When I quit drinking, after a few months of losing my mind..
I gave myself a year to get my brain together.
I decided that I needed to spend a year finding out what makes me.
Finding out what I want.
Trying new things.
Figuring out what I’m passionate about.
Growing a pair, as it were.
I’ve realized, in the past few weeks, that my addictions never really allowed me to grieve properly.
I knew that part already.. I knew I was stuck in grief.
An endless pity party, set on loop bouncing off liquid anesthetic, and pizza pillows.
What I hadn’t understood was this: I never gave myself the chance to be a warrior.
I never gave myself the chance to get to know and accept myself, and the circumstances I was dealt.
I let my grief define me.
..And then I let the booze define me.
For a long time, I told myself it was the only thing I was good at.
If drinking is the only thing one does, it can be the only thing one is good at, natch.
I digress.
It has been one year, 4 months, and 19 days since my last drink.
Pretty close to my goal of one year, I’d say.
I am new.
There are two of me.
The one I was before, and the one I am after.
I have realized a few passions in life.
Cooking, obviously.. Though I clearly don’t do it enough..
Hiking/kayaking/canoeing.
And travel.
So my mission statement, here and now.. Is to travel the world.
My hope is to travel for over a year, to all continents.
In that time, I want to find a place that calls my soul home.
I hope to save every penny, and be able to go by summer of 2015.
So far, I plan to go to Iceland first.
Then Norway, down through Sweden..
Then most of Europe.
I’d like to see Kenya, Madagascar, and The Seychelles.
Sri Lanka, and The Maldives.
Thailand, and Myanmar.
Australia, New Zealand, and Papau New Guinea.
Peru, Argentina, and Brazil.
Cuba, Trinidad, Belize..
Just to name a few.
I’m already working on budgets, and reading up on travel blogs.
I’ve started eating paleo.
I’m going to start taking ass-kicking classes.
I want to be able to fight a motherfucker.
And be pretty good at it. Two years oughtta do it.
So there you have it.
I’m going to start blogging my finds, and interesting resources for travel information.
It’s getting to be fall, too, so I plan on getting back to cooking.
Once this Wisconsin weather turns, there’s not much more to do outside.
All this time I was finding myself, and I didn’t know I was lost..
