Green hills and nostalgia

Road trips always seem to bring out the nostalgic side in me. It's something about the endless miles of road, the music, the people.... or lack thereof, that sends me into a lull of memories. A few weekends ago I was able to take a road trip with my BFF's to see a play that my friend had been the assistant director/stage manager of. It was a quick trip and it was jam packed with visits of friends we rarely get to see. It was great to see them and catch up... even if it was only for a meal or a few minutes at best. It was also really wonderful to be able to see into what my friend had been pouring her heart into these past few months and so glad to know that she is incredibly happy with the work she has done there.

The drive was incredibly beautiful and it lit a small fire to the travel bug that has been quietly put to rest since I came home from Lebanon. I love seeing new places... or old ones in a new light. Truly, California is a place that is so diverse it is hard not to see its beauty in new ways each time you drive through the countryside. The entire trip down I just kept saying, "This is basically what Ireland was like! I can't get over how green this is!!".... lush and stunning from every corner. I'm pretty sure by the end of the trip everyone got the point. haha



This is my BFF TK and one of his multiple attempts (and only successfulone at that) to jump into my pictures. haha definitely a keeper. I heart my friends. :)

It's funny how the randomest things can spark a memory. A good portion of the trip we were listening to Jason Mraz's first album... "Live at Java Joe's" and I was instantly thrown back to my first year of college. I had a CD player (yes a CD player... the days before iPods ) that I would carry in my back pack, headphones threaded through the top with that album playing non-stop for basically an entire year.... I rode my bike everywhere and would listen to it the entire ride to school and then to work and then home later that night. Listening to those songs I can picture the exact rode and the exact bike I was riding. The feeling of hope and fear of entering into an adult world where nothing was set out for you like it was in highschool. The naive spirit I had coupled with the feeling that I had to do anything I could to make it through... even if it meant working insane hours to support myself through college. The excitement in knowing that I had so much ahead of me and the feeling that I could do anything if I just worked hard enough....
and it got me thinking... about the dreams and hopes of that 18 year old girl I once knew. I wonder what I would think if I took a snapshot of my life now and showed it to myself 8 years ago and said, "So... this is your life.... is it all you'd hoped it would be?"

I think in many ways I would be incredibly proud and relieved to be out from under a lot of the turmoil I used to live under. In so many ways I am still shocked at how seriously blessed I am... and how far I have come. Just today at work I had to stop for a minute and think to myself, "Yes, Andi.... you really are a nurse...working in the ICU for almost 2 years now! You actually did it!" I can't believe it sometimes. God has had his hand in my life... no doubt about it. Still... there is a part of me that thinks I would look at my life and be really surprised at where I've ended up. Not in a bad way... just a surprised way. At that point in my life I don't think I had any clue where I was supposed to be... I was planning on being an art therapist but really.... I just knew I wanted to help people... and I knew I wanted to travel. There is still a part of me that feels that pull towards other cultures and people and I just wonder.... 8 years from now... who knows where I'll end up?
Kind of an exciting thought, huh?

What about you friends? What kinds of things make you nostalgic?