4000 Weeks Is All We’ve Got

Before I left for our travels, my friend Kami had recommended this simple, powerful book called Time Management for Mortals. It’s essentially about how the average lifespan comes down to 4000 weeks. That’s a countable, concrete number. And it’s not a lot, so how we make the most of those 4000 weeks is our work in life. 

This trip has been some of the most meaningful, memorable weeks I could imagine, and every day I think about how lucky I am to be doing it. I hold onto memories of travel from 20 years ago like little twinkling lights in my brain. This trip will offer those lights for Matt, me and our boys for the rest of our lives. So lucky. 

We’ve been playing the “best of” game lately. We vote on the best gachas from Japan, or the best meals in Mexico. We have family memories now of the boys’ first Tuktuk ride in India, and a lioness nervously walking toward us in Kenya. We rank beaches on Thassos, Greece. 

We also laugh at horrible meals (you can skip “anti-theft” in Kenya). We rehash sibling bickering. We remember many bad nights’ sleep on a futon. 

How lucky are we. 

If all we’ve got is 4000 weeks, a countable number, it’s a pretty special thing to take a break from your normal lives and exhaust yourself with both adventure and overwhelming family time. 

We voted last night and it’s a unanimous count that we’re feeling ready to go home. We will start a new chapter and find ways to make whatever is coming special, memorable, and shared.