Remembering

Ten years ago today I went to Madrid, Spain for a wonderful BYU Study Abroad experience. A dream come true--and it was everything I had dreamed it would be and more.

I was thinking about it today as I "celebrated" by wondering around Boston. I was aiming for a couple of places today, but missed them both. However, when I got lost, I didn't stop to ask for directions, I just took advantage of a great opportunity to wonder, explore, see the city. It was a perfect spring day and I had a wonderful time seeing the gorgeous flowers, watching people, pondering, visiting via phone with great people, etc. As I was sitting in the Public Garden (connected to the Boston Common) I thought about how much time I would go spend in El Retiro (the big, huge public park in Madrid) and that started a trip down memory lane.

When I was in Spain I soaked up the city experience. I loved it. (It helped that we left every weekend and drove through the country and usually spent our time in small towns where I could escape.) And I decided then that I'd like to live in a city for a couple of years at some point in my life. And here I am, ten years later, doing that. Well, I actually live in a suburb and do wish I was closer, but still, I'm in Greater Boston.

Anyway, back to Madrid. Today many, many memories came back. I can't possibly explain why it was so important to me or how it did this. But those 3 months in Europe changed my life. Literally. Forever. Like no experience I've had before or after. It changed so many things for me. There were hard things about it, but mostly it was very fun and very good. And I grew into me during that time. It was a marvelous awakening, blossoming time. Oh, it would be impossible to describe it all, even though it's hard not to try. But the sum result is that I'll always love Espana and I am so thankful for the marvelous opportunity that I got to go there. And I'm glad that today I got to do things that helped me remember.

p.s. One year ago today I graduated from law school and that seems almost as long ago and dreamlike as Spain.