Okay, maybe not mountains, but the hills of Tennessee are calling. And as John Muir would say, “I must go.”

We woke up this morning with a strangely calm feeling. Despite the journey ahead, 1600 miles with the seven of us and our entire life packed into two cars and a UHaul trailer, we feel strangely calm. Despite not knowing what is out in Franklin, Tennessee, and despite walking away from business and income here, we woke to a feeling of peace and comfort.

As we went through the motions of final preparations, loading the overnight luggage and food into the car, the magnitude of what we were doing started to sink in. The time had come. This wasn’t just a vacation or a sabbatical. We wouldn’t be coming back. And the loved ones, the friends, the community, and all of the places we have made memories as a family – they weren’t coming with us.

We knelt in prayer as a family in my mother’s living room. We knelt and prayed for strength, patience, courage, safety, and for peace. We prayed for those we were leaving. We prayed for our own hearts to be comforted. The tears began to fall as we embraced.

Here’s to taking deep breaths just before jumping. Here’s to risk and adventure. Here’s to doing the things we say we will. Here’s to throwing caution to the wind and leaning into the unknown. Here’s to saying yes despite the hard. Here’s to living life outside of our comfort zone. Here’s to leaps of faith. Here’s to guts, gumption, and a hell of a lot of moxie. Here’s to looking for the magic and finding it.

See you in Tennessee…