By Teri KO4WFP
Last December, I set a goal of 60 new Parks on the Air (POTA) valid activations by the end of the 2024. When I sat down to calculate this goal last December, I figured one park a week was easily attainable. In fact, in my article about Jack Hill State Park, I laid out my vision for pursuing this goal – gathering activations during breaks in my son’s school year with some overnight camping trips sprinkled in.
Well, life doesn’t exactly go according to plan, and it certainly didn’t for me in 2024. The April trip I planned to Florida was cut short for personal reasons. The July North Carolina trip was cut short due to weather. The Thanksgiving camping trip with my son was postponed until next spring. Those changes reduced the number of parks I could activate during school breaks.
In addition, my personal life has undergone much change this year. After my divorce, I moved into a place of my own and became a single mom. I worked through the trauma of an emotionally abusive marriage and began to prioritize self-care. I’ve always been a busy person juggling many plates; however, at age 53, it is time to re-evaluate my priorities and savor the life God has given me.
Needless to say, the goal I at first thought would be an easy slam-dunk has proven to be anything but that.
At this point, there are three weeks left in the year and I’ve activated 47 parks successfully, leaving me 13 short of my goal. Do I think I’m going to attain the goal I set? No. I certainly could make a concerted effort and push myself to reach 60 parks. But the older and wiser Teri is looking for balance in her life. She realizes that the journey is more valuable, more meaningful than the destination.
She sees the glass as half full, looking at what she’s gained on this journey: learning how to execute solo camping trips with her dog Daisy far from home, a better understanding of her equipment, a connection with other hams through POTA QSOs, the opportunity to share her successes and struggles through these articles.
And don’t forget the places she’s experienced. The night sky full of stars while camping in Collier-Seminole State Park in Florida. The beehive of bird activity at Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. The history of Fort McAllister State Park in Georgia. The majesty of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.
Has the journey been worth it? You bet it has.
Just because we are nearing the end of 2024 doesn’t mean my journey with POTA or ham radio is over. No. No. No. There are many more adventures ahead for this POTA Babe. I’ve said it many times – ham radio is about relationships. I can’t begin to express how much it means to me to have all of you with me through this journey. Here’s to the adventures ahead of us.
Older, wiser: balance and self-care. These things can be hard to learn and faithfully live into. Thank you for modeling perspective and priorities, setting an ambitious goal and then having a sufficiently mature ego to fall short gracefully instead of punishing yourself. An energetic yet healthy journey in Amateur Radio. You’ve accomplished much more this year than what you’ve reported on QRPer!
And, thank you for sharing your journey this year!
73 de Todd W2TEF (CWI 2024-H)
Todd:
You are correct that balance and self-care are difficult concepts to learn and faithfully live into. Being a driven person, I struggle with them and suspect I always will. At least I am aware and that is a good start. Thanks for your encouraging comment, Todd.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
47 Parks is already a massive success. I can only be in admiration of what you have done, it is truly a pleasure to read your articles. I have understood that you have had your ups and downs but I am inspired by the courage that you have shown/found. You can truly be proud of your journey
It is a marvelous adventure that will always remain with you, at least until the next one 😉
Cheers and 73s
All the best Roy
Roy:
I love the line “at least until the next one” because, knowing me, there will be a next one as long as I am alive! One thing I’ve learned over the past two years is that you never know what lies around the corner. Unexpected adventures lurk everywhere if we are curious and willing to step out of our comfort zone.
Thank you for your comment, Roy.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
Wonderful write up.
You have done amazing things this year and I’m certain next year shall be equal.
I’m on the same kind of journey seeking balance. It’s so important to my wellbeing and by extension those around me.
C.w is a fun, interesting hobby that has a wonderful community and is great to pursue. But it isn’t the bigger picture.
I always look forward to your posts and wish you great adventures, in balance.
Have a wonderful day
Daniel:
You are right – balance isn’t just for ourselves but also for those whose lives we touch. When I am not caring for myself, I cannot be present for those important to me. I find that reminding myself of that fact helps me to be ok internally with and choose balance when I might not otherwise.
Thanks for your comment, Daniel, and best wishes for success as you seek balance in your own life.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
If it would be easy and a sure thing, we would not call it a goal. You worked hard on this and ran into some obstacles. Sometimes we gave to move the goal posts or redefine our goals. Maybe your next goal is to just complete the 60 new parks with the added caveat of “I will have fun doing every single one of them!” 😉
Thanks for the contacts throughout the year!
de Karl Heinz – K5KHK
Karl:
I seriously thought about moving the goal post, extending my goal into 2025. However, I didn’t because I realized I needed to “fail” at accomplishing this goal. I needed the reminder to engage in gain (what I learned in retrospect) versus gap (where I fell short) thinking in my life. It is too easy for me to look forward at what I want to accomplish rather than relishing what I already have. I have to remember to savor the journey.
I am currently figuring out my goals for 2025 and POTA will definitely be involved as will enjoying my activations, as you suggested.
Thank you for your comment and the contacts this past year as well. I’m sure I’ll see you on the air in 2025.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
Teri — thanks for sharing this. You may recall that, when you set your goal of 60, I was inspired and set a goal of 52 new parks. My goal was less ambitious for a few reasons, mostly that 52 meshed nicely with one-per-week tempo, a pace I found aesthetically worthy. I’m also now at 47 parks and have an overnight trip coming up that will push me easily over 52 new parks for the year. So it looks like I’ll be able to say, “I set a goal; I made it; bully for me.”
As I tracked my progress, though, I came to understand that for certain (peculiar) personality types, like mine to pick a handy example, a goal is a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it can be a motivator to get me off my lazy fanny and get out and do things; on the other, it can feed into my latent compulsiveness and turn an enjoyable pastime into an unenjoyable burden and just one more coercive duty on an already too-long to-do list.
All of which is a long way of saying how much I enjoyed your musings in this essay. It is both wise and admirable to be able to step back and say, “Wait a minute … who’s driving this boat? … if I’m doing this for fun and pushing myself to go further won’t be fun, um, why am I doing it?” True indeed. And even more so to be able to look at the course of events and say, “Now that I think about it, maybe the ‘goal’ wasn’t the goal after all; maybe the real goal was the progress to the goal, and that’s what it was really all about, even if I didn’t see that at the start.”
So, again, thanks for posting this. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts over the past year and look forward to more.
73 Skip K4EAK
Skip:
Your comment articulated the struggle I often faced this past year. Yes, goals are wonderful motivation, provided they serve us and not the other way around. This is why I didn’t extend my goal into 2025 as I could have easily done. Given my driven personality, I need to be reminded to slow down and savor the journey.
Several years ago, I set a mantra for myself that year: Strive. Simplify. Savor. It turned out I was great at striving, pretty good at simplifying, but needed waaaay more work at savoring. As you said, what is the point if I am not enjoying the journey? Ham radio is supposed to be fun!
Thankfully, I’ve learned more about savoring this year and am doing a better job incorporating it into my life.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience as to the pursuit of your goal. Congratulations on your journey and reaching in the near future the destination you set for yourself.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
Great write-up Teri. Being 71 I also had a goal this year but my POTA truck is loaned out to my daughter due to an accident with a big deer. Now to plan for next year or whenever I get my truck back. Lol
Love reading about your adventures.
W0HL
Dennis:
Thank you for your comment. I hope I am still getting out for POTA when I am 71. I am glad your daughter is OK as deer and vehicle incidents usually do not turn out well. Life certainly has a way of reminding us who is really in charge. I hope your truck comes back and you may resume your POTA activations soon.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
Congrats on hitting 47 parks. It’s an accomplishment given everything that’s going on.
Thank you, Chris!
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
Teri, I’m impressed about your story. I will start my POTA activity in Florida in 2025. I will visit my cousin in Orlando and during the visit I hope to get on the air in some parks east of the city.
I booked my flight from Frankfurt to Orlando. I also will attend the Orlando Hamcation. I hope for meet some qrper hams there!?
My US call is K9UAS.
Good luck Teri.
73 de Bernd • DL9UAS/K9UAS
Bernd:
Wow! What an adventure, Bernd! Flying somewhere and then activating can be a challenging endeavor as I learned two years ago when I visited Nova Scotia. However, it is a great learning experience and can be loads of fun with the right outlook.
I’ve put you in HamAlert on my phone and made a note on my calendar to listen for you around those dates. Best wishes for safe travel, a lot of fun, and a memorable trip. When you return home, please drop me an email (my email is listed on my QRZ page) and let me know how the trip went.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
Hi Teri,
I will let you know when I’m back home again.
I will start my trip the 4th of February. The KX3 will be with me. Hope condx will be good.
And I will leave some notes here after activating my first park!
Best 73 • Bernd
Terri you are right as far as the Journey being much much more important than the destination. As you have discovered there is a good bit to be learned from the Journey. Personally I have enjoyed your Journeys.
I’ll say this, but realize you are more than aware, Emotional Abuse(trauma) is difficult to overcome. It certainly isn’t the same level as Physical abuse. Words and deeds Hurt and never go away as quickly as a bruise or black eye. Oh well who am I to talk as my emotional issues are still with me and I’m almost 82 years Young!! May the Lord Bless your life. Alex K5uny (please delete this if its inappropriate)
Alex,
Your comment is appropriate. I haven’t spoken much about what occurred in my marriage, mostly to protect my son. So many of us walk through life thinking we are unique, the only ones suffering. However, that is far from the truth. Each of us has our struggles and when we speak of them, not only does our burden become lighter but we also help someone else with their load.
Yes, emotional abuse leaves an invisible scar. I still deal with its affects despite self-reflection, working with a therapist earlier this year, and the support of Glenn, my family, and friends. The silver lining in such an experience is it makes me a more compassionate, kind, and humble person. I am blessed to emerge relatively intact on the other side and, with awareness and assistance, make progress as I heal and rediscover myself.
I hope you find peace as you work through your emotional issues and thank you for your comment.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
Hi Teri,
I know that you may be a bit disappointed at not making your goal, but maybe shifting it to a nice round 50 would be a great fallback achievement. I would love to do that many. I’ve been tied up with being club president 5 years out of the 8 years that I have been actively a ham again. Ì am stepping down at the end of this month and am so happy to be looking forward to doing lots of on air operating and building kits and antennas and on and on!!
I too have been going through a life change, ending a 40 year marriage that I just can’t live in any longer. So I know what you have been dealing with. I turned 60 last year and took a long hard look at what I wanted to do for the remaining healthy, active years I have left and finally took the initiative to make some hard decisions. So yes, I understand.
In the photo of you and your sweet dog you posted you had the best, joyous smile thst I have seen in all of your posts. I hope that you are as happy as your looked!!!
Have a very Merry Christmas!!!
73
Gary Faust NG9T
Gary:
I would love to round out the year with 50 new POTA activations. I am hopeful I may add three more to the 47 I have before the end of the year but we’ll see how the next three weeks play out. The last week and a half of December are winter break for my son so I just may be able to pull that off!
What you mention in your comment IS a major life change. Glenn went something similar himself as he left a 46-year loveless marriage. These are hard decisions but, as you said, one wants to make the most of the life one has remaining. Someone once said that often the hard decisions are the right decisions. I believe he is correct.
I appreciate the encouragment you’ve shared with me in your comments on my articles. I wish you success and happiness in the journey ahead, both for ham radio and in your personal life.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
Teri,
Thank you for your kind and wise words. I indeed left for the same reasons after all other efforts failed. Now I am determined to find happiness and fill my life with direction and adventure. POTA will play a part in it.
Best wishes on making your new goal of 50 parks!!
I look forward to your next blog entry and will happily follow the adventures of the POTA Babe!
73
Gary NG9T
Teri,
congratulations on 47! Think of how many interesting places you got to visit this year that you may not have if you hadn’t set that stretch goal.
Happy Holidays to you and your family, I hope you get to many more parks in 2025!
73, Conrad
Conrad:
Thank you for your comment. I have an upcoming article regarding my goals for 2025 and yes, they include activating many more parks next year. (no surprise there!)
You have a safe and happy end of the year, too!
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
Enjoyed our QSO. Good goal – perhaps a new quest for ‘25?
I hoped for WAS on CW this year, darn Hawaii will shoot that though. But next year, who knows!!
Thanks for all the effort to give us hunters someone to chase! And thanks for the card of our contact!
Hope to see you somewhere in 25!
My goal this year was to complete my first CW contact as part of a SOTA activation. I finally achieved my goal in November, but not without a lot of bumps and detours along the way. Seeing and reading your progress throughout the year and how you worked through challenges was part of what kept me motivated, so thank you!
Jared:
Your comment is my main motivation for writing these articles and sharing my experiences. Congratulations on your achievement – your first CW contact! That is a big deal, Jared. Bumps and detours are an inevitable part of any journey when we attempt something new. How sweet, though, are those challenges when we finally get to the other side and enjoy the satisfaction of accomplishment.
Pursuing CW is not for the faint of heart as it takes determination, commitment, and being a little fearless. But boy, oh boy, is it worth it as you now know.
Keep up the work you are doing and, most importantly, have fun on the air! Thank you very much for your comment.
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP
It’s the melody which is important, the verses aren’t
keep on keeping on 🙂
congrats and best wishes, Teri !
Thank you, Andrew!
72,
The POTA Babe
Teri KO4WFP