The Joy of Progress

Last night, although it was an ending to a pretty stressful day, closed on a good note. We actually made progress on our free travel plans. It seems that in all the other meetings we would work for hours but come up short on actual progress. We pretty much have our route down and we booked several hostels. They are relatively cheap, but still seem to be hospitable (unless they googled the photos and it looks nothing like that!) Lacey is making a spreadsheet itinerary that I will post on here once it is complete. I will also give you the phone number of the phone we take so that you can get a hold of us in case of emergency.

I think I am most excited about Ireland and the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg. I think that I will actually get emotional-- haha. I don't care if the other tourists want to shoot me, I am going to sing some of the musical numbers at the various places. I don't know if it is allowed, but I want them to let me off at the mountain so that I can spin around and burst out with, "The hills are alive with the sound of music!" I don't know what it is about that movie that touches me so. It is so much more than "I just love that movie" which I often say about others. It is a part of my childhood; it is a part of how I was raised. I can't remember a time at grandma's or a time in my own home that music was not an integral part of our family gatherings. The movie itself weaved its magic on us. I remember when we were little kids, Ryan and I would play Liesl and Rolfe (spelling) and we would dance around the toy boxes that lined the outside of our playroom. We were in the gazebo and I would sing, "I am 16 going on 17..." He, on the floor, would hold my hand as I pranced around the toyboxes above him. Patient, compliant younger brothers. I probably mortified him just now. Sorry, Ry.

Rebelling against yesterday's melancholy, I got outdoors today and played some volleyball and worked out. It felt so good to feel the sun on my face and know that I have most of my projects complete. I am going to try to head to the beach tomorrow if the weather is nice. :-)

I hear that the weather is pretty bad in Arkansas. I hope it clears up soon and that ya'll stay safe! Don't go running, Pawpaw. You can skip a few days. :-) I don't want you to get swept up in a tornado!! Thanks for your comments and continued reading, even though it doesn't seem like much is going on to talk about.

Love ya'll, Ash