3 years and 10 months. That’s how long it has been since I packed up a backpack, obsessed over travel details, checked out currency exchange rates, and border a plane for some unknown (or in that case, known, but still an adventure) destination, and if you are reading this, I have finally [FINALLY] gotten to do all those things as I’m currently en route to Iceland by way of a stop in the Pyrenees mountains.
For someone with an exploring mindset, 3 years and 10 months is entirely too long. And a lot of things have happened in the years and months since February/March 2019. Such as…
**I ended my Peace Corps service rather abruptly (or maybe not depending on your definition of abruptly).
**I started grad school (University of Tennessee’s nurse practitioner program)
**I adopted a cat
**And then another
**I drove a few hours north to visit a dear friend in Washington DC, saw a new state (hello, Delaware), and drove down the coastal inlets and outlets in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
**I returned home the same day the world shut down (March 13, 2020)
**I got an “Authorized Personnel” travel paper to go back and forth to work
**My grad school program shifted to 100% on-line (and that wasn’t the easiest transition)
**I caught COVID-19 (pre-vaccine)
**I broke up with a long-term partner (We reconnected in Charleston a few years ago; then unceremoniously un-connected)
**I made it to the coast exactly once
**Housing problems (fire and water leak) necessitated a kitchen remodel
**I got a tattoo
**And then another
**I learned how to suture and make casts
**I started clinicals in Family Practice and have learned a lot
**I FINALLY saw RAMMSTEIN in concert in Chicago
**I did A LOT of hiking
**My mom had a major health scare that required a prolonged recovery
**I started a new job
**I quit the same job about a year later and returned to my previous location in a slightly differently position
So believe me when I say that I am more than ready to resume exploring places I’ve never been, and see things I’ve never seen, and experience that familiar feeling of nervousness and excitement that always happens when I dig out my passport, download foreign maps, and prepare myself for an adventure.
