Welcome to our Book of Adventures

Anxiety Ruled My Tiny World

I remember when I never went anywhere…I was scared to go out there and do things I’ve never done before. My normal routine was to go to work, go home, rinse and repeat. It was a routine I established later in college. The idea of booking a flight gave me extreme anxiety, and I had no idea how to plan a trip, book a hotel room, and worse…I had no one to go anywhere with. My twenties were a bumpy road, one I walked alone. Not only was I terrified to adventure out, but I was mortified at the idea of getting close to people. I had no idea how to have a relationship with anyone, my fear of rejection played a big part in just staying home. I remember being invited to go on a road trip…I said No. I remember being asked to go to a concert…I declined. I remember being asked to visit with old friends in the city… I was scared to drive that far. Those were lonely days that seemed to blend into each other, one day to the next, with nothing notably special or amazing, and it was my fault. It was the life I knew. My anxiety kept me close to home. It also kept me in a self-created jail cell where I was never going to become my best self or live my best life.

My career, thank goodness, forced me to travel, and often. My first big work trip was Disney, we had a big conference there and I did all of the marketing pre-show and onsite. I still have a cinderella coffee mug that I bought on my first day there 🙂 My second big work trip: Germany. Now this one scared the sh*t out of me… not only was I going to another country, I had to fly home by myself and there was a dreaded connection in Munich!!! It seemed overwhelming…the very thought of venturing OUT of the country made me want to throw up. I remember when I landed back in Chicago, I had the world’s worst migraine and I could barely stand, I was that stressed out by all of it. The trip was amazing once I got there, but man…. getting home was a challenge.

“My Career, thank goodness, forced me to travel, and often…”

I survived the trip. And, I did really enjoy it!! It was in this moment that I realized…I loved to travel. And this fear that kept me home all the time…and never trying new things…I had to face it. And I did. I worked hard over the next few years to get over my fear of adventuring to new places. I also went through some personal things that left me full of anxiety all over again….man, you go forward 10 steps only to fall back 30. Travel helped me overcome all of it. For two decades, my family and close friends have helped pull me out of a hole they probably had no idea I was in… here are some memorable pics from those travels!

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A New Life Full of Adventure

Fast forward to today… My life couldn’t be more different than those 20-something years. I travel the world with the most amazing partner and person I’ve ever met 🙂 Nate is fearless, and that’s the perfect person to travel to new places with. We try everything together. We’ve taken trains, plains, and automobiles in other countries and never have I felt more safe… We love to explore, find amazing restaurants and order everything on the menu, and, just being together. We have a lot of fun…as you can see 🙂

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I traveled in my previous life before Nate, but with him, we travel and explore constantly. We do have 4 kids so we try to include them in our adventures as much as possible. And we ALWAYS tell them our travel stories in hopes that they will grow up to be adventurers, too! And…try new foods (one day….it will happen!)

Getting Married…The Ultimate Adventure??

In a little over 60 days, Nate and I get married ❤️  I remember when I started our wedding website, it gave me a countdown of 600 days! Which made me laugh…that seemed like a VERY long ways away. We’ve been engaged for 2 years and in August, we will have transitioned to the next big chapter, husband and wife. With marriage, there was no rush, only enjoying each other and our kids. I was married before, and never saw myself getting married again. But, here I am wearing a GORGEOUS ball gown of a dress (go big or go home, right?) and walking down the aisle in 2 months 🙂 Life is so unpredictable, there’s no way you can plan from one day to the next. And, it certainly keeps you on your toes! The ultimate adventure. It has been a long road, one that I cherish every moment of. We took the slow-and-steady road and decided it was best for us, and the kids especially, that we live life to the fullest and leisurely cross the finish line calmly, cautiously, whole-heartedly, patiently….and holding hands. With him, I can breathe and be my true self. He knows all of my dark corners, and is still here. I am grateful for this man, he was the missing ingredient for me to live my best life.

Travel for us is meaningful on so many levels. We continue to plan future trips, long weekends, or day excursions…something I don’t think we’ll ever stop doing. Some of our best memories are on these trips…they connect us and remind us that there’s something really great about experiencing something new, like a new country or a new island, together.

The Reward? Feeling Alive

I am lucky. I could have chosen to let my fear and anxiety take over and rule the rest of my life…and that’s not living. That would have, however, been easier. But instead, I overcame it, booked that flight, built relationships with people, ate foods I never would have eaten before, done every excursion possible while traveling, and I get to travel ‘the road in front of me’ with my person…this man who loves my cooking, who loves to explore, who loves sharing his passions with me, who thinks i’m hilarious, who thinks I’m smart, who says Thank You every morning for the coffee I make, who loves my kids, and who literally shines sunlight on everything he touches…and today I am living the life I dreamed of. Everything falls into place.

Travel is a big part of both our hearts. We have a handful of trips left for 2021 and are already booking some very exciting things for 2022! I’m very particular about travel…I need a diverse portfolio of trips ranging from islands to other countries, to a state I’ve never been to, to local things. It’s going to be a good line-up!

Writing about our travels may just end up being a literal book of adventures…a digital documentation of our life together. If life is what you make it, we plan to make it an adventure, always ❤️  ❤️  Through good times and bad. I am thankful for my 20’s…it reminds me of how much I have changed and how far I have come.

Here’s to travel being a blessing to those who pursue it…

We hope you GO ADVENTURE!

Heather