Terra (Kinda) Firma: Durham, NC

If this were a more serious blog, I’d insert a thoughtful quote here about how the true purpose of travel is to return to where you started from and discover it anew.

Actually, I would insert that quote here, if I could remember who said it. Thoreau? Fitzgerald? You know the quote I’m talking about, right? It’s generally overlaid across stock photos of beach sunsets, and your aunt probably posted it on Facebook when she got back from Waikiki.

In lieu of more eloquent verbiage, let me just say this: it’s really, really nice to sleep in a bed. And to have running water. (HOT water, no less! What are we, royalty?) It’s also really great to pass a whole day without cursing at Google Maps, or arguing over who let a mosquito into the tent.

What I’m trying to say is that I don’t know what to say. After almost six months on the road, Sean and I finally made it back to our starting point — Durham, North Carolina, where we dropped our cat Phoebe off with my mom back in June. What’s happened in between is… well, this entire blog, and so much more that I haven’t yet figured out how to put into words.

Sean and I have both learned a lot about ourselves and each other. I have to say, the everyday peaks and valleys of having a relationship feel pretty manageable after you’ve been lost in the Mexican desert together with a low gas tank and no cell signal. We almost killed each other several times, but we didn’t, because it turns out we actually like each other quite a bit.

This trip has made me realize how lucky I am (how — dare I say — #blessed?) to have such dear friends and family in so many corners of the world. It’s also made me immensely grateful for the generosity of strangers, and made me wish for a world where everyone could feel that generosity.

Still, while I’ve seen a lot of beauty this summer — more than I know how to process, really — I’ve also seen some things that were very hard to look at. We’ve driven through days’ worth of half-abandoned towns, communities that have been left behind by corporations that moved to where the labor was cheaper or the taxes were lower. We spent three weeks traveling freely in a country full of people that our own government would imprison if they dared to cross our border.

It’s hard to make sense of all that, and to let it into your heart in a way that doesn’t incapacitate you. For that matter, it can be hard to let all the beauty and love and hope in the world into your heart, too. I guess I’ll have to make a bigger heart, which I guess is what I’ve been doing all summer, which I guess is why I was such a crank for much of it. Growing pains are a real jerk.

Anyway, we’ve made it to Durham, and our traveling days are over — for now. The next adventure is going to be turning all the things we’ve learned and the crazy experiences we’ve had into something we can share with the world — and stay tuned for that, because we’re ready to hit the ground running.

First, though, hot showers — and cat snuggles.

This is Team Watermelon, signing off.