Hi! Yes, I’m alive. My vacation has come to an end after an almost-too-relaxing week with my family. I’m tan, I’m waterlogged, and I’m full.
Yesterday, I said goodbye to one of my sisters and her family for the last time before they leave to travel the world. Beginning next week, they are literally spending a year making their way around the world with my niece (4), nephew (7), and four carry on bags. Their first stop is Ireland, and a year from now they’ll end their tour in Hawaii.
How are they able to do this? My brother-in-law is a high school math teacher who asked and was approved for a year-long sabbatical, and my sister is a stay-at-home mom. They’ve spent the better part of this past year saving and planning and preparing for this adventure of a lifetime. If you’re still asking yourselves how they’ve made this possible, I’m right there with you. Thankfully, for all of us, they have a blog on which they’ve explained their journey and will chronicle their travels for those of us physically absent. You can check out their blog here.
Having my entire immediate family together this past week was pretty spectacular. I had the most perfect time, and I survived the breaths of sadness when my subconscious reminded me this would be the last time we shared these respective stages of life together. The joy was so sharp that it stung.
Tonight, I make my way back to Chicago with dry lake skin and a suitcase filled with smells of lake water, bonfires, and home. I feel so overwhelmed with the progress of time and the unstoppable force of change; but, this one guy said that “comfort is the enemy of progress, ” and that’s the theme life gave me this past week.
I hope you all had great times celebrating the U.S. of A.
-M
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