The first week of traveling has flown by. I got to spend a week in absolute baby bliss with one of my oldest and dearest high schools friends in the beautiful life she has created. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to start this journey. A large part of the decision to travel was knowing that this would be one of my last opportunities to do it – foreseeing the creation of my own family in the next few years. Being 28, there’s a sense of youth but also of awareness of the speed at which time passes. I want to savor every moment of this time and freedom, taking full advantage of it so that I have no regrets once I am ready to settle down. Spending this time with Kaley was precious in more ways than I can even comprehend at this moment.

Top 5 favorite moments from Maryland:
1. Kaley and I spotting a shooting star on the drive home from the airport when I arrived (a wonderful sign that I was right where I was meant to be!)
2. My two year old niece, Evelyn, hugging me as tight as her little arms could hold me and whispering, “I love you, Auntie Jackie”
3. Running errands with Kaley mid-trip – just us and the random, profound conversation that happens in the most mundane of activities
4. After a stressful work day, going into the bedroom to pick up my six month old niece, Lily, and seeing her beaming a smile up at me from the crib
5. The surprising calm from my nieces in the back seat and the hum of bluegrass from the radio on the super early drive to the airport as we watched the sunrise over Washington DC

AIRPORTS: 3
FLIGHTS: 1
STATES: 2
COUNTRIES: 1
DAYS TRAVELING: 7