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As a child, my public educator parents opted for road trips instead of more traditional summer activities. I am ever more impressed with my mother’s ability to plan these excursions in the pre-internet days armed with resources from AAA, listings of campgrounds, and the freedom of a blank calendar. We explored huge portions of the United States, as the song goes, from sea to shining sea. My wife and I have replicated some of those adventures with and without our own kids.
This past September we spent time relaxing, exploring, and rechanging in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. The word that is most prominent for me is awe. Awed by the sheer grandness of the nature, inspired by the animals, and exhilarated by a feeling of connectedness. It was an important reminder of how small we truly are and yet how we are still part of something bigger. While hiking around Lake Jenny in the shadows of the Grand Tetons or watching Old Faithful erupt as it has done for generations, I thought about how this all connects to work, life, and family.
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