It is snowing outside here in Connecticut. The first snow of the season. School was cancelled today, travel was difficult at best.
The first snow of the season is always the best. The kids can't wait to go outside and roll their bodies down a hill. They are dressed in snow caps, mittens, body suits and heavy and awkward boots. Looking mostly like the Michelin Man, they go pretty fast downhill and always want helping walking back up. Over and over again.
But I actually got to spend the day with my 2 younger children. And my oldest is on his way back to Boston from a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Lima and Cusco, Peru. As I write this, he has been at the Lima airport for 8 hours waiting on his flight and was just told there is another 5 hour delay.
He took this photo just outside Lima. These children are playing checkers at an orphanage GeoVisions supports with volunteers. They play checkers with rocks vs. bricks. (If you want to volunteer at this orphanage, we would recommend taking them some real checkers pieces.)
Every December my two colleagues and I meet to go over the past year and look forward to the next. Last year we took our photo in front of a Christmas tree in London. This year we chose Boston.
What does all of this rambling about children playing in the snow, a child returning to the U.S., a Peruvian orphanage and my two colleagues have in common? They are all my family or my loved ones. Nuclear, extended, and global.
For most of us, "family" and "loved ones" has a very deep significance. It symbolizes a sense of safety and helps guide us through the uncertainties of a world filled with strangers. There seems to be a universal sense of security in having family or loved ones to return to regardless of how far we decide to travel.
I have traveled to many places on this planet and I have seen families of every description. There seem to be two unifying human inclinations both to wander and to have family and loved ones to wander back to. It is great to be on the road, but there is no place like home.
It only takes children playing in the snow, a son returning from another country or meetings with my two business associates to remind me of the appreciation for the people who are my shelter, and to look around and count my blessings for being safe. These are the people who care about me the most, those who are always there regardless of how troublesome things might get.
Sometimes it's hard to deal effectively with those we love the most. We seem bonded in a circle of love and respect that can never be broken. This cannot be measured by any accounting methods. It is a feeling of being in a state of unity with others who share that space.
By all means succumb to your travel lust, take that wide road and see all you can. But also know that all along those wide roads, on either side and at the end, are places that someone calls home with family and loved ones nearby. Therefore, when coming back and traveling down that most familiar road, stop before opening the door and feel a deep sense of appreciation for those you love, those who provide you with experiences, good and bad, easy and difficult. Be a wanderer today and then return to those you love.
The plowing out begins tomorrow. The snow will not look as pristine as it does now. School will be delayed, but will carry on. A game of checkers will take place just outside Lima with rocks and bricks. Chris will arrive safe and sound to waiting friends who have planned a Christmaukah party to celebrate two traditions. It will be Friday, so they will speak only Spanish. Make that three traditions. Our CEO will begin his packing for Connecticut, then New York and finally back home to Bangkok. On the sides and end of the road are loved ones and loving ones.
As we place the final bow on 2007, all of us here at GeoVisions wish you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season and a Happy New Year. We wish you safe travel--away from and returning to your family and friends.
Sincerely,
Randy LeGrant
Executive Director