3x5

This morning as I drove to work, I played John Mayer's album, "Room for Squares" from my iPod. As I heard the first tune, I skipped forward to a song, called 3x5, I used to listen to as I drove to class at JMU, which was an hour from my house. It became a ritual for me, and something I looked forward to doing every time I hit the road. It is a beautiful song, if you haven't heard it. I'm fairly certain hearing it the first time while I drove over the mountain was coincidental, but it was perfect for the scenery.

I'm writing you to
catch you up on places I've been

You held this letter
probably got excited, but there's nothing else inside it
didn't have a camera by my side this time

Hoping I would see the world with both my eyes
maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way with words

Today skies are painted colors of a cowboy's cliche'
And strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky
are next to mountains anyway

Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world with both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way
but let me say
You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
it brought me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside
just no more 3x5's

Guess you had to be there
Guess you had to be with me

Today I finally overcame
tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame

Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to
lose my way but let me say

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
it brought me back to life

You'll be with me next time I go outside
no more 3x5's
just no more 3x5's

I do love this song. As I drove to school today, images of the slate blue mountains sliding by my car window, touched with pink and purple highlights, came back to me. And then I wondered, how long ago was that? Five years. That's it. Five years! How my life has changed in that time! In that time, I got a Master's, moved in with B, moved to Virginia Beach, got married, went to the Bahamas and Europe, and now I'm sitting here feeling my baby kick as I type.

Those drives over the mountain seem like a lifetime ago, and yet in the grand scheme of things, 5 years is a flash! And when I list out what has happened in the five years since, I think to myself that life has been pretty awesome! Before these past five years, I thought the highlight of my existence was getting to work for Disney, meeting a president, and meeting Pat Conroy, who also signed my journal, which I still have.

Does everyone's life flash by like this, or have I just been lucky? Is there a point at which all of these things end, or does it take just greater dedication towards making your life the best that it can be, whenever and wherever possible? I think it probably just takes more determination to not let life suck as you get older, to continue to do things that expand your horizons both internally and externally.

I can say, without a doubt, that my traveling this past summer has not silenced the urge to travel. If anything, it was just a morsel to whet my appetite, but I know that we are not done with traveling. I want to see more and do more, and for some reason, I don't think it won't be possible once the baby is born. I don't think it would be easier to do, but I think if we really want it to happen, it will. We just need to be patient, and do what we can, when we can.

And the best part of all of this is that all of this will pale in comparison to the birth of our son. I just can't wait.