Bonus Year Recap by Shannon

This is my recap, which I wrote a few months ago. I really felt like the blog needed some closure (and honestly, so did I).  

Our very first stop on Bonus Year, the Oregon Coast.

So, I'm writing this mostly for myself, but also for those of you who know us, love us and continue to support us.  It was important and meaningful for us to share our stories with you along the way.  I would be remiss if I didn't share the story of Return.

I guess I have to start with the most obvious realization for anyone who has traveled for an extended period of time-  Everything here has stayed the same, while we are the ones who have changed.  This is the truest, most frustrating reality of returning home. How do I sum up an entire year's worth of wild experiences into a minute, or an hour, or a few pictures?  No one wants to hear me talk for as long as it would take to tell all of my stories. :)   Luckily, I was fortunate to share all of these stories and moments with Scott...and that has made our relationship all the more unique and special. For this I am thankful.

Like...remember the time you picked Lincoln's nose?

Or the time the cows were walking through the Austrian town?

Speaking of thankfulness, How could I not be thankful for the opportunity to do and see the things we were able to? I truly am. We went to places that young small-town Shannon had only ever dreamed of!

Don't get views like this in Annawan, Illinois!

Of course, there were the inevitable setbacks, frustrations and delays.  We had all of those things. There were bad days. Long days. Sick days. Days that got lost in time zones. Language barriers. Miscommunication. Homesickness. Sleeping in a circus tent with 150 drunk people. I won’t tell you that we handled every situation perfectly. But we got through it and now, I can hardly remember the bad days. I’m thankful for this. Thankful for the opportunity to learn from mistakes together and move on.

Just another 7+ hour bus trip in Patagonia!

 Mixed with the thankfulness is grief and mourning.  It’s over?!? Sadness. I could say that oh, of course we’ll have other adventures, and we most definitely will.  But let’s face it- not like this one. For one thing, it’s pretty unsustainable. And, life must go on.

This grieving process also includes missing the feeling I got from arriving at a new place, hearing different languages and experiencing different cultures. (Even in the US portions of the trip, this was true.)  Most notably, missing the people that we met along the way.  Our African family is still on my mind nearly every day (both the local people and the volunteers). And there are countless other people that enhanced our interactions and cultural experiences. 

From our gracious Icelandic hosts, Hulda and Gusti...

...to the Maasai women in Tanzania...

...to Frida in Chile.

Since going back to work, we find ourselves also grieving the loss of our free time. Back to the 40-plus hour work week and hectic lifestyles that we Americans adhere to. We miss the leisurely pace and amount of non-stressful, quality time we were able to spend with each other. This is so hard to come by in our normal working lives, and I don't think we realized that until we experienced it the other way.

Just sailin' and drinkin' mate. Leisure time in Bariloche.

I'll end by sharing the quote that I read over and over during our trip. It was helpful to me several times along the way and encompasses my thoughts more than any of this other rambling. :)

“It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while He is the end of our journey, He is also at every stopping place.” ~Elisabeth Elliot

Hmmm...where to next?

Footnote: This is not the official end of the blog. We may use it for future adventures. :)