My road trip to Alaska was an experience I will not soon forget. I spent the last 7 wintery days, driving through the Rockies, on The Great Alaskan Trail, with my cousin Alan. We traveled through The States, across Canada, into Alaska. It was an exhilarating & breath taking experience.
The drive was beautiful, the roads were dangerous & the moments irreplaceable. We had a few adrenaline filled, life changing moments on our trip. Once we hit the Alaskan Highway, the roads were snow & ice the entire way. We traveled a day with a blizzard as it blinded us, in the darkness of our early morning drive & left us holding our breath, in the blowback, from every passing truck. We ended our journey, skating through the mountains into Alaska on sheets of black ice, in the dark. It was a few long hours of uncertainty. I coasted around each corner in the darkness praying for the truck to stay on the road & in its own lane. Making every possible adjustment to avoid hitting the brakes & wishing that heavy metal & Megadeath had not been the music of choice for this night.
There were many moments during our trip, when my life flashed before my eyes. I had to view my journey & my existence. I was grateful to only find a few regrets; All of them revolved around wasted moments & opportunities not taken. I found myself wanting the extra time to spend with people I loved. I wanted one last hug, one last minute, one last conversation & one last moment, to express love & gratitude.
I also found myself regretting that I had not embraced my life sooner. I wished I had let go of fear, relaxed & just said yes to all the opportunities life tried to give me. My journey on the Great Alaskan highway gave me the gift of a lifetime & priceless memories made with my brother-cousin Alan.
No one can ever give you back the wasted minutes from your life. Use them wisely, follow the signs in life, that are trying to show you the way. Follow your heart. Just say “YES!!!”, to all the good things life tries to offer you. Maybe Gods plan is better than the one we had planned for ourself. It’s time to let go & see what this life is trying to give us.
Debbie Smalley (Deb’e)
mywings.blog 