Whelp. That Didn’t Last Long.

I always get the biggest kick out of musicians who embark on a months, sometimes years, long retirement tour, only to announce a comeback tour shortly after. Well – call me Garth Brooks (please don’t) because as soon as I hit publish on my previous post, I suddenly felt the need to write. So I wrote. And then I wrote some more. Then before I knew it, I had thousands of words in the form of a blog post and no blog – oh the irony.

Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.

Teddy Roosevelt

The above quote is pulled from The Strenuous Life – a collection of speeches and essays from the 26th President of the United States. We’re big fans of Theodore Roosevelt – our son has devoured many biographies about the The Colonel, our dog’s full name is Teddy Girl ‘Ruff Rider’ Roosevelt, and there isn’t a museum with a curated T.R. exhibit that we’ll pass by (for those wondering, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City is our favorite so far). That’s not to say that he isn’t infallible, but his life as a conservationist, naturalist, historian, and statesman inspires us to be courageous and not fritter away our time.

I’m not quite sure how I feel when reflecting on the past two years. We endured pandemic life – moved from the Nation’s Capital to Second City (courtesy of Uncle Sam), languished in the monotony of staying home, and tried hard to make the best of – well – everything. The four of binged-watched Modern Family and we’re currently working our way through Brooklyn Nine-Nine. We worked hard, we attempted to create as much normalcy for our children as we could muster, we got outside, and we searched for adventure – both big and small (and boy – did we have some clunkers!).

We’re emerging from pandemic life and the harsh Chicago winter excited for what is in store for our family. The Army is sending us to Pennsylvania this summer for one-year and we’re all looking forward a change of scenery. We have some exciting trips scheduled for this summer – perhaps that is why The Bull Moose’s words resonate so much with me right now. We’re not meant to become an oyster. We need to seize the moment. And I might as well blog about it in the process.

So. I’m back.