Life musings part 2

I love to travel.

Did you know that?

Why am I the way that I am? Where did this itch to explore stem from? My childhood vacations were spent in Seattle, returning home to our extended family or on Florida road trips camping and the like. My dad has never been out of the country; Granny barely made it out of Florida.

Maybe part of the desire to GO was instilled in my soul from a dear family friend who treated my sister and I as one of her many grandchildren. Each Christmas and birthday, she gave us gifts from whatever country she had visited that year, usually with a picture or accompanying explanation. I was always intrigued by the places she visited... Maybe this is where my interest was piqued to begin with? Then there were rare stories told by my mom of her youthful days spent traveling Europe, and a phenomenal Spanish teacher who infused our lessons with applicable knowledge of other cultures.

My first trip was right after graduation with our Spanish classes, to England, France and Spain. There were two types of people in this group... Those who were hesitant to try new things... Who found comfort in frequenting McDonald's and complained about "not another museum!" And then there were those who snuck away from the group as much as possible. Fortunately I found myself in the latter. I left the group to explore the louvre by myself, finding myself move at random works by artists I've never heard of. I snuck away to explore the grounds of a castle in France, chancing upon what I dubbed a "secret garden" of sorts that still sticks out in my memory. With a friend, we left to climb down to stand next to the waves crashing on the rocks on the coast of France... And again in Barcelona, figuring out the bus system to lay out at the beach (no one technically told us we couldn't leave Las Ramblas...)

I love people. I love to hear their life stories, how their cultures differ from my own. I am so thankful for the opportunities that have presented themselves in order for me to experience even a minuscule portion of this world. My hope is for God to use the "gifts" so to speak, that make me, well, me, both here at home and abroad.

Life musings

On a flight to Seattle, sitting next to a sweet couple who shared they've been married for 53 years and are about to embark on an Alaskan cruise together. The lady to my right just pounded her second margarita.

And I, two days after returning home from a phenomenal vacay, hopped right back onto a plane to spend the next two weeks with my sister gallivanting through the woods and various breweries.
My mind is in such a sweet place; rather than anxiety over the big move, I'm at peace for this next phase of life. Filled with excitement and hope that God is preparing the perfect place for Michael and I. My prayer is for our relationships with the Lord and each other would grow during this time, that we would throw ourselves into making the most out of the months ahead. This chapter is ending, and who knows what's in store for the future? I'll take each day, one at a time, and fill it with only joyful things. Thats the goal, at least. I'll have the best school year yet and love on my coworkers and students recklessly. I'll create an extensive Goodbye For Now, Florida bucket list and try my best to check them all off. I won't worry about what's going to happen to the house and the dog and will I be able to work where we are going and how can I possibly function without the proximity of my family and friends and will I hate where we are going will there be air conditioning will I contract food borne illnesses and what if it's smelly and dirty and impoverished and will I make new friends and was this the right decision after all??

Simply going to live in the moment.