Welcome back friends. It’s been a while since we connected and a lot has happened during our prolonged absence. There was the BEST WEDDING EVER. We explored New Zealand and added to our global collection of friends. We had a Kilimanjaro reunion (minus two) in New York City. We continued to fall in love with Eastern Tennessee. We lost best friends (we will keep you in our hearts forever, Chris Werner) and, consequently, have been further and forever enriched by others. Living a life out loud doesn’t discriminate between risk and reward.
Sometimes the rewards are so big that you think “it doesn’t get any better than this” and then somehow it does. A year ago, I hit the reward lottery. We were in Queenstown, New Zealand on a two-night break in our 14 day Active New Zealand itinerary. This was the chance to explore the South Island’s largest city on our own and enjoy 36 hours schedule-free. We spent the first night doing laundry. We ordered room service and slept in a big soft bed. Fantastic! On February 21st (22nd in the States) we rose early for a run on Lake Wakatipu with The Remarkables (a favorite site of Bev’s) glowing in the dawn light. On the return leg, at a scenic spot on the lake, I stopped running and asked Bev to marry me. Accounts differ at this point, but I do know that after asking her, I did need to say “yes, I’m serious.” Thankfully, she agreed to spend the rest of her life with me and I’ve been rewarded every single day since. We bought an $8 stone ring at a local shop and, later that evening, celebrated with our new Kiwi friends by eating Ferg Burgers and sipping champagne. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. We married a few months later with the BEST WEDDING EVER and I still wake up every day pinching myself. Finding your voice and living your life out loud leads to Remarkable rewards! And to the love of my life, thank you for saying yes.
