#3: Go Back to Holland

In 2007, after graduating from University and in desperate need of a new start, my family in Holland took me in for a summer. I am infinitely grateful for the time I spent there, because I believe it set me on the path I'm still pursuing today.

Since then, my Mom and I have been eager to make the trip back to Holland together. She had never been, and I was eager to visit the people and places I had come to love! That trip was planned for last summer.

The Friday before I was meant to leave on our much anticipated trip, my newly acquired oncologist informed me I would start treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in two short weeks. With only a moment's hesitation, we cancelled our trip. (Luckily for both of us, I was smart enough to buy cancellation insurance!)

But, only a short year later, my Mom and I found ourselves on a plane to Amsterdam. We just got home from eleven days spent biking through Holland's countryside, visiting with some well-missed family, "finding our roots", and even one special day in Amsterdam.

Last year, the opportunity to go back to Holland seemed unfathomable. But, in the blink of an eye, it came and it went!

With age and experience, I'm becoming more convinced that the only way to understand any experience is to put some time in between yourself and it.

This time, it paid off. We made the trip we were always meant to have!