When I was around 12 years old I was given a Rockets jersey from my parents. And cried when I got it. I cried because we lived in Minnesota and my parents told me I could wear my new jersey at my new school, in our new house in Houston.
My entire 12 years had been spent in Minnesota and I hadn’t moved since I really started going to school and making friends. The thought of changing schools seemed like the end of the world and I had no idea what existed outside of our neighborhood in Woodburry. Moving to Houston was weird, new, and uncomfortable… as many good things tend to start. And like those same different, uncomfortable things tend to resolve, I wouldn’t change a thing.
I didn’t realize it then, but that was the start of an important life lesson for me. I’ve come to see more and more how important it is to experience new things in new places. While I’m not ready to up and move again just to go somewhere new, I do try to make the most of the places I get to go and not pass up opportunities that arise. Brooke and I have taken our fair share of trips lately and have done our best to make the most of our time in new cities and find ways to get off the beaten path.
Flying in to Washington, D.C. late the night before a wedding we were going to in Williamsburg, VA gave us a chance to spend a little time in our nation’s capital. Squeezing in a trip to Arlington National Cemetery was hard (and different for me since I’m a bit uncomfortable around cemeteries) but it gave Brooke the chance to see her grandmother’s picture in a memorial to the women nurses of WWII and gave me a chance to wait around for my favorite picture from the trip. Totally worth it.
Getting up to take photos at the Houston Zoo at 7:00am on a Saturday was definitely difficult (and a bit uncomfortable), but ended up being a great experience. Watching a lion walk out to start his day and hearing and feeling his roar as a wake up call to the zoo was something to remember.
When taking a trip to New Orleans, it’s easy to stay around the center of town, eating and drinking with the tourists. With a little desire to do something different though, and a good list of recommendations from someone who knows better, you can experience New Orleans in a whole new way. Hand grenades on Bourbon Street and lunch at the Hard Rock are fine but a local beer at Cooter Brown’s and a night around a candle light piano at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar are the experiences I will remember.
The title of this post is from the Pink Floyd song “Breathe“. It can come off sort of negative at first, especially if you don’t share my same school of thought. To me though, it means that life is what you make it. It can be whatever you want it to be and is totally up to you and those experiences. It’s because I was forced to move from Minnesota and forced out of my comfort zone that I started to see how important new experiences are and probably why I interperate “Breathe” like I do. And for that, I am thankful.
homepage post photo courtesy of Dummications
