This will be a short post, there isn’t really a whole lot to tell. At least, not after the action packed weeks that preceded this one. I really wasn’t even going to say anything, just let you figure out that I made it home, but it has been made aware to me that I need some sort of closure.

When Austin and I dropped off the other two at the Seattle airport, we exchanged a knowing look, both expressing that it was time to go home. What stood in our way was 2,000 miles of open road, about 30 hours of driving. Our only plan was to drive east all day and sleep when we could no longer function.

However, the drive home gave me plenty of time to think about what we were able to see and how we were able to learn. We made three days out of the drive home, and the spirit was different than the drive out. We were calmer, more prepared to go with the flow, and we didn’t even bother trying to plan out where we would make it to each day.

I haven’t quite been able to put all the pieces together. I’m sure some time down the road I will appreciate more and more the experience that my friends and I had this summer, diving ever deeper into the meaning of it all. But now I just want to acknowledge that I am grateful for the things I saw, the people I was able to know, or get to know deeper, and the small lessons I learned along the way.

Now it’s on to the next adventure.