Life's A Journey

It's been a while since I last posted a blog. A lot has happened over the last few months, most importantly, the passing of both of my paternal grandparents within the same week back in January. I hope to write about them separately in another post, but suffice it to say for now that they have been in my thoughts often these past months and have shaped much of who I am and what I stand for.

This week we have had the opportunity to spend time with family on happier occasions, enjoying Pesach with both sides of the family. It is so uplifting to take a break from the routine and just enjoy the company of loved ones. During the trip we have added two Urban Adventure Quests to our list, in Baltimore and Philadelphia. For those of you not familiar with this, it is a website where you can participate in scavenger hunts in cities across the country. It is super fun and also educational, and the whole family enjoys it. You walk around solving clues together and discovering hidden gems in the city that you never knew existed. Together with San Antonio, Austin, San Francisco, and Hollywood, we have now completed six quests and can't wait to add more to our list.

And of course, this got me thinking about life and the quests each of us are on. There's a great lyric in a song by Aerosmith that says "life's a journey; not a destination." I don't know about you, but I am always thinking about my journey, reflecting back on what I have learned so far, and thinking ahead to what purpose I will serve in the future. But as the song reminds us, it's not about where you end up so much as how you live along the way. On these Adventure Quests you have to solve all kinds of clues in order to figure out where in the city you are headed next. Some are easy and some are hard. Often you need to work together or ask people for help. And when you do figure out where you are headed next you don't always know how long it will take you to get there or what exactly you will have to do there once you arrive. By the end, the smiles on everyone's faces are not because we have arrived at some spectacular finish line (though by that point we are all happy to return to our air conditioned car). They are because we saw amazing new things, we expanded our knowledge and understanding, and we worked together to achieve our goal. On the drive home we don't think about where the quest ended up; we think about all the great stops along the way.

Tomorrow is both Patriot's Day in Boston (my home town) and the last day of Pesach. Growing up, we would watch the runners in the Boston Marathon run past our house each year on Patriot's Day. While I have never ran a marathon, I imagine that crossing the finish line must feel like the most amazing accomplishment. And yet, even then, I suspect that deep down the runners know more than anyone that the real meaning behind the race is not the moment at the finish line but all the miles along the journey and all the months leading up to the race. And the same is true I think about Bnei Yisrael and Moshe Rabbeinu crossing the Yam Suf as well. They never actually made it to the Promised Land (their children did) but we celebrate their journey because we would not be here without each brave step forward that they took.

I have said it many times and I will say it many more: this blog is for my kids to read as they grow up and go on their own journeys of life. Kids, always make sure to enjoy the journey, even when the finish line is not in sight, and even if you don't even know where the finish line is. Your life is one big Adventure Quest. Work with others, learn new things at every stop, and trust that Hashem (the ultimate Quest Master) will guide you on your journey the whole way through.