Making Family
the Adventure and
Relationship the Journey
By Brian Tuten
The great outdoors
would be our
classroom, and
God’s creation
would be our
teacher.
“Me do that!” says Eli- jah, our 2-year-old, looking at a 75-foot drop-off with eager
anticipation. I look at him with a serious
face and then break out into a smile: “Ab-
solutely, Buddy. Let’s go get the equip-
ment to set up our rappel.” As we dangle
high above the ground, Elijah’s smile
stretches from ear to ear as he repeats,
“Again, Daddy; me go again!”
This is one snapshot out of the portfo-
lio of memories that have made up our
journey over the past year. Our family
has replayed the scene above time and
again, with only the location and ad-
venture changing. It has been a time of
discovery as we explore our relationships
through the adventures we share, but
how did we get here?
My first big adventure occurred at age
12 when my older brother took me ca-
ving for the first time. He wanted to make
use of my small size in the cave to scout
out new passages that were too small for
adults. It was “love at first squeeze” as I
wriggled my way into a life of adventure.
At age 14 I convinced my parents (as
long as I earned the money) to allow me
to go surfing in Europe for the summer. I
earned the money through my 4H show
steer and birthed my passion for travel
riding the swells off the coast of Spain.
