We set out on the adventure of blogging about intentional adventures for the past 31 days. It was a month full of all kinds of interesting opportunities for us . . . and while I would probably do lots of it differently, I would do it again, because there was joy in the process and there was learning in the process.
Here are our top five lessons from adventuring intentionally . . .
This was one of the first lessons that we learned as we felt so awkward and self-conscious at one of our first adventures on a church hayride, but it was a theme. There were a number of other times when we stepped out and did things that we would not have normally done, like heading into a haunted maze or keeping our little guy up past his bed time. Bypass excuses and adventure any way.
I thought the hardest part of our challenge would be to find adventures for thirty one days. It was not hard at all, the opportunities seemed to be all around us. In fact there were a number of adventures that we did not blog about. One of my favorite adventures that found me was getting to see the Stanley Cup with one of my students. It was just an experience I never would have pursued. We also were up for checking out the open house at our local Fire Station and going to the State Fair. Things that I have not paid any attention to at all in the past.
Andrew and I have been working on budgeting this year. A goal we have had for years. We took Dave Ramsey’s online course, and have been adapting it for us. We do budget monthly for adventure (we call it Dining and Entertaining). It has been nice to know that there is money there just for enjoying one another and our world. We found some particularly good deals on Groupon and sites like it that we enjoyed in November, usually meaning we paid less than half admission to things like Sturbridge Village and Go-Karting. We also made the annual investment in Seasonal Theater Tickets that gets us out and experiencing.
Many of our adventures did not cost money at all, but instead were about being intentional with the time we had. Cole and I loved our Giving Adventure, a tradition I would love to develop more. We have one lunch hour a week together and we used it by playing at Jordan’s Furniture, Going to an Outdoor Art Show, and exploring REI, fun as a family. We do enjoy making the ordinary an adventure.
Life goes by quickly, and it does seem to increase exponentially as I get older. We have found that the best way to slow down that race is to be intentional and mindful. There are three seasons since Cole came to us that we have found ourselves really feeling as if we have lived fully in the season: the first was July 2010, when we each decided to take a picture a day, the second was this summer when we had theme weeks, and the third time has been the month of October and blogging about our intentional adventures. May we continue to grow in our intentionality, mindfulness, and adventuring.
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Updating as we go . . .
Day 1: About Intention
Day 2: About Adventure
Day 3: Challenge – Community Event (Hayride)
Day 4: Challenge – Use Groupon (Daytrip)
Day 5: Challenge – Find Event on the Internet (Art Show +)
Day 6: Challenge – Head to the Local Fair
Day 7: Flashback Friday – Andrew, Liza
Day 8: Challenge – Celebrate with Family
Day 9: Challenge – Celebrate Your Own Birthday
