July 2019 | The trip that was never supposed to be. Well, that’s not entirely true. It was supposed to be, just not supposed to be Sayulita. It actually started with tickets to Peru and plans to visit the factory we are not manufacturing with (for The Bee & The Fox). Not to mention Machu Picchu, because how could we not? And all sorts of other dreams and wishes and cute airbnb’s and even dinner plans with some of our manufacturing team on our first night in Lima. Those plans were quickly put to rest when we showed up at LAX – Janet and Carla having already flown down from Seattle – and got turned away at the ticket counter because my passport expires in January of 2020 (apparently Peru has a stipulation that your passport cannot expire within 6 months and I was 4 days – yes, four days – too late). So there we were, Hooper, Van, and Carla backpacks ready and filled with all sorts of warm weather clothes in anticipation of Cuzco’s 30 degree weather. I took one look at J and watched as the look of disbelief was damn near instantly replaced with an excitement. With wild eyes she looked at me and said, “Where to now?”. And just like that we broke into groups. The kids in one huddle throwing out there own ideas of what we could do with the next 10 days. And J and I trying to figure out how to get my dad – who had dropped us off – to come back and swoop us back up. We pondered road trips… countries we haven’t been to in Central America… we looked up costs and flights and soon nailed down our wishlist that consisted of: somewhere warm (because we were both dreading winter in Peru), somewhere affordable, somewhere somewhat close since we had now lost a day (we were boarding the red eye to Peru).

Isn’t there a saying that when no one else wants you, that Mexico will take you? There should be. And so, to Sayulita we went. Last minute trip to Target for J, since she didn’t come swimsuit ready. And we were off.

Or were we? It’s all a blur at this point but all I know is that we were delayed for what felt like ever and if having these huge change of plans wasn’t already mind-numbing enough, this felt like it was going to kill us. That said, there’s something about surviving hardships with your best friend by your side and we were somehow able to laugh as our flight continued to be pushed back due to weather. Being able to go sit down at a restuarant and to come back to find a plane still not boarding felt like a victory. You know, because waiting for a flight with a full belly is greater than waiting for a plane hungry. Silver linings… they’re absolutely everywhere these days and you better believe I’ve got my eyes peeled.

We made it there just after midnight and enjoyed slow mornings and beach filled afternoons and riding around town in our rented golf cart and evening adventures on hidden beaches. It was perfect. Hot and sweaty and bug bitten with grande margaritas most afternoons and too much ice cream and stray dogs we wanted to call our own. A town where the sea stole my sandal in one monstrous wave and my sunglasses broke on day 2. A town painted with color and eager to welcome you, with iguanas in the trees and a calm, steady, rhythm beating in its soul.

Life, they say, can’t always be planned. So you go with it and find that sometimes life has better ideas.

Ain’t that the truth?

Want to hear about how we almost weren’t able to make it to the airport for our flight back because Van was barfing for the second time and couldn’t get out of bed but had a last minute surge of energy but then our flight was canceled anyway – after hours of waiting – and we had to spend another night in Puerto Vallerta and how J had to then change her flight back to Seattle and how that sent a plane full of restless travelers to the same taxi line and then the same hotel where we once again had to wait in line with everyone from our plane and where everything was “all inclusive” except wifi but not excluding the smell in the elevator?

I’ll spare you and end it again with: Life, they say, can’t always be planned. So you go with it and find that sometimes life has better ideas. And the kids… they’re watching us — we can lead with fear, we can lead with anxiety, or we can lead with openness and flexibility.