Monday, November 22, 2010

Homeward Bound


When I was a young child it seemed as if there weren’t as many options as there are today for entertainment. We could read, which I loved, or we could play. Oh, we had TV back in those days; we just didn’t watch it much. I vividly recall the times my sisters and I would load up our little red wagon with snacks and water and all the things necessary for an adventure around the block. We would pretend we were traveling to far away places and for several hours be lost in our imaginations. We could be anywhere, be anyone we wanted to be and imagine life from a different perspective. I don’t think I have ever outgrown that fantasy. I now call it wanderlust and indulge in it as often as I can.

Today we are heading back home after several weeks in Spain and Portugal.
We traveled over 5000km and met some wonderful people. We lived life differently than we do while at home, went to places we had never been and saw things that we will never forget. Bonds of friendship were established that will endure us a lifetime and changed us beyond what we could say. And, as always, we return different than when we left. Humbled, I think. Recognizing fully what a privilege we have had to go where we went and to do what we did. We fly courtesy of the US military and for that we are grateful. I thank my husband who dedicated thirty-seven years of his life to afford us this privilege. For those of you who cover for us while we are gone we thank you. And for our kids who keep the home fires burning and keep us up on the world we left behind, we thank you beyond what you can know.


I am always beset by a diversity of emotion when we travel. As we prepare, I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. I read, prepare, get life travel ready and daydream a million adventures. We work on our…language skills. I am lost for the several weeks we are gone, no longer who I used to be but now someone eager to live life fully and richly each and every moment. We miss our family deeply and each and every beautiful place we go and every beautiful thing we see, we think of those we love and wish they were with us.
At the same time we revel in each other and the time we have with no other concerns but each other. We stay up late, get up even later and come or go as we please. We barely remember what day it is let alone what month it is.

So as we get ready to return, I again think of my compass. I am praying not to get lost in the busyness. To eagerly anticipate each day no matter where it takes me and to always look for the best in it. To live richly and love deeply and never to take my blessings for granted. To keep my priorities straight and in the right direction and to make necessary corrections readily along the way as needed. Happy to be heading home, struggling to give up the unencumbered life.

We are still in Rota Spain. We have been accepted on a C5 that is heading to the Artic Canada
(New Foundland). We hope to continue to South Carolina and then to Dover, Delaware. From there, West towards Travis. So with N 36 44’ 40.91 and W 119 27’ 32.18 as our final destination, I see some potential for a little more adventure!




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