When Big Dreams Go Sideways: Who Said You Can't Go Home Again?
Going after big family dreams is risky.
Whether you want to shift your life so that you can spend more time with your family or go on a one-time epic family adventure, there are certain risks involved.
When we went after our dream of living on a catamaran this past fall, we were 100% all-in. We put all of our eggs in the catamaran basket, left our Airstream home in Maine, and plunged head-first into making it work. (We even came close to selling our truck!) When people asked us what we would do if we didn't like living on a boat or if something went sideways and we couldn't sail back up to Maine as we had planned, we laughed and said that wasn't possible. We'd been dreaming about and planning for this for over three years - how could it not work?
This wasn't the first time we had gone all-in on a family togetherness dream, so we thought we had a pretty good formula for making big, risky stuff work. We had pushed through financial hardship to live in Australia when we were in our early 20's. We had broken out of some pretty deep ruts to travel full-time in our Airstream when we were in our early 30's. So, we thought it was time to burst into our early 40's by learning to sail and living on a catamaran. But, as you already know if you've been in this email group for very long, when health challenges pop into the mix, things change. Priorities shift. Stress becomes the enemy, and health takes a front seat.
As it turns out, this wasn't the right time to go after our big catamaran dreams, so we're shifting gears.
Stepping back for a beat.
Pushing that big family reset button again.
Going back home to get the hugs we missed last time.
Finding our footing to start dreaming again.
In the next few weeks, you'll see a flurry of sharing on our social accounts and a few new blog posts about selling No Worries, packing up, leaving the Florida Keys, and settling into a rental house while we wait for summer to begin in Maine. If I don't sound sad about it, that's because if I know anything it's this:
When one big dream finds its sunset, another is just about to find its sunrise.
To be honest, I was really sad about this dream's sunset for a while. The truth is that we could have tried to push ourselves to make it work. We could have hidden our struggles and tried to turn our rain clouds into rainbows, but that just didn't feel right this time. We had to do what was right for our family. It's just part of being an adult, right?
And we chose to share this with you because, as a friend so wisely told me a few months ago, we all need to see the difficult side of living life on our own terms and going after our biggest dreams too. We don't always need to see just the pie in the sky moments; we need to see the pie that falls on the floor too.
I've never been one to pack up and go back home when things don't work out, but when I think about sharing our out-of-the-box life with you here in these Friday morning emails, I have to tell you one thing:
Having people you can call your home is a big part of making big family dreams come true. They're the glue that holds our family together when things go sideways.
If you don't have a safety net of supportive family and friends rooting for you in your big family togetherness dreams, get one. If there's been hurt and abuse in your past, too much pain or brokenness, it doesn't have to be your biological family. Reach out and find family and friends wherever you are. (And of course, you can start by clicking REPLY and reaching out to me - that's what I'm here for!) That way, you always have people you can go home to when you need them the most.
With our home team cheering us on, sending us notes of encouragement, and being there to love on us when we need to come back home for a bit, we can find the togetherness and adventure we're dreaming of.
This weekend, I hope you're still going after your own big family dreams - whether that's something like organizing a fun Valentine's Day scavenger hunt for your little ones, heading out for a romantic date with your mate, or getting cozy by the fire, or something more like hiking the highest mountains, sailing around the world, or hitting the road on a long camping trip.
You'll find us sweating in the Florida Keys for one more weekend, packing up all of our belongings, and getting ready to head home next week for some time with the people who love us no matter what crazy dream we're trying at the moment.
Let’s go after those family adventures you’ve been dreaming of together.
We'll get there!
What holds your family together when things go sideways on a big family dream?
Hop into the email group and share - I'd love to chat about it!