We are officially, exactly one month out from leaving for this trip!

Everyday for the past 8 months we have talked about walking The West Highland Way. It’s exciting and strange that it really is happening.

Over the next few weeks – as we finalize preparations before we head out – we will share a little bit more about our story.

I have started at least 10 blog posts over that 5 months since I created this little site – but stopped each time because I didn’t know where to start.

So now that I’m down to the wire here and have only a few days left to get the ball rolling – I’m just going to start at the beginning.

Tonight I’ll share the WHO.

Who are we? We are three sisters: Christina, KerriAnne and Robin who were raised by the most magical and wonderful and badass woman, Karen.

She taught us to be strong and smart and cool and kind. Most of all she taught us to laugh hard and to lean into life’s punches – to take the hits with our heads held high and to for-gosh-sake “put some lipstick on.”

Talk to anyone who knew her and they’d say she lit up the room.

In our family there is us four women, our little brother Devin and our dad George. We’ve lived the last 10 years as a bi-coastal family between Southern California and South Carolina.

Last Summer, our lives and family changed forever when our mom passed away suddenly from breast cancer.

Nothing can prepare you for the words “hours to days.”

I don’t think I’ll ever quite forget the feeling of numbness. It was like we were all in and out of a dream, just holding onto to each other – to her.

One day I’ll be able to write about our final days with her. How beautiful it was – if only you looked at the beautiful things. How we sang songs to her and held her hands. How her room in the hospice center was covered with so many flowers the staff said they’d never seen anything like it. How in those final few hours we said goodbye to the woman who brought us into this world.

We all lost our best friend. Our rock.

I don’t think I’ll ever fully grasp why it was her time. But it was.

Everyday, even now, feels like the first day without her.

What is harder still is knowing that the pain we all feel is never really going to go away. But, if we learned anything from our mama it was to ever look onward.

And so we are.

Planning this trek in her honor has been a major source of solace. It’s our way of coming together, proactive and strong. It’s something to look forward to.

And we feel her, guiding us as we plan and train. She’s with us. She wants us all to go to Scotland and so we are.

Xx,

KA