For the longest time, his dream was to run the Rome marathon.

As a cross country athlete with two half marathons under his belt, Superhero 1 always imagined himself taking his long-awaited 16th birthday trip to Italy, where this foodie who once wanted to be a chef could taste his way through Tuscany and train for and tackle one of his earliest life goals: to someday run a marathon.

But although the famed race fell the very month of his 16th birthday, this long-distance runner soon discovered that the minimum age requirement to participate was 18, and even the Coliseum itself couldn’t make up for huge crowds in big cities for an introvert who was more interested in exploring in race-freedom by foot than being trampled by tourists.

So he pivoted to Plan B: A week serving with the Free Burma Rangers with our courageous friend Dave Eubank in Thailand.

With the crisis and conflict with the Burmese army escalating last year, there’s never been a more dire time to serve or fight for displaced people in this corner of the world, and after viewing the Free Burma Rangers documentary (if you haven’t seen it, you must!), Superhero 1 saw himself using his 16th to serve this ministry in whatever ways needed.

He had begun making plans directly with Mr. Eubank, and Super-Spouse and I had upped our running and lifting routine to, as our friend Dave advised us, “get in the best shape of our lives” to be effective members of any team serving, hauling medical supplies, telling the stories of the voiceless and the vulnerable in Southeast Asia.

But in December, the Omicron Covid wave reinstated Thailand’s previous Covid quarantines, which devastatingly reduced our ability to travel.

Superhero 1 bathed the big decision in prayer, and at the end of the day, didn’t feel the peace to continue with this plan for only one actual day in country. Our precious friend at FBR agreed.

That’s when Superhero 1 moved to Birthday Trip Plan C: A week exploring God’s creation in the state of his birth.

Which is why this spring, Superhero 1, Super-Spouse and I hopped on a plane (courtesy of equal parts generous-and-brave babysitting grandparents) and flew to Alaska to spend a week celebrating this adventurous, outdoors-loving, snow-seeking superhero and his much-anticipated Sweet 16.