08/13/2023
Recent events in my life have lead me down this road paved with emotion-filled images of moments from yesteryear. I am permitting myself to linger around this bend from 2018, when I made the decision to rent an rv (a type of vehicle I had never driven), pack up my 2 year old son and my mom, and drive from Southern California to Sign Post Forest in the Yukon Territory of Canada. I had zero experience, a loose itinerary, and a hyper-focused intention to finally start Road Signs To Life.
In this post, and the next 2-3 posts, I'd like to pay homage to my mom, who emotionally supported my quest to search for the beginning of Road Signs To Life. My mom bravely climbed on board a 24-ft road vessel, and let me lead us into unchartered territory.
As with every great adventure (and this was the greatest), we were challenged with road blocks and detours at nearly every intersection. The entire way to the Yukon Territory, she passively waved the white flag, reminding me that it was okay to turn back around. At the time, it grinded on my nerves that she would suggest a U-turn for home whenever we were met with the next obstacle. I would respond with, "Quitting is not an option! I've got this! (or) I'll figure it out." Looking back, I now recognize that she wasn't trying to talk me out of my destination, even though, in the moment, I interpreted it as such. What my mom was doing was giving me the permission that I never gave/give myself to accept that sometimes things don't turn out as you hoped they would.
The day we nailed our sign to the post in Sign Post Forest, she thanked me, her "Wild Child", for never giving up ... and I never will! Thank you, mom, for trusting me, for the laughter, for taking the backseat the whole way there (and back) as a witness to what my "stubborness" could actually achieve... a month-long adventure of a lifetime, and the beginning of Road Signs To Life. I am eternally grateful that my mom was there to see me push beyond my comfort zone to turn an "idea I had" into a plan that I'm doing!
