why travel

currently listening to: "Fuel to Fire" by Agnes Obel

I love how different people are.
It may seem like a no brainer that people are different, but believe me, it's a lesson I'm learning anew every day.
It's the kind of lesson that creeps up in relationships, finds its way into businesses, and shows itself blatantly in varying cultures and religions.
It's a lesson that, if never learned, can truly cripple you.
It's a lesson that I've continued to learn through the brilliance of travel.

I love travel. 
There are so many reasons I love it, and some of them are hard to put into words that make sense unless you've been there to smell, taste, and know them.

Macaron crumbs scattered on the bed, unnoticed as you drift off to sleep in a warm apartment above the glittery streets of Paris. Fish and chips fresh and drizzly on your lips, a salty warmth on a London day sparkling with snow flurries. Ears are biting, fingertips are clutching the toasty foil.
Climbing the dark stone ruins above Slane, Ireland, breathing deeply and smelling grass, trees, dirt, legends.
Holding in the gasp of terror as the giant stingray approaches, feeling the absolute elation of a desperate fear being conquered. Squinting against the sunshine, feeling it purge your skin of moisture, then diving back into the water for a fresh wave of coolness.

Why travel.

I think wanderlust is a real thing. Once you start, a craving begins, a true longing for new places.
Exploring is addictive, adventures tend to multiply.
I have been blessed to see a tiny glimpse of the world, and I think if I could I would hand it out to everyone I know like candy.
I would give it away because I think everyone needs it, and it would be a thrill to give it.

In America we generally have a very small view of things. Usually it begins with "me" and ends with "me."
What's happening inside my head, my heart, my bubble, that's the end all and be all of life.
Traveling tends to demand a balance of your view of the world. Or it at least demands that you consider it. Your expectations and assumptions of other countries and of humankind in general.
Traveling is a shock to the senses, a learning experience and a joy.

And boy, it shows you how small are you. The intricacies of God's design, the diversity of His people all over the globe. How infinitely miniscule you are in the grand scheme of things, in the vast universe.
Traveling will give you insight to that diversity
As a Christian, traveling takes my breath away. It makes me cry, it stores a piece of eternity in my heart and mind. It shows me how large and varied the Christian church really is.
It will show you faith, in all its forms, sizes, faces and languages.
The world is like a tray of colorful herbs and spices, awaiting to tantalize and educate you.

That's why. It's why I travel, and it's why I want to travel with my future children in tow.
I want to show them the beautiful world, to share with them the many discoveries of traveling, both profound and simple.
To show them in a real way that life goes beyond our living room, our technology, our toys, our me. 



*inspired in part by this post

oh baby, oh darling.

I love these little prints from a shop called Fifi du Vie on Etsy.
They're so simple, but so perfect.

In a lot of ways, I think this is how my love and I live.
We wish and we dream, and we would rather go broke from great food and beautiful places than be responsible and "save", whatever that means. I've never been good at it.

But I have to say, I have very few regrets. Whenever we buckle down and decide to really save up our money, someone mentions a fabulous restaurant we've never heard of, and Dusty gets this mischevious look in his eye. "Screw it," he whispers, and we do a happy dance that involves throwing a lot of money around our heads and acting like wild men.
Okay, so that part doesn't really happen but it usually involves us laughing a lot and talking about what a great date we had.

The one thing I would heavily emphasize is the fact that we have had a lot lot lot lot lot of help over the 1 year, 4 months and 24 days that we've been married. And plenty before that, as well.
I hope to one day pay our parents back, penny by penny. Their love, wisdom and generosity has led us through.
Still being in school is sometimes hard, because it doesn't allow us to truly be on our own. We take out loans, we receive gifts from others...and I'm the only one working. My little job provides enough for rent and bills, and a small portion of our food and other expenses.

I also have Posies by Cait, which I've actually been working really hard at! It's something I really enjoy doing. I have my first big, official craft fair tomorrow, and I'm so, so nervous.
(The funny thing about these things is that often the cost of the event preparation alone may outweigh the actual profit...but I'm hoping for a sunny day and LOTS of people!)

I suppose my general musing about all of this is that there are a lot of contributors to my husband and I's craziness.

1. We love food
We have finally come to the conclusion that a consistent work-out system must be in place, because we simply love to eat.

2. I love to give presents
Birthdays, holidays, showers, parties, will-you-be-my-friend bribes...all of these amount to a lot of money spent on others, that I simply can't live without.

3. We love our friends and family
Whenever our loved-ones plan a get together, it's impossible for us to resist. Going out to eat, double dates, concerts, trips, etc. etc.

4. Shopping is FUN!

5. We love to travel
This is the best and worst one. We are bursting at the seams to go all over this crazy world. We've had little tastes here and there, but we have a nice long list of all the places we want to go.
We have a coffee shop designated for whipping out a little notebook, and planning out trips for our future. It's called The Muse, which is rather fitting, I think.
The truth is, some people never get to check off that list...but we've already gotten started on it, and feel immensely blessed and motivated to have travel be a priority in our lives, before and after we have kids. But a big part of us wants to take some of our adventures while it's still just the two of us.

 6. There's something seriously wrong with us.
Last, but not least.

Someday, I'm going to make my own print.

And it's going to say,

Live Simply, Travel Extravagantly.

I'm so glad life is an adventure. I'm so glad we don't know what's going to happen. I'm so glad we have families and friends that love us, and I'm so, so glad I found that handsome weirdo up there to spend  his life with me. I sure do love everything about our life.

xoxo
In love,
Cait