Wanderlust

I remember when I was about 9 years old, the neighborhood we lived in was right under the airport's flight pattern. Every day, I watched sleek jet planes fly overhead. I always wondered where those planes were going, who was on them, and hoped someday I could be going somewhere too.

Maybe those jet planes are what spawned my desire to travel and see the world. Or maybe its genetic-my family members are all travelers. Both of my brothers have traveled extensively. One even made Colombia, South America his permanent home. The other takes at least 1-2 big trips a year (he and his wife leave for New Zealand next week) and several small ones. My dad just got back from Italy and Greece. My mom, who doesn't travel quite as much as she used to, drove her motorhome out and around the country last year. My grandparents were, perhaps, the most adventurous travelers of all. Legend has it, my grandfather, who was both a private pilot and an ironworker by trade, felt he would be most likely to get a job in one of two places-Alaska or Australia. He and my grandmother flipped a coin to decide where they would go. So chances are, my wanderlust has a decidedly genetic component!

I just got back from Hawaii...

Which isn't, I suppose, all THAT exotic. Those of us who live up here in the North often venture off to the islands to warm up our bones a bit.

I was lucky enough to make a career in the airline industry for many years, and was afforded the opportunity to see places such as London, Ireland, France, Italy, Denmark, Japan and Thailand. A weekend trip to Mexico was not unheard of back in those days, with me and my other single girlfriends jaunting off at a moment's notice. I also was able to see much of the U.S., from one coast to the other and all the heartland in between.

My travels slowed for awhile, with children in school and not so much time and even less money (even airline employees, with their flight perks, have to pay for hotel rooms, food and rental cars!) but I'm finding myself back in the swing of things and planning trips right and left. Part of it is finding a job I love that affords me not only a decent income, but more importantly a LOT of paid  time off. For me, that far outweighs any monetary compensation. Our next adventure will be Philidelphia and New York in December, which will fulfill my dream of visiting New York City during the holidays and seeing that big tree at Rockefeller center! So exciting. Other trips are in the works, like a jaunt somewhere in February (somewhere warm but we haven't decided yet) and I'm hoping to chaparone my son's school trip to Puerto Rico in May. I'm proud to say both my kids have done their share of traveling too, and my son seems to have inherited the wanderlust my side of the family was born to.

Many people I know wonder whats so great about travel. They find it stressful, scary, and not very fun. They aren't intrigued by exotic food, and don't see anything exciting about being lost in a city where no one speaks their language. For me, the immersion into another world gives me a bigger thrill than I can articulate. To see, really see, how other people live. All of it-even the not so pretty parts. To see some of the wonders of the world, from Michaelangelo's David to the Eiffel Tower. To watch people, people so like us and yet not like us, going through their everyday lives, working and loving and raising families-I think that gives a perspective that makes for a more well-rounded person. I don't have prejudice because I know that we are ALL human, no matter where we live or what we do, no matter our religion, sexual identity or political leanings. At the end of the day, its just people.

Even if you aren't excited at the thought of seeing exotic lands, I urge you to step just a little outside your comfort zone. Take that trip. Cross off that bucket list. See it. See it all.