Wanderlust

Wanderlust is an interesting word. Technically it means liking to travel and such, but for me it has always encapsulated more than that. Wanderlust is a bigger thing, something that encapsulates your heart and soul, something that lives with you all the time, grows restless with monotony, and gives your heart wings with the thought of adventure.

I’ve got wanderlust. I’ve got it badly.

It’s why I loved travelling with my teams. It’s why I’ve been all over the place. It’s why I can’t sit still. It’s why I have so much more I want to do and see and experience.

I went to the British Isles for over a week with some friends recently (just got back, to be honest) and it was the most awesome, wonderful experience ever. That is home for my heart and soul, and coming home is exquisitely painful, even though I know I must.

My best friend and her parents were going over for fun and to see some things they missed the last time they went over, and I was fortunate enough to be invited. I had spent two months in England at the end of my time at BYU seven years ago, and I’d never really come home afterwards. You’re always homesick for England afterwards, ask anyone. Employment and grad school and general lack of funds had prevented me from going back since, but thanks to my good job now, I could afford the trip, and had the schedule to do so. I jumped at the chance, and it was once in a lifetime.

I’ve not come back yet, not really, and I’m not sure I ever will. But now instead of just being homesick for England, I’m homesick for Scotland. And Ireland. And even Wales, though my time there was incredibly brief.

Jet lag is still raging, my emotions aren’t recovered, and I have no idea how reality is going to go once that comes into play, but that’s how it goes.

Wanderlust makes it harder.

It keeps you there even longer.

To relive it and enjoy it again, I’ll be posting on here the emails and notes I made every day so everyone can have a taste of what I did and the great experiences I had. Pictures, stories, quirky fun bits, everything I can.

Maybe you’ll all get wanderlust too.

I hope so. It’s addicting and fun and makes you feel alive.

It becomes part of who you are.

And the world is brighter for it because there is so much more of the world to see.

The trip begins in Chicago on a Tuesday afternoon and it turns into a very long Wednesday in Dublin. Tomorrow you will see the first day in its massive entirety, and we will begin.

It's some fantastic stuff.

Sit back, relax, and get ready to be infested with wanderlust.

You'll love it.