What A Difference A Year Makes

I’ve spent the past week laser tagging my way through arenas from Tucson to all around the Phoenix area. I’ll be posting all those adventures soon. Meanwhile, as I wrapped up my tag trip through Arizona, I got to spend time with some of my favorite people on the planet. :)

I looked at my calendar and realized that it was exactly a year ago today that some major changes were asked of me and when life throws you a curve ball, that’s when you need your friends and family the most. Well, on this day a year ago I was traveling into Owensboro, KY, preparing to complete my second laser tag tour of all 50 states. I’m not going to lie, it was not an easy weekend, but how lucky was I to have part of my beautiful “J family” be there to be a light at a very unusual time. Well, a year later we are back striking our laser tag pose again and I thank Sam for being in exactly the right place at the right time, both a year ago in Tennessee and again this weekend to join us for our crazy, extended “family reunion”.

Britta is striking the pose with us as well. Today I’m thinking back on all the times I’ve shared my laser tag life with some of the most amazing people in my world who occasionally step into a laser tag arena simply because they know what it means to me.

Wow…we were playing Infusion in this photo (taken about eight years ago)! I enjoyed plenty of laser tag adventures during my trip this week to Arizona, but I am most grateful to have spent time with my friends.

And I ended up in the water trough along the way too!

A trip to see the set of Hey Dude and those iconic buildings still miraculously standing in the middle of the desert in Tucson (thank you to the Tanque Verde Ranch) is a perfect metaphor for this trip and this past year, both of which have been “a little wild and a little strange!”

There’s something else worth mentioning…39 years ago to this date exactly (October 6th) something remarkable began that resulted in us all finding each other. What an amazing coincidence! We have all spent today rather astounded by what we have experienced together and I am feeling so blessed to be sitting here surrounded by so much love and friendship.