Taking Off

In my life of excitement and fun, I often forget to take a night in, for me, to regroup and collect my thoughts, catch up on my to-do list, and just breathe. So its odd that on a day when I make one of my most exciting purchases (Barcelona here I come!... as well as the rest of Southern Europe), I chose to celebrate by coming home putting on my flannel pjs adornned with ice cream cones, and snuggle up with Monday TV. It was a real treat. As I don't think I have spent a night like this since I have lived here. Being the Queen of Distraction it takes a lot for me to sit still and not get caught up in reorganizing something or a phone conversation or the blinking red light on my blackberry... but tonight I focused on TV and reordering my recipe binder, and turning it into a folder (but it was a small undergoing).

I cannot believe that in less than two weeks I will be bound for Europe, taking this trip that I have wanted to take for FOREVER. I am excited to get lost in a world where I don't speak its language, I don't know anyone, and just take it all in. I want to be a stranger in a strange land. I want to be an explorer. And mostly, I want to be a nomad...until I find a place I want to call home. I haven't found that place in my life... yet. But I think... make that, know... I will once I take the time for me that I have been promising myself for SO LONG.

I made arrangements for my own storage unit today... and I laugh as I look around at the few possessions I have. And after cleaning out a trunk I have even less. I realize more and more there is not really much I need/want. I read it once that by giving things away, you preserve the memory of them forever... and I feel like that. As I cast off practically all of my worldly possessions, I feel so much more free, much more light, so much more like me. And that is the most wonderful feeling of all.

My life had just gotten to be full of crap...stupid stuff that I thought I needed...a sombrero from a Mexican night, a cap and gown from a graduation that I will only wear again if I decide to go dressed as a Columbia graduate to Halloween, books that I will never read, and clothes that were always "kind of cool" but not really...

So I move forward with the things I truly want in life. They are few. And maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. Keeping life small so you can dream big. Leaving extra room for the treasures we find along the way... or an extra bite we can't pass up...space for something special to fit into our lives, into the space that we created.

That's really it. If you want something in your life, you have to make room for it... give it its space. My travels would have never been possible if I did not make room for them...and as I take a deep breath and relish in the idea that I am going to set out and do all I ever wanted to do... I feel truly blessed, and I am so thankful for every moment and every face that has led me here. Because I want to be HERE now. No where else. Just me and my cuddly pjs, a bit of Dido in the background, my few possessions surrounding me, and an adventure that is almost ready for the picking. Life truly is good.