Another Adventure

She laid in bed after another tiring day, so similar to the previous four, yet full of its own unique trials. As she reflected on the past year, she bemoaned the contrast of her present realities to how she had envisioned what this year would hold. She pulled out a little black notebook from her nightstand. It was supposed to be a travel notebook. There were even tabs for budgeting and packing. Instead, it had become a collection of shattered hopes and dreams, and sketches of things she especially wanted to see but never would. Years ago, she had written on the front cover with silver marker, “I think I’m quite ready for another adventure.” Now she held it in her hands like an old love letter. “Another adventure,” she scoffed at herself. When was the last time she had had any adventures? Just once she wanted to get out and see the world. Just once she wanted to throw caution to the wind and not have to be sensible. There was a war within her. “You only get one life, live it.” “You need a safety net; you have a house and kids and responsibilities.” She could almost see the tiny figures hashing it out on her shoulders. But which voice had the tiny halo and which the horns and pitchfork? She couldn’t decide. “Oh well,” she thought, it wasn’t like what little she had in savings could pay for much of an adventure anyway.

Her 40’s were supposed to be when she got out to see the world. She actually had a trip planned, deposits were made, tickets were bought, this was happening. Then the world stopped and all her plans with it. A pandemic!? Right as she was finally going to get out and see the world an actual global pandemic. What were the chances? And if that wasn’t bad enough the divorce left her exhausted and broke. Even as the world was finally coming out of chaos, her own world was crumbling down into it. Her travel funds were completely diverted to necessities. Everything she had went toward making sure those two girls felt safe and provided for. The only adventures she had now were lived through the pages of the latest book she had borrowed from the library. Her greatest dream was to put a check mark in that little black book, any check mark, any adventure would do. She still dreamed though, she entered every contest she could find that offered a trip to London or Australia or Iceland (did she even want to go to Iceland? It wasn’t in her dream book, but if she happened to win one, she wasn’t going to turn it down).

She woke up on a typical Saturday morning, a little rainy, a good day for sitting on the sofa with a strong cup of coffee and a good book. The 16-year-old wasn’t up yet, she wouldn’t be up for hours most likely. The 12-year-old had been up since 7 playing enough Legend of Zelda to make up for the whole week, and some of next week. The dog was asleep with his huge fluffy head on her lap. He was warm and cozy. She savored these lazy weekends when the pace was a little slower and she could relax and spend time with her girls. As she read her mind wandered back to earlier years when the girls were younger and there were more days like these. Days when she would spend hours on the couch with two little heads in her lap or on her shoulders as she read aloud to them from her favorite books: Lewis, Rowling, but especially Tolkien. The far-off places, magical creatures, and heroic characters kept them spell bound as they listened to their mother give life to the personalities on the pages. She was suddenly snapped back to the present when the dog startled upright and bolted to the front door. The mail. She put her book down and reluctantly rushed to the door to save the mail before her 65-pound fuzzball could devour whatever was coming through the mail slot. “Every time!” she fussed.

She sifted the rescued letters in her hands; Bill… bill…*sigh* college alumni letter asking for money, ha, right, Oil change coupon, bill (do these ever end?) … This one’s different… From Moleskine? What on earth could that be? She ran her finger through the seal loosening the flap and removed the orange paper inside.

Congratulations!

You are our First-place winner for our contest, “What’s in your Molekine?” Your entry was chosen first out of 13,758 entries worldwide. Your notebook represented to us your dreams, inspiration, creativity, and self-expression. As the first-place winner you are intitled to your choice between either a 2 week all-inclusive Moleskine creative retreat or $20,000 cash…

She had to read it again. Was this a joke? Was someone just trying to scam her? She thought back. She remembered taking pictures of her travel journal turned dream book and sending it in via Instagram. Could it be that her little book of dreams and doodles had really caught the eyes of the judges at a giant company? Could she really have finally won a contest? Fantastical ideas of travel flooded her mind. But she was getting ahead of herself, she had to make sure this was legitimate before she let her imagination get too out of control. A voice chimed in, “If you have $20,000 you should save it for a rainy day.” Heaven knows there have been enough of those lately. “No,” she told herself, and whatever miniature celestial entities were listening, “I am going to give my girls a chance to experience the world even if we spend every penny of this prize money.” I want us to have the chance to live life fully, even if just for a few weeks. I’m going on an adventure.”

With one phone call she found out the letter was real. She had won $20,000 and she was going to spend it all on an all of it on an adventure that she and her girls would never forget, something they could always hold on to, something they could always look back on and remember the amazing summer they spent together far, far from home. But where would they go?

After some discussion, a fair bit of whining from the 12-year-old, and only a few eye rolls from the 16-year-old, they decided on New Zealand. Visiting the country that embodied their favorite books would be the best place they could imagine going. There wasn’t much time to get passports and make travel arrangements before summer break, so they set to work. Then, just as suddenly as they had begun, everything stopped. Summer break would be mid-winter in New Zealand. She laughed at herself, “Didn’t think about that when I started planning. I guess I got a little ahead of myself.” They settled on Christmas break. They could fit everything in in just over 2 weeks. And they all agreed that Christmas in Middle Earth would be fantastic.

As they sat on the first plane, she got out her notebook. She couldn’t wait to write about her adventures, even if it was only getting to the airport with two teenagers. She would have plenty more to write about over then next few weeks, but for now she just remarked,

16 hours! I just brought two teenage girls on a 16-hour flight! Am I crazy? I hope this trip is everything I’m hoping it will be. This is a lot of money to be throwing away if these girls complain the whole time. Please let this be worth it.”

The flight to Sydney was pretty uneventful, even changing planes and the three-hour layover didn’t elicit any unexpected grumpiness from the girls. The youngest finally broke down on the last flight, but she was comforted by the fact that they would soon be at their hotel and they could all order room service as a treat for having endured such a long, long day.

Finally, they were in New Zealand. Finally, there was a stamp in her passport. Finally, a checkmark in her book. They all excitedly showed each other their stamps, the first but hopefully not the last. They were all worn out when they finally got to their hotel. Room service was ordered as promised. “Straight to bed tonight girls, we want to be well rested for the start of our big tour tomorrow.”

The next ten days were so full of adventure and excitement that she barely wrote in her journal apart from an occasional note, “WETA workshop, saw the trolls!” “Harcourt Park (Gardens of Isengard),” “Fangorn Forrest!” It wasn’t until the tour was over and they lay exhausted but ebullient in their hotel room in Rotorua that she was able to really put pen to paper and record what their time in New Zealand had been like to that point. It was late, both girls were asleep, but once she started writing she couldn’t stop. So much had happened, so much she wanted to remember. She didn’t want to forget one experience, one expression on her girl’s faces, one moment of delight. She had filled almost half of her little “adventure notebook” with recollections of the trill of visiting stunning filming locations like Rohan and Rivendell, the exhilaration of kayaking down the Kawarau River, and the surrealness of walking around Hobbiton and eating dinner at the Green Dragon. It was though they had literally stepped into the pages of their favorite story.

She noted how strange it was to have BBQ for Christmas dinner and to be in shorts and sandals instead of boots and sweaters. Decorating a Pohutukawa tree with trinkets bought from the Queenstown Christmas market was different, but no one minded the contrast. She finally fell asleep, notebook in hand, dreaming of a beloved fantastical world that had just become a little more tangible.

The next few days were slower. It was a bit extravagant, but they had to have second breakfast at the Green Dragon before heading out to the Wai-O-Tapu geothermal park, and then off to Hamilton. Hamilton was captivating with its elaborate gardens, numerous restaurants and cafés, and abundant outdoor activities. A day and a half was not nearly enough time to spend in this picturesque gem of a city. They didn’t even have time to visit any of the museums before it was time to head to north for the last leg of their journey.

Auckland was a buzz with festivals and concerts. It was New Year’s Eve and as one of the first countries to ring in the new year, New Zealand celebrates with flair. They could see the countdown and dazzling firework display on Sky Tower from their balcony and they were mesmerized by the light show on Harbor Bridge. What she wouldn’t give for two more weeks in this enchanting country. They had only gotten a taste of New Zealand, but there was so much more to see. So much more of the world to see.

The plane landed and they disembarked, exhausted and just as broke as when they left, but exhilarated. Yes, they had spent every bit of the prize money, but they had also experienced a new corner of the world. They had lived fully and gone on the adventure of a lifetime. As they waited for their luggage the girls rested on a bench and she searched her bag for her key, she found also a singular $20 bill that had been forgotten in the excitement of travel. “So, I didn’t spend every penny,” she thought to herself, “but I will.” She went to the newsstand a few feet away and made a purchase and put the items in her bag. When they got home, she handed each girl a little black notebook, written on each were the words, “I think I'm quite ready for another adventure.”