One Trip Around the Sun

Reflections from one year into our traveling lifestyle

We are getting this post out a few weeks past our one year mark since beginning travel therapy! This past year has been so special and meaningful to us - in between our trips and adventures have been long talks about our goals, our future and our current priorities. We have dreamed up ideas, made plans and changed our minds too many times to count. We look back on this time a year ago as two individuals who are more confident in the decisions we’ve made, with a new appreciation for home and an increased resilience. While we are always learning and growing, here are 5 things we feel confident about as we reflect on our past year of traveling:

5 Reflections One Year into a Traveling Lifestyle

1. Marry your best friend and someone who enjoys similar activities/hobbies as you. While this is not a ground-breaking revelation, we know that this lifestyle would not be nearly as fun if we both didn’t love traveling, exploring new places and being active outdoors. Enjoying our hobbies together makes marriage and this season of our lives so much fun. Going on a hike, a bike ride or a walk on the beach really ignites our feelings of being in sync and deeply connected. Having a true friendship with each other as the foundation of our marriage gives us fulfilling companionship in this lifestyle that can at times feel really lonely.

2. Find a partner who compliments your strengths and weaknesses. We have talked about this before, but this lifestyle has really highlighted both of our strengths and weaknesses and allowed both of us to shine and help each other through unpredictable times. I am easily prone to stress and worry, while Tyler’s strength is being even-keeled; which has been so vital with how fast things can change with travel therapy. We have been able to use my organizing/planning skills and Tyler’s logistical/analytical skills to plan our trips exactly the way we want them to be - teamwork makes the dreamwork!

3. Less is more. One of us really enjoys clothes, shoes, all of the things (if you guessed Tyler you are right). We have had to dramatically minimize how much stuff we are able to travel with, as we only use one car and our luggage rack. We have an entire storage unit of our belongings back in Kansas yet, we have not thought about the stuff we have waiting for us once (except our Nespresso machine - we miss you). This process has reinforced the fact that more “things” does not equal more happiness and in fact can lead to decision fatigue and feelings of chaos. We feel much lighter only traveling with the belongings we truly need - it is freeing being able to pack up our car and go, knowing that we have our necessities with us. I have had to come to terms with the fact that I am going to be an outfit repeater and I am okay with that ;)

4. Home is where the heart is. Another cliche, however, this one has really proven to be undeniably true over the past year. It has hurt our hearts to not physically be there for our families and friends this last year in the way we would like to be. Through difficult times and joyous times, we know that we are missing out on a lot of important days for those we love. While we are so thankful for the grace and understanding of circumstances we have been shown, it does not make us feel any less guilty for being so far away. While this has been the hardest part of the last year for us, it has also made us realize that one day we will be so ready to be back home.

5. Big risks equal big rewards. I can remember being so nervous to leave my secure job in Kansas, pack all of our belongings and hit the road with no idea if what we were doing was the “right” choice or not. With the reassurance and encouragement Tyler provided, we took the risk to leave everything that was comfortable. Now, a year later, we can both say that it has been 100% worth the risk! Knowing what we know now, our only regret is not being able to begin travel therapy sooner. This year of traveling has given us so many rewards. It has enriched our lives beyond what we could have imagined, brought us so much happiness and has allowed us to see and experience so many beautiful places that we would not have been able to explore otherwise.

Some days, we don’t know how we will say goodbye to this lifestyle, while other days our hearts long for home. When we left Kansas at the end of May 2022, we told our family and friends that we planned to travel for a year - well, a year that has come and gone (way too quickly). For now, we feel like there is still more to see and experience together on the road. This year we have learned that there is not necessarily a “right” way - just decisions and choices we all have to make based off our values and current priorities. We have learned to block out the whispers of fear and doubt, feelings of comparison and society’s timelines of what our life "should" look like. We feel confident and at peace knowing that we are doing what is best for us in this season in life.

Now that we can reflect on the year as a whole, we can so clearly see how God has weaved His hand through our challenges, for His good and ours. We can see and be so thankful that God gave us the best gift in each other as partners and has allowed us to grow in so many ways together over the last year of traveling. And we can see that God has given us a spirit of peace to help guide us through this life, our decisions and choices.

As of now, our contract in Santa Barbara is set to end August 31st. Where to next? We aren't quite sure, but we know things will work out exactly how they should and are looking forward to our next adventure!

Love always,

The Wandering Wrights