One of the things that my wife finds maddening about me is my constant restlessness. She would be perfectly happy to stay in one place for the rest of her life. This shows that she is a grounded, solid and stable sort of a person.
As for me, I am constantly fidgety, restless, and wanting to move off into the wild blue yonder all the time. That shows what a flightly, silly person that I am.
As you might imagine, that has created tension in our marriage from time to time. But finally, I am seeing things her way. We cannot move every two years anymore. Our family needs stability and our boys need to be settled for awhile.
But, the problem then for me is, how can I change who I am? I think the good side of my restlessness is a constant need to explore and find new things. So, how do I balance these two worthy things, Stability for my family and the need to explore?
I think I have found the solution in an old dream of mine, to hike the Appalachian Trail. Some friends have expressed interest in going with me. But, whether they do or not, I am still going to do it. Now, granted, it will take me some time, as I can only do four days of hiking a year. The average thru hiker takes a total of six months if they walk straight through without stopping.
So, it will probably take me years to finish and indeed, I am hoping the boys will be old enough to finish with me. My plan is to start next September or October in Harper's Ferry, the midway point of the trail. I hope to get through to Pennsylvania in that hike, Lord willing.
I am excited about it. I cannot wait. And now, excuse me, I have to start training.
