gone?  or better yet, where are you going?

The journey is the reward, isn’t it?

Keep hiking to the top,

Kimberly Rae