6/13/2021

To My Grandkids,

     20,000 miles.
     In the last year, I have driven 20,000 miles.
     Amidst those miles, I have learned, grown, loved and been loved, cried, felt pain, walked through chaos, and felt complete bliss. Those miles represent growth to the fullest extent- pushing me off the cliff of comfort and out into the world where I am free. Free to roam, explore, meet people and connect with experiences and backgrounds from all over the world.  In the last year, those 20,000 miles changed my life.
     Recently I have been thinking a lot about all the different people I've met in my life. I'm not just talking about family and close friends, but all the amazing people I've met in passing, the ones I've had the pleasure to spend more time with and hear their stories, people I've worked with throughout many jobs, people I've learned from, and anyone I've shared a passing glance with that impacted my life and didn't even realized they had.  I've met some people under wild circumstances- from road trips bringing together a soul family I didn't even know I had, broke down vehicles uniting us with some very kind and helpful friends, and odd jobs giving me the opportunity to meet the most genuine and fun group of people ever.
      After 20,000 miles of new experiences, I can easily say that one of the most important things in this life is connection. To connect with people is to understand perspectives, and to connect through love.  When you connect with people it offers an opportunity to not only learn from them, but also make relationships that could benefit you for a whole lifetime. Throughout all my travels, all the places I've been, and breathtaking adventures I've been on, the stories I tell the most always come back to the people I've met.
 Go out of your way to make friends, and give people the time to tell their stories-
relationships will always be more important  than the materialistic things you have.
Take the time to tell people you appreciate them, you never know when you'll see them again. 

One day we'll get to sit around our own campfire and share stories of the people we've met- from these last 20,000 miles and the next, I've got lots to tell you about :)
 
Love always,
Your crazy granny J!!

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