Get off the Couch!

On the left is my son, Logan's Dad, and I on our bike trip through the Panama rainforest. On the right is my husband and I at Cabo, a Mayan pyramid near Cancun, Mexico (and yes, we did climb to the top).

I have seen so many wonderful places and met so many wonderful people so far in my life. I spent too many years as a coach potato and that I regret. What I don't regret are the times since then that I got lost in the woods, fell off my bike, coudn't roll my kayak and had to swim the cold rocky water, sprained my ankle hiking, being kept awake all night by the gun shooting rednecks from hell in a campground (which is actually a very funny story that I need to tell you sometime), and all the uncomfortable things that have happened to me since I got my butt off the couch.

My life is so much better now because the fantastic far outweighs the inconvenient. The North GA mountains are wonderful--so many trails to hike or bike with all skill levels. So many rivers to walk to and sit by or kayak down. Since I became active, I have met all sorts of wonderful people, like a couple of Appalacian Trail through hikers that I gave Cokes to and they wrote about in their trail logs as their first piece of trail magic. Fun interesting people like Panama Pete (referenced in a previous blog) would have been lost to me. Check out www.panamapeteadventures.com if you ever go to Panama.

Wonderful views have blessed me--such as the mountain views from the top of the Chimneys in the Smokey Mts., the incredible clear water snorkeling in Panama, the indescribable delight and excitement of my grandson the first time he saw the ocean when we took him to Hilton Head Island, something in the night sky we could only call a UFO, a deer swimming across a river as the mist was rising one early morning, and so much more that I never would have seen from the couch--or even the recliner.

You can see from my photos that I am not thin. I am not particularly strong, but I stay active and can hike to the top of a mountain or just take my dog for a walk. It is true that I go slower these days, but the point is that I still go. And I never regret it.

My children and I have had all sorts of adventures, some good and some not so good, but we had them together. It is so much fun to laugh about them and remember them when we are together. Those moments are gone too quickly and we cannot get them back.

So, give yourself a the best present you ever had. Get off your butt and go out and see the world. You don't have to go to Panama, or Timbuktu. Take a walk in a local park and be there. Smell the smells, hear the sounds, see the wonder that God has made. Do it with your kids before it is too late.