So there we were...again.
There's a reason we've gone dark, we promise it's a good one. As soon as we thought we had our lives together and knew what the next 6 months would bring, we got hit with a few more curveballs.
We learned the hard way that Shanon should not joke about anything, because more than likely, her joke will become reality. After two complete strangers wished her a "happy Mother's Day", she told them both that she's not a mom, but then turned to Matthew and said "but wouldn't it be funny if I pee on a stick when we get home and see 2 pink lines?!".
That's precisely what happened, 3 hours later. We have learned that life is full of surprises. Shanon peed on not one, but three sticks, and even made Matthew take a pregnancy test just to confirm that she was actually pregnant.
It took us a week and 25 more pregnancy tests to really believe that we're about to become parents. We're not sure if it was the 24th test or Shanon's sudden au-naturale "enhancements" that made us finally believe that this is our new reality.
Waking up Baby Poppyseed - due January 2024...but will probably be late
But that's not all...
After the news of our growing family settled in, Matthew received a life-changing phone call on June 3rd that *surprise* the extension for his med-board was denied, and he was effectively out of the Marine Corps on June 1st...2 days prior.
Neither of us could have predicted that this is the direction our roller coaster would jerk us in, so naturally we've been cycling through every emotion possible trying to wrap our heads around everything. It hasn't been easy, but we're extremely lucky to have a strong support system guiding us through these rapid-fire changes.
After the shock wore off, we got ice cream, and Matthew got the haircut of his dreams
So what do you do when both partners are unemployed and expecting?
Clearly, the only answer is to sell all your worldly possessions and embark on a journey across the world with no end date.
Ok, so maybe that's not the only answer, but that's how we're approaching this next chapter of our lives. We both had the epiphany that if we don't chase our dreams now, the slippery slope to settling down will inevitably take over our lives. This is the first time in our life together that we've been handed a golden ticket to freedom, so we might as well take advantage of the time we have and be the people we want to be, wherever that may be.
No joke, we sold everything, packed up the rest & we're in the middle of selling our house in CA
Of course we still need to put food on the table, so we're re-directing our energy into building up "hop on and hold on" into a business we can take on the road with us. Rather than investing our time into finding a way to work for other people, we're investing our time into our own business so that we have a way to support not only ourselves, but also our growing family.
We took a look at the intersection of our natural talents, what we enjoy, and how we can make money, and re-built Hop On and Hold On into a platform that not only supports us, but also inspires and educates others on how to build the life they've always dreamed of. Matthew is spearheading business development and sales whereas Shanon is building up digital infrastructure, marketing & communications. This is a rare synergy to have in a marriage that doubles as a business partnership, but that's part of our "secret sauce" to being able to live this kind of lifestyle.
Back to the fun part - our trip!
We started our endless trek in San Diego, and have since stopped in Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Chicago. We'll continue our drive across Canada, down the PCH, stop in San Diego, then head back to hug and kiss our parents one more time before we head to our first overseas destination: Denmark!
Hop on and hold on, our trip has JUST begun.
Till the next kitchen table,
S&M
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