Fall is in the Air

New chapters and new reasons to travel

My big, strong ash tree in the front yard has yellow leaves on its furthest reaching branches. Stars Hollow has put out the pumpkins (iykyk). Morning coffee tastes a little bit cozier. And although the temps still read a balmy 91 degrees on my trusty Weather Channel app, I can feel it.

Fall is in the air.

The prelude has begun.

If years can be thought of in chapters - winter, spring, summer and fall - then I am on the cusp of chapter 196.

This weekend, as I turn 49 in Québec City, Canada, where the temps promise to be around 60 degrees as I wake up to coffee, room service, and a morning city tour of Old Québec City, I plan on savoring the season and celebrating the fact that I get to live it.

“I get to”

It’s going to be my new mantra, I think.

Richard Rohr, in his book, Falling Upward, talks about this life shift that happens around my chapter in time. I’ve been singing and struggling through her prelude for years, I think. Side note: If you are anywhere around the age of 38 - 55, just go read this book as soon as you can.

In honor of the “crossing over” that Rohr talks about, I think that this year I’m going to choose to gift myself a new way since life has brought me here…a shift from “I have to,” to “I get to.”

I used to hear my friend, Cari, talk about what word God might give her for a new year each January. So along those same lines, I’m just going to give myself a new phrase for a new half of this big, beautiful, maddening, delightful life…right here and now. I GET TO.

I get to greet my daughters with a hug and extra love in the morning when our faces are still all scrunchy and creased from our pillows after a heavy night’s rest. I get to walk at a pace of wonder and curiosity instead of calorie- burning fervor to reconnect with my husband after a long day’s work. I get to linger and watch one more episode of Gilmore Girls, even when I should be cleaning the bathroom. I get to cook another meal and pump gas. I get to fold laundry and mop the floor. I get to claim travel as a true spiritual practice in my life. And even when people look at me side-eyed about it, I get to know in my soul that this is my deepest place of connection to the Divine I have ever experienced, and that’s worth claiming, celebrating and enjoying. I get to take care of my body in a way that is right-sized for a 49 year-old and not 30. I get to start new things. I get to release old things. I get to cheer on my adult kids, and keep my mouth shut instead of fixing things. I get to take a nap any time I feel like it. I get to say “no.” I get to say, “yes.” On and on…I get to.

I’ve lived so much of the early chapters with “shoulds” and shame. To be honest, I don’t regret it. They got me here. I think I actually needed them in small doses to propel me onward and to create the ambition to press hard and land somewhere. And honestly, I doubt there will ever be a true shedding of these “s” friends, altogether. But here’s the goal for year 49, chapter 196…

Less “I shoulds!”

More “I get tos!”

Happy Birthday to me!

I Get to Love Travel

I have wrongly shamed myself over the years for my passion towards doing something so frivolous that a large majority of the world doesn’t get a chance to experience. But shaming my heart for travel has never made my desire go away. It has actually done the opposite.

When the shame would come in small doses, it served to make me think, wrestle with, and actually form a confidence that traveling and inspiring others to see the world in curiosity and wonder, whether across the world or down Main Street of their own home town, is good.

I know that travel opens the door to transformation when other ways fight to pry it wide to no avail.

And I know that setting the table for the Spirit within to have space to do their work in each person as they choose, right out in the middle of the wild and wonderful world God created, is a privilege, not a shame. And so I press in deeper. I get to.

Venture 49

All of that being said, this year I’m adding another tool to my tool belt as I embrace travel. I’m excited to share that I am now an official travel agent with Travelmation Travel Agency.

Budget travel, frequent flyer miles, and traveling with one eye on the world and the other eye on Jesus is forever going to be my heart and passion.

And you’re not going to start hearing about travel packages and Disneyland in this space, so have no fear.

But it’s a fun accomplishment I wanted to take a moment to share. Please just know that I’m here for you however you need help and inspiration in journeying into the world for rest and re-centering. Big Story Living is for journeying and Travelmation is for vacationing. So whatever you need to satisfy your travel bucket list dreams, I guess I’ve got you covered, and I’m happy to help. :)

Celebrating Our Next BSL Journey and Looking Ahead

The March 2025 Women’s Journey is set and we’re taking off March 1-12 to Vienna, Krakow and Prague! Message me if you want in on the next one. I’ll happily add you to the waitlist for November. ✈️

Happy Travels!

Amy