I just turned 42. The answer to life, the universe, and everything. 42 seems old, but also it doesn’t. I still feel like my 23 year old self. Except that I don’t.

I never imagined that I would be spending a year traveling the world at age 42. Rand and I had talked about traveling around the world when we were 22. But at the time I didn’t know it was even possible to just up and travel the world. It took Rand 20 years to ease me into the idea. . .

42 seems like a good age for me to travel the world. In my twenties, I worried too much and was unsure of myself. In my thirties, my kids were too young.

I am now at a point in my life where I realize that, as Rand often says, “Everything works out.”  Yes, things in life, including travel, involve planning and preparation. But once that’s done, I have learned from experience, there is no need to stress out. Things do work out.

Often not in the way you plan. Sometimes better than you planned. Sometimes worse. But the worse often becomes a learning experience. Or a great story to tell later.

42 is a time in life when people often consider what they’ve accomplished and ponder where their life is heading. I have accomplished much of what I dreamed of when I was young. Living in New York City, getting married, having children. And I’ve experienced many things I never considered even in my wildest dreams. Living in Seattle, Colorado, Hawaii, teaching college classes.

My kids are almost grown. This trip is a last family hurrah before my oldest goes off to college. I find myself thinking a lot about what I want from my next stage in life.

Travel has already taught me that I don’t have to do things just because it’s the way things are done in my culture and country. Except soft beds and hot showers. I’ll keep those, thankyouverymuch.

42 for me will be a year of growth and learning that can only be experienced through travel. And I look forward to it. Traveling the world for a year is the perfect beginning to my Act II.