Adventure!

Kim-The Seasoned Lady
Mar 10, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Mar 17, 2025

Good day, my friends, let's talk about adventure. It's something I've been reflecting on lately. When Markus, my husband, returned from his first military deployment back in 1988, he was a changed man. At 27, he'd seen a slice of the world many only dream of – those stunning Mediterranean cities and ancient ruins. He came home with a promise: one day, we'd see Venice together.

Now, rewind a bit. Just a few years prior, we were newlyweds, bright-eyed and, shall we say, a bit naive. I was navigating the hormonal rollercoaster of starting “the pill”, and one particularly emotional moment led to a dramatic declaration as I fell into his arms weeping that I “wanted a baby…it would ‘complete me.’” Yep, I actually said that! We'd seen other young couples with children, and in our 23-year-old "wisdom," decided it was the perfect plan. We'd have kids early, they'd be off to college by our fifties, and then we'd have years of adventure. Ah, the sheer certainty of youth. I can't help but chuckle.

Anyhow, kids did come. We had three daughters in quick succession, and as the military spouse, I shouldered a significant portion of the childcare. No regrets, it was a choice we made together, but let's be honest, it was demanding.

Fast forward to today, and that promised adventure? It's finally happening. Markus has been my steadfast travel companion for the past 15 years, and this last year, that long-awaited trip to Venice materialized. We spent two glorious weeks exploring Italy, a dream realized for both of us.

My camera has become my “other” travel companion, a nod to my mother's love of capturing moments. Now, the joy from the trips are revisited over and over as I transform those photos into art. Animals, cityscapes, landscapes – they all take on new life under my stylus and paintbrush. Each piece brings back a flood of memories and the shared experiences with my life-long Love, Markus. It's a beautiful reminder that sometimes, the best adventures are the ones you build together, slowly, over time.