Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.

Mary Ritter Beard

I realized shortly after writing my entry about needing a vacation that this trip is fulfilling another major necessity for me: travel. It's been years since we left our own country, and in the stressful maelstrom of our homesteading lives, we'd forgotten how much we love and crave the rush that comes from being somewhere completely new. Now, we're basking in the joy of that experience on a daily basis.

There is something so right about Tyler and I traveling together. I suppose since the first few years of our relationship were forged planning to travel and straight-up traveling, some small part of me will always feel most at home when furthest from it. It is so important to me to be humbled by the smallness of my tiny self in this great, vast world. To have eye-opening, soul-opening, slate-cleaning experiences that show me the myriad of ways one could choose to live out a life.

Historically, we haven't been good at moderation. We spent nearly two years doing nothing but saving to travel. Then we spent two years traveling full time. Then, we hunkered down to start a homestead and didn't travel for the next four years unless it was directly related to our building goals. We couldn't bear to spend a dime or precious time on anything that wasn't getting us closer to realizing our objectives.

While this laser-like focus is effective and necessary, for behemoth, never-ending undertakings like our homesteading venture, we need some balance! We need to remember to set aside time for fun and travel. For our health and happiness we're going to be better about this, despite the costs. It's just plain worth it!