Where is your Sense of Adventure?

Well… It’s that time of year again–school. I’m always so nervous on the first day of school no matter that’s it my seventh first day of school. I guess I’m nervous because it’s new. New students. New year. New clothes. New shoes. New supplies.

I decided to move classrooms this year; on purpose. It was a very big undertaking, but I’ve always loved change. My husband and daughter are just the opposite. They need things to be predictable, scheduled, and consistent. I need to be spontaneous and plan NOTHING. Okay, I do plan some things; I mean I do own a calendar. However, sometimes I forget to even check the calendar because I’ve ended up planning some sort of spontaneous adventure and forgot all about my plans! That’s crazy!

This summer we planned nothing as a family; no vacation, no visiting family, nothing. I literally would wake up and think of something or peruse the internet to find something. We ended up on some pretty fun adventures that way.

My daughter and I recently discovered the beauty of downtown Kansas City. I’ve lived here all my life and have never really had the desire to explore but my daughter said she wanted pictures of graffiti and murals painted on buildings. So that’s what we did. I didn’t realize how nervous she was to explore a new place. I get that way sometimes so it helps to have someone with you. I prefer to explore new places with my husband or my sisters. So this was kind of a new thing for me too. But, we did it! I drove us around slowly, thankfully it was a weird Saturday where no one was really around so we were able to take our time. Every mural, we stopped. Every unique photo opportunity, we stopped. She would question, “Are we allowed to do this?” “Is this legal?” “Should we be doing this?” At one point, I got out of the car to take a picture of a cobblestoned street, and as a car was approaching, she leaned out the window, “Mom! People are waiting!” She was so embarrassed and frantic. I said, “Where is your sense of adventure?”

Where is our sense of adventure anymore? We are all so worried about how we look when we explore new things. I guess my daughter doesn’t want to stand out; look different. While I can agree with that feeling, I don’t mind being the oddball. It’s what I’m used to. But not her. While I don’t necessarily want to change her because of that, I do want her to feel comfortable roaming the earth. Making new friends. Starting over. Sometimes we just have to.

So I ask you, where is your sense of adventure?