Al: I'm Coming Home (Not Yet, But I Did Pick a Date)

5/12/15

Picture I took on our last trip in La Fortuna

My MisAdventure, journey, escape, self-discovery, whatever we are calling this, has an end date. And it’s sooner than I thought. Coming into this trip I had a feeling that something would happen at some moment that would make me decide it was the right time to go home. And guess what? It just did.

I had a decision to make. It was time for me to figure out what matters most in my life. And I decided monumental moments in the lives of my family and friends are not to be missed. I love traveling and I don’t ever plan to stop.  But in this case, it is more important for me to go home. I used the same rash decision making skills that brought me on this crazy adventure to pick a return date. 

And so, sometime during the second week of July, I will board a plane in Panama City with a one way ticket home. A few days later, I will be in Sacramento for my mom’s retirement party.

I can't miss her special day!!

My mom is finally retiring after 20 years working in the same office. She has worked her ass off for  many years to support me. Because of her, I have been able to do things like go to college and follow my passion for adventures. I was really having trouble with the idea of missing her retirement party. How could I not support the one person who has supported me my entire life? But I thought it would be alright because we were meeting in Panama the week after her retirement to celebrate. Last week she stared questioning whether she really wanted to meet me in Panama. The more we have talked about it, the more I realized what she wasn’t saying; she wants me home for her retirement party.

When I was considering what to do, I thought back over the past few years. There were times when work commitments got in the way and I missed significant family moments. Three years later, there is one I still regret it more than any other. I know I can’t make up for it and I don’t even know that the person realizes how guilty I feel for not making it, but after that, I swore to myself I would not let life get in the way of once in a lifetime events. I won’t do it again. Life is journey of self-discovery, I don’t have to be in Central America for my journey to continue.

The minute I made this decision I started crying. It was like all of the emotions I have suppressed since my arrival in Costa Rica flooded into me at once; fear, excitement, joy, sadness, anxiety at returning to my former life, and more. I’ve been sitting here in tears for almost 5 minutes and I don’t know if they are happy tears or sad tears. But as much as I want to run away to Central America and live in paradise forever, I can’t, at least not for now.

Frankly though, the more I think about it my whole life is a series of misadventures strung together with laughter and love and shared through a series hilarious and ridiculous stories. Sometimes when I recount these stories I can’t even believe they are mine, my MisAdventures. This trip just is just one chapter in my Grand MisAdventure.  When I go home, the adventures won’t stop, it will just be the start of a new chapter.

My trip is nowhere near over though. As a matter of fact, I’m only 1/3 of the way through it; I have a lot of time left to explore Central America. I still have two months to complete my Costa Rica and Panama bucket lists. So with that, let the MisAdventure continue!

Until Later...

Love you!

-Al