Never Do Things Halfway

Half-baked. Half-a-mind. Listening with half an ear.

Nobody wants a half-hearted commitment.

We want to be all-in. Fully invested. One hundred percent.

For years, my husband Kevin and I have talked about hiking the Arizona Trail (AZT).

AZT is an 800-mile trek that runs the length of our state, from the Mexican border to Utah. The non-motorized trail involves many challenges, including the Sonoran Desert, the Four Peaks Wilderness, the Santa Catalinas, and the Grand Canyon. Through-hikers take about two-three months to complete the hike.

That several-month timeframe has always stopped us. Who has endless weeks to leave behind work and responsibilities? We didn’t see how the dream could become a reality.

One gift changed everything.

Our oldest son, Nate, and his wife, Rachel, gave Kevin a book about the AZT for Father’s Day. The book divided the trail into 43 sections with details of how to accomplish each segment separately, with each segment divided into multiple days.

We were intrigued.

We talked about logistics. What did we own that was already sufficient? What gear would we need to purchase? When would we start?

“Tomorrow,” Kevin said. “We will officially start tomorrow.”

As we talked about details, I was reminded of our engagement. We both knew we had found the person we planned to marry but nothing was settled. One night we began casually chatting about wedding dates, and I stopped the conversation.

“You haven’t even asked me yet,” I said.

 And so, Kevin did. No fanfare. No chocolate-covered strawberries. No photographer taking secret engagement pictures from behind a tree.

 Just us. Making a lifetime commitment.

 I was 20 and a half when we got married. I always added “the half” to make it seem like I was older.

And now I am 65. And a half.

 I AM OLDER!

 Without fanfare. Without chocolate-covered strawberries. Without a photographer or news agency, we decided to hike the AZT.

 Someday is now. A fitting adventure for our 45th year of marriage.

 Because once we make up our minds, we never do things halfway.

I brought the blog out of retirement to write about our AZT adventures. I will include links to new blog stories in my monthly newsletter, “Wonder*FULL.” To sign up to get that monthly correspondence, click here.