Trading Places

We've gotten a good laugh lately over all the people we know and love from far away that seem to be passing by Louisville lately, and some of those we love from here seem to be trading places with them. I guess summer is just a busy travel time.
Here's how it's been: my mother and sister flew to Washington state about a week ago. Two of my cousins from Washington are driving from there to Florida and Pittsburgh together and they'll be coming by Louisville twice during the drive. When my mom and sister get back from the west, another cousin, also from the west, will fly out here to spend a few weeks with them. And we are leaving tomorrow to go not very far away--to Cincinnati--for the SMA Conference. We'll be staying with my old roommate's parents there, though that roommate now lives in Florida. Then a few days after we get back, C and I will travel to Virginia to meet up with that roommate from Florida and another old roommate to spend a week together.
You know...every once in awhile my mind wanders back to the "olden" days, and I wonder what someone from the past would think of traveling across the country so much. I can picture in my head being like good ol' Bill & Ted, and climbing in my phone booth to go back in time and pick up Napoleon or Abe Lincoln, or maybe just my great, great, great grandmother. Wouldn't it be exciting to explain, "Look what we can do now" and "That's not a problem any more because we have this." I'm sure they would be shocked to see that I can drive the 25 miles into Louisville to do some morning shopping and be back home in time for naptime, and even more astounded at how far we choose to travel for a quick vacation.
I am sure they would be amazed with some of the incredible obstacles we face now that they never dreamed of. But you know, I think the same could be said for us when we think about their time. I can't help feeling grateful to God that he put me right where I am. I may have a lot of challenges in my life, but one thing is for sure--I would have been a horrible pioneer.