That's what I am doing. A year of CPR. Let me explain. I think we would all agree that when you think of CPR, you think of life saving, live changing, and certainly recesitation. That's what this year is to me, but CPR stands for my children, Chancellor, 16, Peyton, 12, and Rainey, 10. And, no, this isn't some pitiful story of how bad my life is. I have a wonderful life that God has richly blessed me with. And, it's not because of homes, cars, jewelry, etc., it's because God has blessed me with the ability to love and live everyday. My life is certainly not perfect, but I have a husband, Todd, that I love very much, and three children that are healthy and happy. So you ask, "what's the need for CPR"? It's about living, about living life to the fullest, and about knowing all to well how short life can be. But, maybe I should start from the beginning.
About a year ago, my aunt was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She is not just an aunt, but a second mother to me and another grandmother to my children. So, you can imagine the effect it had on all of us. If you are familiar with ovarian cancer, you know that the diagnosis is never great. So, I had been with her during one of her surgeries, and I came home to my family. I decided to be honest and tell them the truth about her diagnosis. Chancellor, my oldest, simply said, "life is so short, why are we not doing something". Simple words. Words that have turned our lives upside down. Todd and I looked at each other and said to Chancellor, "what do you mean"? He said like seeing the world, doing as much as we can, and being together as a family. Todd and I told him that we had dreamed of doing something like that, but we thought we had missed the window. Now we know that there is no such thing as a window! From that simple conversation, we as a family have decided to leave our "normal" lives behind, hit the road, and home school. Yes, I said home school. I hope all of you know that God does have a sense of humor. I've declared two things in my life. One, that I would never have two children in diapers at the same time. I now have two children that are seventeen months apart. And second, that I would never ever home school, and here I am home schooling three children by choice! And, as Todd always says, look at the platapus, and you know that God has a sense of humor! For all you folks that think you can't home school, you can! If I can home school, anyone can. But, I do have to give Gateway Christian Schools a shout out. Talk about leading a horse to water. I'm the horse (or actually mule). They have guided me, counseled me, and have given me the confidence that I needed.
So here we are. A year of CPR. A year of life and living. A year that I hope to be life changing and life altering. What does that look like? We are setting out to see and do as much as we can. We are headed to the east coast to Boston, New York, Washington, and Philadelphia. Then we leave for Europe where we will go to France, Switzerland, and Italy. We are home for the holidays, and then we leave for the west coast and Hawaii. We've been busy with school, so we could be ahead, but everyday will be a learning experience about history, culture, and life. Todd said I have to pack in a small carry on bag for the entire trip. Go ahead and laugh! But, I've decided that there is something freeing about that also. No decisions about what to wear, only 1 tube of lipstick instead of 10 to sort through, and who cares if I wear the same thing over and over! The people in Europe sure don't care. I'll be one of them!
So here we go! And, I can honestly say that if something happened and we couldn't go on our trip, it's all still been worth it. There is change in us. I've seen a difference in my children as well! Please keep us in your prayers. With us, you never know where we might end up! Happy trails, and see you in Boston (we leave Sept. 6th)!
Callie and Todd Zaugg
(Todd is the real writer of this family so hopefully he'll be blogging!)
P.s. My cousin sent me the neatest article on the top 15 things that kids should see before they are 15. You'll find it interesting. We're trying to scratch off as much as we can. Take a look at it when you can! www.budgettravel.com/feature/15-places-your-kids-should-see-before-15
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