Friends and Family

Kamala Harris is being called "the candidate of joy". She must know my friends and family...pure joy!!! And I am blessed...

The middle of August, Craig's brother, Bret, and his wife, Lisa, visited us in Edinburgh. We had a lot of fun. Besides giving them the grand tour of this amazing city, we also did an Outlander tour with Haggis-Adventures tour company. Lisa is a huge Outlander fan, has read all the books, and has met several of the cast of the show. Outlander for me was like watching two trains coming at each other from a mile away; you know it's going to be a really bad crash, but you can't stop watching. Yes, I'm going to start reading the books when I get home, and, the conclusion to Season 7 better be on Showtime when I get back.

So, Bret and Craig were "made" to go on the Outlander tour. However, they were both surprised at how much they enjoyed it, especially since one of the castles was the one where Monty Python's The Holy Grail was filmed. Lisa got two coconut shells and hit them together as we all hopped and skipped our way to the castle (it's just a flesh wound!).

Having your close friends and family come visit you on your "Amazing-six-month-Scottish-adventure" goes a long ways in validating your experience. The people who love and know you best and are so excited for you, share in the joy of your experience, ask questions that make you think, support you in knowing that it's going to be hard to say good bye to Scotland, and they are the ones who will be there with open arms when we get back to the States.

So that we wouldn't miss them too much, Bret and Lisa did a hand slap with our dear friends, Denise and Dan in George Square, Glasgow.

We hugged Bret and Lisa, then hopped the train for Oban and in five hours we were feasting on plates full of langoustines fresh out of the Atlantic.

The next day we took the ferry to the Isle of Mull.

Ate lots of good food along the way...

Slept in a castle...

Hiked the Lake District in Northern England...

Drank funny cocktails...

And enjoyed lots of good conversations. Like I said, I am blessed with the joy of family and friends.

So, they've all gone back home. As I walk from the train station back to our apartment in Edinburgh, I notice that while I was enjoying everyone's visits, the season had changed. The smell of fall was in the air. Leaves had fallen and their sound against the pavement, as the wind pushed them along, was crisp and rustling. They crunch under my feet. The same wind blew through the trees and sent the words to my ears that time was moving along; change was in the air. I knew I would soon be moving along, also. We will be leaving Edinburgh to go back home at the end of September. It is bitter sweet. As I walk I reflect on all that has happened for me during the past six months. The trip of a lifetime. I have three more weeks in this amazing city of Edinburgh that I have grown to love so dearly. It's not home, I don't belong here, but my heart has been forever captured. In the remaining three weeks, what will I do, what else will I experience? I decide not to be greedy. I've had the most amazing opportunities. It is more than enough, and I am so grateful. I think, in my remaining time, I hope to just listen, and that will be precious.

Thank you for reading.

warmly, amy