Toddling Around the World Completed!

At 10:18 p.m. on December 31, 2021, I was able to reach what 5 ½ years ago I would have thought was an unattainable goal – I finished 16,710 miles of #ToddlingAroundTheWorld! This surely proves that ‘By Small Means come about Great Things’. I never would have thought back in 2016, when I could hardly walk around the block due to severe pain from complications of H…ectomy surgery and the aftermath, (I wont say ‘recovery’, because even now I haven’t fully recovered. I still experience chronic pain) That I would be able to walk up to one mile, let alone tens of thousands. I ran the mileage through a step calculator, and it came out to be 30,236,745 steps. (give or take a few thousand 😉 ) What started as a goal of completing one virtual race over the course of a month, turned into a much larger one of Walking from Seattle to Prague during Autumn's mission in the Czech Republic. From there, I continued on to virtually walk along the Silk Road and then the Great Wall of China. Then on to Sendai, Japan, where I served as a missionary, while culminating in the distance across the Pacific Ocean and back home to Seattle again. Every day, for 5 ½ years I kept track of my mileage in a spreadsheet to keep myself accountable and I would then mark those miles in a web application called ‘My Virtual Mission’ (ironic, since the majority of my walking was dedicated to my children who were serving as missionaries in the Czech Republic and Argentina. 😉 ) https://www.myvirtualmission.com/.../toddling-around-the... This made it fun to see my progress, and made it feel a bit more ‘real’ as I walked those miles around the world. Its still hard to believe that the journey is now complete. I am relieved, but also a bit sad. It was a goal that inspired me Every.Single.Day. There were days that were oh, so hard – with health complications, nausea, knee problems, and just being plain old too tired. While there were so many other days that were perfectly wonderful – with my body feeling strong, beautiful weather and scenery to see. It was the perfect microcosm of life. We surely appreciate the good all the more- because we have an understanding of the ‘not-so-good’. It has helped keep me healthy and motivated since I know I feel so much better when out exercising than I do when parked on the couch and wallowing in pain and misery. It has made me into a better version of me. I have to thank my wife and my children for supporting me and inspiring me during this journey. Each of them made it possible for me to complete all of those miles each day. Dedicating portions of the walk to: Autumn, 5,219 miles on the #walktoprague, LeAnn, 1,013 miles for #LapsForLeAnn, Jaylin, 1,094 miles on the #JourneyForJaylin and Austin, 7,020 miles for #SeattleToBahiaBlanca,Then I was able to finish off the final 227 miles for my parents and siblings on the #MajesticMillerReunion while completing 8 #MillerMarathons during the process. Family is everything. Focus on them, and they will help make all of your dreams come true. Now, just like football players are often asked after winning the Super Bowl (And this was my Super Bowl) : ‘What are you going to do next?’ I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!! To celebrate the completion of #ToddlingAroundTheWorld, LeAnn and I are now at Disney World, where the saga continues as we will be #ToddlingAroundDisneyWorld. 🙂