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It has been a while, hasn’t it?

Ah, 2020, what a year you have been. So many things have changed, but change is not always bad. I started working from home in March, like many others, but I will be returning to campus for the Spring 2021 semester. I am looking forward to seeing my students in person as opposed to in a box on my computer screen. Teaching will be different, but different, just as change, can be good. I know that I have learned quite a lot about remote learning, engaging students, and rolling with things as they come along. All of these things will make me a better professor, so for that I am thankful.

I wrote earlier about my trip that was not. This was a disappointing time in 2020, but we have moved on and have made changes to our trip. We were able to book our flight for June 2021, and the airline added thirty percent of the value of our vouchers to our vouchers allowing us to book the flight we wanted. I think that we have decided that a cruise is not in our best interest, so instead we are going to purchase Eurail passes and see Europe from a train as opposed to a cruise ship. In the end, this may be even better as we can stay longer in areas that we want, and move on from those we are not enjoying. The most important thing is that myself and my two besties will be traveling together celebrating us. How can that be bad?

What am I hoping for in 2021? I am going to start with I hope that we can go back to participating in events that raise monies for organizations that help others. I know that many organizations suffered this year, and as a result, those who benefit from those organizations also suffered. I participated in many virtual events this year to help some of my favorite organizations, but I will admit, it was not the same as being in person. Regardless, I will continue to sign up for races/5ks/10ks, whatever the race is as I know how far my entry fee can go in helping others.

I also hope that we each learned something during this time. I know some of my friends have taken on new hobbies that they would never have done before, and that they have found great joy in the new activity. How amazing is that?! I hope that we each have learned something about ourselves – be it a strength that we did not know that we had or something that needs adjustment.

I ask each of you to just take a moment in the final days of 2020 to truly reflect on this year and find the good in it. The good is there, it may be overshadowed by the bad, but it is there and we owe it to ourselves to find the good and let it shine!

Until the next post. And, as always, thank you for reading.

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The Trip That Wasn’t…Yet

So, today would have been the last day on our Mediterranean cruise. As I mentioned in a previous post, my best friends and I have been planning (and saving) for five years for this trip. We were going to celebrate our 50th birthdays in style. We booked a great suite on the ship and we were going to have the best time! But, alas, the current pandemic changed our plans for us. The following was our itinerary:

Friday, June 12, 2020 – fly to Barcelona, Spain
Saturday, June 13, 2020 – land in Barcelona and spend the day sightseeing. I was also going to reach out to a friend from college as I have not seen him since college.
Sunday, June 14, 2020 – get in some last minute sightseeing and then board the ship. We were to depart at 1800.
Monday, June 15, 2020 – Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Tuesday, June 16, 2020 – Provence (Marseille), France
Wednesday, June 17, 2020 – Florence/Pisa (Laspezia), Italy
Thursday, June 18, 2020 – Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy
Friday, June 19, 2020 – Naples, Italy
Saturday, June 20, 2020 – Crusing
Sunday, June 21, 2020 – arrive back in Barcelona
Sunday, June 21, 2020 – fly to Boston, MA

The good news is that this same exact cruise will be available in June 2021 and we are hoping that by that time, the pandemic will be over and that we will be able to cruise. So, we have to wait another, which is not ideal, but at least we will still be able to go. What we are hoping is that at some point this year we may be able to take a short long-weekend trip to celebrate this year and then GO BIG next year.

Granted, I know that this is small in comparison to what is going on in the world at this time, but it is something that I wanted to share. I will be posting about what is happening in the world and resources that are available for those who want to learn more, but I need some time to gather those resources and ensure what I am sharing is relevant, truthful, and appropriate.

As always, thanks for reading.

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What Should I Be Doing – What I AM Doing

So, at this moment, I should be working on my dissertation, but instead I am distracted by a few things. First and foremost, I am distracted by my 10-year-old dog who is currently chipmunk hunting in my backyard. She is not the type of dog that will normally stay outside for no reason, but today, she has been outside more than inside. She is standing vigil by the shed just waiting for an appearance by the chipmunk. She comes in briefly, presumably to rest, and then she goes right back outside. For her sake, I hope that she has a sighting and all of this not for nothing.

What else is distracting me today you ask, well it may seem superficial, but I am distracted by thinking of all of the events that have been either cancelled or postponed to later this year. I am thinking of those events because each one of them supports either first responders, active military, veterans, and/or their families. The first event to get cancelled was the Bataan Memorial Death March (BMDM), which was supposed to occur March 15, 2020 in New Mexico. From the BMDM website, “The Bataan Memorial Death March is a challenging march through the high desert terrain of the White Sands Missile Range. The memorial march is conducted in honor of the heroic service members who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II, sacrificing their freedom, health, and, in many cases, their very lives.” This was going to be a challenge for me as I was going to be attacking the course alone, but I knew that I would not be truly alone as there was scheduled to be thousands of people participating. The date for 2021 has been released (March 21, 2021), maybe I will be in NM next March.

The second event of my “season” was postponed and that event is Tough Ruck. I am happy that this event was postponed and not cancelled. Tough Ruck is a 26.2 mile event where participants wear weighted rucks and it is done in memory of fallen heroes. According to the Tough Ruck website, “We Tough Ruck for those who cannot. It is an honor for Ruckers to wear the name of a Fallen Hero on their Ruck Sack and carry that name 26.2 miles and across the finish line. Yellow Ribbons will represent Fallen Service Members, Blue Ribbons will represent Fallen Police Officers, Red Ribbons will represent Fallen Firefighters, and White Ribbons will represent Fallen EMS.” This year will be my second year participating in this event. The first year did not go as planned, but this year is my year. Compared to what our first responders and service members must endure day in and day out, walking 26.2 miles with a weighted ruck is nothing.

The other events that are on my calendar that have been either postponed or converted to a virtual event consist of 5ks, rucks, stair climbs, etc. The events include Boston’s Run to Remember (converted to virtual 5 mile – anytime before September 11, 2020); Ruck to Remember (virtual ruck May 25, 2020); Mission 22 Virtual Ruck for Hope (virtual ruck May 30, 2020); 22 Too Many 5k (virtual June 6, 2020); Sabine Strong 3.3 (postponed until August 30, 2020); Stairs4RTroops (postponed until October 4, 2020); and Run for the Troops 5k (postponed until November 15, 2020).

I guess that I am thinking about these events because the people these organizations support do not get to postpone or cancel their work or their duties because of what is happening. I am happy that many of the events will still occur, be it later in the year or now virtually as we need to continue to support those who are on the front line and let them know that we are thankful for their dedication and protection.

THANK YOU TO ALL FIRST RESPONDERS AND ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL – YOU ARE WORTH YOUR WEIGHT IN GOLD!!!

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Why start a blog?

Well, the idea to start this blog came to me when my two best friends and I were planning a trip we were set to take in June 2020. You see, we started saving for a huge 50th birthday celebration five years ago and everything was planned (and I mean EVERYTHING down to the airport transfers). Our plan was to take a Mediterranean cruise that would bring us to Spain, France, and Italy. We booked a beautiful suite (two floors), and we were ready to be treated well. And then…COVID-19.

You see, I thought that it would be a great idea to write a blog while we were traveling so that I could upload our pictures and keep our families and friends updated as to our daily escapades. I was really excited to take this on as I knew that we would be happy to have a “recording” of our trip for years to come.

Once the trip was cancelled, I thought about whether I should start the blog. After consideration, I realized that the cancellation of the trip did not not mean the blog needed to cancelled or postponed too. So, I decided to start the blog anyway as I wanted to have a place to share all of my adventures and musings and could not come up with a valid reason to hold off on starting it.

So, I start this blog today so that I can share my journeys and musings with those who wish to read about them, but also to remind me of the things I have accomplished.

I hope you enjoy the journey (and musings)!