10/24/12

My Father, Fearless Wanderer

Occasionally we find cause to stop and think about the important people in our lives in a way we don't do every day. Like suddenly seeing the forest rather than just the trees. I don't remember what prompted it, but some time ago, I had one of those moments when thinking about my Dad. And the realization I had was that one of things I admire most about my Dad is his sense of adventure, and that adventure needn't mean bungee jumping or trekking in the Andes, but can be as simple as getting out of your comfort zone. Some of the ways he has mastered this include:

  • wandering Dallas or any other place he happens to land in "just to see"
  • traveling the state, the country and the world
  • making new friends in a breath
  • immersing himself fearlessly in new technologies (even if they bite him in the ass)
  • trying new restaurants or just new menu items at frequent haunts
  • taking pictures, endlessly taking pictures

I, on the other hand, am solidly planted in my personal comfort zone. I barely leave the house, to say nothing of leaving town. I can count on one hand the number of true friends I've made since leaving school (largely because I find socializing to be excruciatingly exhausting), the only time I ever try out a new technology is when the Mr. presents it to me ready to use and I generally do my best to avoid photo-ops out of instinct.

I have decided that I need to work harder to emulate some of of my Dad's sense of adventure. Making new friends is tricky, but I could certainly do better at keeping up with the ones I already have, which means actually setting a date on the calendar when a friend says "We should get together!" instead of just agreeing vaguely. I also should be buying tickets when I see an event I want to attend instead of just thinking about how fun it might be (the cemetery tour was my first effort here). One of my projects for this year was to get at least one photo of myself and the Mr. every month. So far, so good... we'll try to get a slideshow up for you after the New Year.

1 comment:

Kelcey said...

I look forward to following your adventures!!