Re-defining Reasonable

My personal questioning and reflection these days : is it reasonable to plan for a 16 day trip on my own in the spring of 2012?

Well at this point in my life... I think it is. If I rewind and think of myself only four or five years ago, I would have considered this idea completely unrealistic. Feeling the obligation to work and rake in as much income as possible for our little family, and obviously since I was part of the corporate swirl back then, I also had to use my yearly vacation allowance wisely (I think it was 4 weeks... goodness gracious!). But that was another era, and my life is very different now - thank God.

When I left the corporate world four years ago, following a burn out, I decided to take control over one precious dimention we tend to overlook in the first half of our life : Time. I took a very clear decision to change the pace of my work life, and protect the time I have with my children while they are still children. It applied to my day to day attitude towards time and I vowed to not rush anymore. Since then I never run to catch the bus or the streetcar because there is always another one not too far behind. I never hurry in the grocery store as I used to do after a day at the office. I take the time to prepare good home made meals. I go out with friends more often and when I do, I take an hour to prepare if I feel like it. I hang the laundry on the clothes line and feel so wonderfully 'normal' not using a machine in the name of time management. And of course, the decision to leave with the family for a 3 month adventure was absolutely part of this new approach - because our time together is very precious.

At this point in my life, that's what 'reasonable' looks like. And I like it a lot!