When I tell people that we will probably be gone for a year they are always shocked and say something along the lines of, “That’s a really long time.”
But is it? I’m not so sure.
Originally, when I was just dreaming about this trip, I did think a year was a long time. I thought we could escape for 6-months maximum.
But then I thought back to my friends Dan and Nome. Since we met them, about 2001, they were always talking about saving up to go travel for a year. They saved for years, and finally in 2005ish the big trip came…and went. When they came back I was shocked! They had been gone for over a year, yet it seemed like that was impossible. Didn’t they just leave?
That got me thinking….
When your young and in school so much happens during a year. You have new classes, different friends and a definite beginning and end point (school starting and summer ending). Each year seems almost like a different life. But when you are an adult doing the same thing day after day, the years begin to blend. Ryan and I have gotten into multiple arguments about how long we have lived in this house (3 years? 4 years?) and we even lose track of how old our cats are. I can easily go months without seeing those I consider good friends. That’s just the reality of being a busy adult.
So is a year a long time? I’m beginning to think no. Not much will change in our small town and aside from getting a year older, our friends will still be here (or still be reachable) and thanks for Facebook, e-mail, skype and blogs I’m sure we’ll all keep in touch. In fact I think my year away will be one of those weird time warp years. It will feel like I did a lot on a year, yet when I come back it will feel like it happened long, long ago.
But wait a minute, I haven’t even left yet, why in the world am I talking about coming home?!
The scary thing is that a year is not a long time and that’s why it easily turns into 2 or 3 years for people who go do something like this. I think our big problem will be not spending more than a year. We have to remind ourselves that while we still have lots of years left, we also have as many places we like to spend them.