Embarkation

One year ago I did this.....

My friend Margie and I set sail on the high seas.  It was the "Ultimate Scrapbook Cruise" and Margie was granted luxury accommodations for two as a scrapbook celebrity and presenter to the 300 cruisers who came to see HER in action.  And she took me along for the ride.

As the lucky friend/guest, I was able to travel for the week with Margie and set foot on the beautiful isles of the Florida Keyes, Grand Cayman, and my all-time favorite, Jamaica.  The cruise outdid any girl's trip you can image.  We dance, ate, lounged, swam, climbed and best of all laughed all night long.

And we discovered our new favorite word:  embarkation.

2009 marked the use of our new word in various forms.  Margie embarked upon a new stage in her career with a signature line of scrapbook paper, leaving behind a very fulfilling job with a major scrapbook company and pursuing bigger dreams of her own.

I embarked on a career as a USAT Certified Triathlon Coach and found myself helping new triathletes realize their lifelong dreams of breaking the Ironman finish line tape.  Personally, I embarked on attaining new race goal times.  I'm still working on a few of those.

But ultimately, we embarked.  We left the comforts of home, armed and ready to pursue our dreams.  We faced disappointment and rejection head on.  We set crazy goals, tried new things, and attempted to manage the fine art of balancing family life, work life, and personal desires.

Embarkation isn't easy.  There are plenty of struggles and self doubt along the way.  But trying something hard teaches you something about yourself.  It teaches you that you are stronger than you think, you have a family that will buoy you up when you fall, and dreams can only be achieved if you TRY.

Now that another year has claimed my calendar, I have a new set of embarkation goals in mind.  I will write them down and begin my quest again.  What are your goals? It's time to go.  Today is lifting the gangplank for tomorrow.  And your ship is ready to set sail.