Wanderlust

I want to go wander around England, I want to see old Ben and strain to catch Peter's shadow on his face as Peter heads towards the second star to the right, I want to run my hands over the old stones in Oxford, and I want to slip into that old pub that once held the minds that birthed Narnia and Middle earth.

I want to stand on the cliffs Ireland and watch the waves crash hundreds of feet below me, I want to dance on Prince Edward Island and see the red road that might just lead to Avonlea, I want to stand at the shores of Chincoteague and watch the ponies surging through the water on their penning day, I want to run up and hug an ancient red wood and drive along the Pacific highway, I want to travel to China and explore all the little corners that exist in even the biggest places, I want to go to Scotland, Russia and Norway, and I want to go to Venice before it sinks.

I want to go to places so steeped in history that it leaks out and runs down the walls. I want to run my hands over stones that hold stories that no one on earth knows and hear old wood whisper creaky ancient tales. I want to remember that I'm a stitch in this grand epic that is being woven..

Read children stories and you will whet their appetite for things bigger. Give them books and you've given them the maps and keys to unlock worlds.

Feed the wanderlust.

...but for now I'm going to go work for 12 hours.

Snapshots

Snapshots.

Met a physical therapist who is from Huntersville, NC in Baltimore at the Cure conference. Found out she works at Northeast! This is insanity. And she has now been added to my long list of the PT people that I love.

Late this afternoon while crossing the walkway that led to the inner harbor, I happened upon some young college aged boys who stood leaning against the railing with cigarettes hanging out of their lips snapping pictures of themselves. They tried in vain to look nonchalant as I passed, but I tossed my eyebrows up and threw a mirthful grin at them. They smiled sheepishly and muttered something under their breath about taking selfies before they scattered and scampered away in the opposite direction.

Sitting in a dark room that was lit only by the light coming from the glass of a dolphin tank and watching them glide and dance. Realizing for the millionth time that I could totally live near an ocean.

Lunch with a nurse anesthetist who is going to Ethiopia and Uganda this summer (and she invited me along).

Dinner with a couple who carried a Marshalls bag to the table and upon my inquiring if they found what they needed, the husband replied, "Shoes and underwear for our thirteen year old, he wears them out so quick," his wife quickly added, "He means that he wears out the shoes!" And her husband retorted, "And the underwear too!" She just looked up to the heavens and shook her head. I liked them immediately and knew we would all get along splendidly. He kept me entertained all through dinner and then I found out that she is a cardiac thoracic nurse who works in the CVRU and we got along beautifully.

Leaning forward with elbows on the table across from an orthopedic surgeon who spent five years in Ethiopia doing surgeries on children with clubbed feet listening to him tell stories of how many miracles he witnessed and all the doors that God opened. He said that some of the tribes in that area who use to persecute Christian missionaries now welcome them and say, "If you are friends of Cure you are friends of ours." Healing changes lives.

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It's amazing how much different life looks when I walk around with my eyes open. I don't do it every day, but I am thankful for what I see on the days that I do.

And seriously, I swear I know and I get to meet the coolest people. Thank you all for being awesome.