Mosquitoes, and Perch, and Bears… Oh My!
Nisswa, MN
Hi there. It’s been a minute.
I needed to take a breath.
There’s a lot going on in the world right now, you guys. It’s a lot.
And instead of ignoring it, I decided to absorb it.
Feel it.
Let it change me.
So I’ve got that going on, which is nice. Hope you do too.
But we have to balance the internal reflection and growth with just every day life, right? And that’s been going on too, so here’s the latest update:
We almost got eaten by a bear.
OK, that’s not true. But kind of.
We’re in Minnesota now, I honestly can’t tell you what day of the week it is or when we got here, but it’s been at least a few sleeps? I know this only because Ziggy the cat moved into Brent’s parents’ house when we got here and as a result I’ve had a few nights of good rest.
We learned a lot on the journey up here, mostly that traveling at a quick pace in an RV is not great. Going forward we’ve made some ground rules for ourselves:
1) No more than 4-5 hours of driving per day
2) AT LEAST 3 nights at every stop
Getting set up at a campsite and packing everything up to leave is exhausting and time consuming, and doesn’t leave much free time for Mom and Dad to actually enjoy the scenery. Having learned this, we’re hoping the next stretch of travel will be a little less harried, and a little more relaxed. Learning as we go!
So here we are in Minnesota, it’s so nice to hunker down for a bit and spend time with family. The mosquitoes are especially stoked that I’m back- their 24/7 buffet is back in business!
I wasn’t kidding when I said being here is like being at summer camp. The kids haven’t stopped playing outside since we got here- paddle boating, fishing, swimming, jet-skiing, tubing, biking, we’re doing it all. Brent’s parents have awesome neighbors with young kids too, and their yard is basically Disneyland MN, so our kids are in heaven getting to use all of their toys, playground, water slide, etc.
The dogs are living their best life, fetching and swimming all day.
Ziggy is in a wild cat wonderland; roaming free and hunting bugs and mice all day. We actually weren’t sure how he would do without a fenced yard, but he is sticking close to home and comes right back inside when he’s had enough.
And then yesterday morning, we had a visitor.
I wasn’t kidding about the bear.
Luckily we had a little warning, a neighbor down the road called to warn us that a bear had taken down her bird-feeder and was headed our direction. Everyone else was inside the house, and Olive and I were in the RV alone when I saw that Brent was calling my phone. I looked outside knowing something was up, and sure enough the bear was sitting in the driveway, about 10 feet from the RV. Just calmly giving himself a good lick, no urgency, just a sweet little bear out for his morning stroll. By the time I grabbed my phone to take a picture, he was already wandering back down the road in search of another bird-feeder to raid. Hoping he wanders himself right back into the woods and away from harm.
As I said at the beginning, I’ve been in my quiet mode since we got here. It’s the place I go when things feel overwhelming. Like many of you, my heart has been hurting and I’m working through all of the emotions, trying to figure out how best to use my time/energy/voice/resources/privilege. Thanks to the grandparents and Brent, I’ve had the space to get back into some of the practices that were abandoned along the road.
Yoga, meditating, journaling, reading, listening. Food for my soul.
I can feel myself being restored; ready to continue the work of learning and growing. Wanting to impact the world, but knowing that it starts within me, so doing what I need to prepare for what’s ahead.
On that note, I’ve been meaning to add a page of “Favorites” to this site, and finally today had the time to put it together (twice- after completing and accidentally deleting the entire thing the first time around… ugh). I wanted to share some of the books and podcasts that have deeply impacted my personal growth and journey. By no means an exhaustive list, but a good place to start if you’re looking for any recommendations. Click the Grow link if you’re interested!
I’ll leave you with some of the highlights of the last leg of our trip through Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota. So grateful for these joyful moments. We’ll be in Minnesota for a few weeks while we plan the next leg of travel. Looking forward to all of this quality time with Brent’s family in his beautiful hometown before we head out for the next adventure!
In Joy, Truth, & Love,
~lisa
