Fast Forward to 2016

Tonight, for the first time in years, I thought about this blog.  The blog that I started almost 4 years ago (Feb 11, 2012, to be exact), just before my last trip to India.

I don't think this was triggered by thoughts (and some anxiety) about the upcoming trip, even though that would seem to be the obvious explanation.  Instead, I started thinking about this because of tonight's dinner, or specifically, when I was reflecting on tonight's conversations during dinner.

My friend told me about two trips she had taken with her family when her children were teenagers. They had plans to relocate temporarily from the Midwest to the East coast, and rather than fly, they decided to drive.  And drive they did.  They spent over a month on the road each way, taking their time to stop at various places and spend a few days.  My friend told me about how much she disliked the idea at the time - her kids were in high school, and it was the middle of the year! She couldn't understand the wisdom behind making them miss school during that crucial time.  

Tonight, though, she told me that years later, she understood how much they learned.  That the trip they took was worth so much more than anything they would have learned in that one month sitting in a high school classroom.   The experience of meeting new people and taking in their surroundings, no matter where the road took them, was truly unique.

I think this is one of those things where one might not realize the value of something until it's too late. So this time, my hope with this blog is more personal than anything else (which is probably good since I doubt anyone will ever actually read this).  This time, rather than just reporting the details of my trip and experiences, I'm going to see if I can use this to reflect on the experiences I have, and make sure I don't miss any valuable lessons to be learned.  

Fingers crossed I can keep it up this time! And who knows, maybe I'll keep doing this even after I get back (although realistically I shouldn't get ahead of myself).

T-MINUS 19 DAYS!