Today I'm thankful for a glass of teeth-staining petite sirah and a dog for a foot warmer during dinner, for staying up late talking with my crazy aunt/road trip buddy, for excuses to chop herbs to test out her intense knives, and for opportunities to learn about different approaches to home-schooling and have conversations about international travel broadening horizons at family gatherings.
I've been fortunate to be able to travel a bit in my life so far and especially at this point, I have tried to prioritize seeing more of this country and this world to see and understand more of God's children and God's creation. And I know that I have been lucky enough to have some opportunities fall into my lap, and that one way or another, I have been able to make the funding work, but I have been blessed in that regard. I also am faced with the challenge of navigating that topic in conversations with family members who may have never gotten out of the Midwest or who have humbly and hardily worked their entire lives. How do I explain that my desire to travel has nothing to do with vacationing in a ritzy hotel (no judgment on those who prefer the tropical vacation-type trip), but has everything to do with what I want to do the rest of my life? That I'm not just doing this because I can't find a job or don't want to work, but that I am so lucky to have a fleeting time span of flexibility to see, do, and experience while I can so I have a better sense of how I can work for our brothers and sisters around the world when I do come back? That I wanted to go to Nicaragua this summer not for the apparently amazing surfing, but to live in a humble community and live with the people, so that I better understand how to advocate for just foreign, trade, and immigration policy on the U.S. side?
Especially when my well-intentioned parents also try to explain what I have been doing since I graduated and want to make it sound like I haven't just been frittering away my time and my college degree, it can be hard to have those conversations with family when they ask "What have you been up to since you graduated? Are you working?" without sounding like I am boasting about my travels. I do apologize if it ever comes across that way. I know that some people just don't get why I want to travel or that it can come across as a privilege. Which it is. It is a privilege to be able to travel as much as I have already. But I just never know when the convergence of opportunity, funding, and time will disappear. So for now, I'm so unbelievably grateful for supportive family, for beds and couches to crash on, for the savings having not run out just yet, and for continued energy to go out and see the world now to be able to better advocate for our common humanity for the rest of my life.
I'm also thankful for my papa's driving and naps in the car. And that we came back to a light dusting of snow. And for multi-tasking with busy work and the wonderful wit of Arrested Development.
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