Four Years Ago

Four years ago today, Ross and I left on a worldwide adventure.  This realization struck me yesterday and I was overwhelmed by that thought.  We were 25 years old with a ticket that took us to distant countries without a ticket to bring us home.  We were jumping into the universe headfirst with the simple guideline of following the clues.

When I sat down yesterday and asked Ross if he remembered what today's date was, he stared solidly at me for 30 seconds and calmly replied, "No way."  I couldn't help but cry about it.  Cry because I cannot believe it has been four years, because of everything that trip held and taught us, and mostly, because of the fact that we did it. 

 

When we were 24, Ross was working a job that paid him well and life was just good.  But we had travel itching at our toes.  Then he quit.  It was almost that simple.  The rest of the world gave us plenty of reasons why it was foolish, but we listened to the little flicker inside us and more so, to each other.  We got jobs as houseparents for a gap year program for four months where we saved the money, bought the tickets and dropped Philipe the cat off at my parents for his own little adventure.

I can still see and feel us getting off the phone with the agent who helped us buy the tickets.  We were jumping on a couch full of excitement while looking at a Rand McNally map marked with stars that represented the places we were about to see.

Fast forward four years and we're riding on a different adventure.  One that will hopefully better ourselves, but more importantly, others and the world.  I still don't know what it is, but I know we felt it when we were traveling.