Chrysalis: a protective encasement
in which transformation or growth occurs.
L: Roman numeral designation
for the value of “50”.
Many years ago, my wife Kristy and I began envisioning of our post-military lives. Although we both loved the military lifestyle--and more-so the honor of serving--we had strong personal desires to travel and experience the beauty of Our Country. Unfortunately, the increased operations tempo and limitations of military sabbaticals made this goal difficult to achieve.
"You get old when your dreams become regrets." - Brin Bellamy
Initially, the discussion of sustained travel on-the-road was more wishful rhetoric than purposeful design; creating our "bucket list" of places we wanted to see without any consideration to the logistical challenges of these grand odysseys These discussions were typically seeded by listening to someone else's adventure; leaving us with an "expedition-envy" to an adventure that we had yet to log.
"Learning that we're only immortal for a limited time." - Rush "Dreamline"
As the thirty-something years faded in the rearview mirror, we became more and more cognizant of that age-old quote made by white-haired oracles to their progeny: "Travel while you're young and are still able to enjoy yourselves." We were not "old" (or at least didn't feel that old), but we also acknowledged that wilderness backpacking excursions and skiing black diamonds all day were quickly vanishing from our repertoire. The countdown to the Après-Air Force juncture was closing in, and we embraced our dream as not only obtainable, but also as a reward to ourselves for earlier travel opportunities missed.
"What were once vices are now habits." - 1974 album by The Doobie Brothers
As the last tour was winding down, it was evident that the military swan song was at hand. Two things normally happen when you get to the end of a journey; you retrospectively contemplate how you got to this point, and you try to figure out which is the best direction to go from here. Looking back was easy, as I had been blessed with a fortune of great family, friends, and memories. Looking forward was different, as it generated an unfamiliar feeling of anxious excitement. Excited about discovering the unknowns that lie ahead--but anxious about the unknowns that lie ahead.
After serving in the military for over three decades, I realized that I had developed certain behaviors and expectations associated with operating in a very structured environment for a prolonged period of time. I also realized that upon my departure from the military, the onus was on me to adapt and integrate back into society; not for society to adjust to my habits and traits. As we continued to craft our grand travel design, I would tongue-in-cheek refer to our venture as the "Detox Tour," where we would shed the ways of the military lifestyle while assimilating ourselves into the civilian ranks.
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, The Master calls a butterfly." - Richard Bach
With a combined 50-years of military service behind us, Kristy and I have begun the "Chrysalis" phase in our lives. We will use this blog as our medium to relay our experiences, lessons-learned, observations, humor, inspirations, and anything else that we'd like to share as we continue to grow. Act One of our lives has blessed us with many friends from many walks of life, and we hope we will be able to break bread with those friends as we charter our course across Our Nation.
wWw
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