With only days remaining before flying to London, I’m looking at the trip itinerary, and am full of excitement over all of the famous places we’ll be visiting. I’m beyond thrilled by the opportunity. Not only am I excited over experiencing London, I’m also excited by the fact that I’ll be doing something so completely different from my personal norm. I’ve lived in Texas for the last twenty years, and I tend to be a bit of a hermit. I even take UML correspondence classes from home. It’s so very convenient and comfortable, and generally speaking, I have a hard time venturing out of that comfort zone. Now, international travel is literally days away. Unfortunately, it took something jarring to cause me to take this opportunity.

Last year, my mother died. Along with sadness and mourning came the realization that my mother did not have a passport, and she had only ever been to Hawaii and Mexico. It then occurred to me that I did not have a passport, and had only ever been to Hawaii and Mexico. I was reminded of a line from “The Shawshank Redemption” – “get busy living, or get busy dying.” I had planned on going to London twice before, but both times my plans had fallen through. Then, this opportunity popped up in my inbox in the form of an UML email, and I couldn’t sign up fast enough. Now I have a passport, and soon it will have a stamp in it. And, in just a few days, I’ll be standing in front of Big Ben as part of my effort to “get busy living.”