State of the Union

Spent the better part of last week roaming the Nation's Capital.  It had been years since I'd been there.  But not the first time I spent time alone in D.C.

I don't roam to be alone.  But it is a time when I feel the adventure of walking through somewhere new - to experience it without any guide - savor new surroundings.  I love those moments.  But I realized that there is a need to share this.  To find companionship that sometimes takes your hand and walks some of those miles with you.

So I walked through new parts of the city - camera at hand, thoughts toward all that brought me here.  This trip.  This time to roam - but not totally alone this time.

Dr. Seuss wrote a book (one of his last) called "Oh, the places you'll go!" and today I realize that I may not have gone to all the grand and glorious places in the world.  I may not have found the success that I often thought would come.  But I have been places.  Both in the world and in my spirit.  Places that have allowed me to roam free, yet also find someone to roam with.

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My eyes grew big at the sight of him.  We were walking through the night along the mall below the Washington Memorial.  There he sat.  A man who I feel had also roamed.  He wasn't a success story at first.  In fact, he was quite the failure as a politician.  But he had a passion and a drive that carried him from simple roots to being enshrined as one of our most beloved historical figures.  Lincoln sat looking at me through the darkened sky...

I will continue to roam and find new places.  I'm still finding where this path is taking me and I'm open to see all the wonders - even if it's just looking in the mirror and seeing a face that has shed some tears, but still continues to believe.  And it's nice to think of another's hand coming up and taking mine in theirs.  Just a super added perk to the journey.