OK, so I get this email from the government...

and they tell me my passport is in the mail to me ALREADY! Holy crap! If only other areas of the government were so efficient! I will be booking my flight tomorrow, so really need to decide on arrival/departure cities. At this point the itinerary looks like this:

• Arrive in Amsterdam
• Paris
• Nice
• Cinque Terre (Italy)
• Florence
• Milan
• Venice (will leave for home from either Milan or Venice)

I am excited, and a bit anxious.  Slightly apprehensive even, but that's a good thing.  This is definitely a way to shake things up a bit and remind me that there is a lot more to the world than my tiny corner, and that there's a very limited amount of time to explore it.  A woman whom I very much respect and admire quoted this to me:  "Comfort zones are most often expanded through discomfort."  I love that!  It's become the theme of my trip, and these are the words I will repeat to myself when I am in a foreign country, alone, not able to speak a word of the language or read anything, and am not sure what my next step should be.  I am hoping it will change my state from panic to enjoyment.


I think everyone with cancer and the like gets to the point where priorities shift.  In my case the importance of not creating/having outstanding debt, and work being number one priority has shifted to a desire to explore and experience what I can while I'm here, and the realization that life, love, and family trump everything.  I've decided to spend more time taking things in, and less time letting everything rush past me.


This week, I challenge you to do something you wouldn't normally.  Explore something you'd normally not notice.  Something as simple as walking into a building or store that you've never been in, or have been meaning to go to, or are even the slightest bit curious about.  Sign up for a class you've always wanted to take.  Call someone you've been out of touch with.  Use the good china to have hot dogs for dinner.  Pick one thing from your "someday" list and do it now! 


That's all for now.  Be sure to "follow" my blog.  I am trying to find a way for followers to get email notifications of new posts, but have yet to find it, so check back or email me if you want me to add you to the notification list.  I love you all.