The Little Trips to Combat the Pandemic Fatigue

"Take only memories, leave only footsteps" - Chief Seattle

One of the greatest challenges to restarting my blog (which started off as a travel blog) during the Covid-19 Pandemic, is the lack of travel. Travel has always brought out my greatest creative energy. It is my gravity, but with the inability to take flight for over a year, it has been difficult to find the motivation to write about something I am passionate about while mourning the year being grounded. Struggling through the past year, grieving the incredible loss of life, fighting for a social and cultural change to our American identity, while combating a virus that has taken hold of our daily lives, an escape from the very real sorrows of our days is needed. This year in the pandemic has been a time where we've been forced to look inward, decide what type of person we will be, and find our new dreams. For my entire life, escaping in a global adventure was how I found the answers to life questions, life struggles, life doubts.

So, given the circumstances of our world, I've been living vicariously through my memories of past adventures. I looked back to the days when I was dropped off by my parents at an airport in Canada to solo travel and study for the summer in Europe. When I met someone (practically a stranger) and took off for Spain to spend the weekend learning a new culture and delicious food. To my most recent adventures with my husband taking him to some of my favorite spots in Germany and Switzerland, and him taking me on my first cruise experience.

These are a few of my big life moments, my moments of true self. One thing I have learned this past year is to appreciate the small moments. To appreciate that a getaway can just be a weekend "Up North" to see my family or a quick trip to help my little brother move home from Texas after leaving the Air Force. In these small, seemingly insignificant moments, I created memories that were as emotionally moving as all those big moments.

So for now, I am grounded, but I look forward to the time when I will be able to fly again, to hear locals speaking their language, and to see the airports bustling with people taking off to a world full of destinations. Until then, I have the memories of where I've left my footprints.