Okay, as any good concert-goer knows, a visit around the States (and rocking out, if we stick with this music theme) has to start in the right place. And, boy did I find it. Cincinnati--of ALL places, you might ask? Yup. Cincinnati. Let me tell you why.
And, as any good traveler will tell you, it's actually not about the place but more about the experience that sticks with you. This thing--experience--can hit anywhere. You could have one of the best times of your life in Kenya...or an airport...or Cincinnati. But it really depends on the people.
Cincinnati is special because I visited two absolutely wonderful people, and their names are Carlos and Joelle (C & J--do those initials hold any significance to the Griffins? Um yes!). Anyway, Carlos is an old student of mine from 2009. Yes, that's right. He came about in my second year of teaching, and my life has been changed ever since.
Not only was Carlos an awesome student, but he is also an awesome human. During our academic years, I worked with Carlos in multiple ways: as a student, as a tutee at the Writing Center, as a VP of the Dominican Republic Outreach Program (DROP--an alternative spring break program at FGCU), and as the President of DROP, too. Carlos is one of those students who make teaching worth it, and if you're currently a teacher or know one, you might know what I mean. If you're not a teacher, well, to put it bluntly, teaching is hard and it's getting harder every year with all these crazy laws.
But, I digress. Back to Carlos and his lovely wife, Joelle. Before we get to Joelle, though, I have to keep going with Carlos and how our relationship continued past an academic relationship to a personal one. First, there was the trip with Carlos, Sebastian, and Danilo to Bogata and Carlos's family farm. That trip was a highlight many years back, and it only cemented the relationship for years to come. Next, there were various visits throughout the years as Carlos became a fancy doctor. Yes, folks. A doctor. I'd like to claim I had something to do with it, but it was all him. That boy (now man) was/is motivated.
Now, Carlos is a grown doctor-man with a doctor-wife...Joelle. The two of them are what the Griffins call a meant to be. The stars aligned with these two, and the great thing is that they know it. They work hard alongside and with one another, making their relationship a beautiful one. Joelle, in addition to having read pretty much the exact same books I have in my life (besides the pediatric doctor-ery ones), is one of the most calmest, intentional people I have ever met. She also has mad-journaling skills. Basically, she is perfect, and I am so happy Carlos and she found one another in this crazy world!
Okay, back to Cincinnati. What I've realized with this "concert series," as I'm now calling it--thanks to Carlito--is that I want to log the things we did, but more so the things I took away from the time I'm spending with awesome people. I figure if I spend more than a day with you, and I don't have a list of new books to read, recipes to try, podcasts to check out, thoughts to ponder, music to listen to, places to explore, etc., then maybe we shouldn't be friends. So, people, beware. If you're part of my summer concert series, I have expectations!
What we did
We ate. We kayaked. We cooked (and ate). We walked. We listened to free opera in the park (how cool is that?!). We talked...a lot. We visited a brewery on the river (that we kayaked to). We relaxed. We played a game. We laughed. We cried.
What I learned
I took so much away from my visit with Carlos and Joelle, that I had to make a list. The list is random, but damn, it's a good one:
- Kendrick Lamar's second album
- Chris Stapleton
- Ryan Holiday and his many books
- Michelle Obama's book, Becoming
- Non-fiction class (me, to keep writing)
- Lord Herron--Strange Trails
- Hyper Focus
- Fresno underground botanical garden
- The Daily podcast
- Up First podcast
- Summer concert series (this blog!)
- WILD Ideas worth living podcast
- Bullet journaling
- Passion planner
- Vance Joy
- Crossing to Safety and Great with Child
- SoTL journal (to say up in my profession--Carlos reads freaking medical journals; he's far more up in his field than I!)
- Soda stream
Thank you both for letting me share a weekend of your life! I had so much fun, and love you both dearly.
