CONTENT AT THE CLOSE

Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
I began this journey sitting in the lounge of Chicago O'Hare, sipping coffee, uncertain and frankly afraid of what the next few months would bring. I end this journey sitting in the CHQ Starbucks down the street from my Airbnb, sipping coffee, content and full of stories. What a ride! Coming out on the other side, Chicago feels like a lifetime ago and yet somehow like yesterday in the same breath. So much has happened in two short months. 

To break it down by the numbers: 

Days Away:
68

Miles Traveled:
11,840
http://tinyurl .com/nq9j7vz
 
Cities Visited: 
21
 
Miles Walked:
~350

Places Stayed: 
17

Photos Taken (and Saved):
1,174

New Friends Made (Facebook Offish): 
16

Reunions with Old Friends:

  
Visitors Received:
2

A productive and incredible two months! This trip has provided everything I hoped it would - breathtaking scenery, historical and familial connection, clarity, introspection, and more than a little fun. Once again, I'm moved by the understanding of how small our world really is, human kindness and that fundamentally, we are all the same. 

While this journey is coming to a close, the next lies just around the corner. My move to Chicago waits impatiently in the wings - an obtrusive (and exciting) presence ready to pounce anytime my mind quiets. In many ways I know this journey will be just as, if not more challenging than the one I've just completed . But, looking back and remembering how scared I was sitting in that airport, I know that this uncertainty and change will pass and good things await. Life is always challenging, it's how we handle that challenge that defines us. In the words of one of Ireland's most prolific and respected writers, James Joyce, "better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age."  

While I hope I won't be passing to the other world anytime soon, here's to passing boldly, full of passion, into the next chapter of this adventure called life. 

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