It’s been hectic lately. The past two weekends have been busy with dental meetings. The first was a leadership retreat for the Tennessee Dental Association. The most recent one was the annual Tennessee Academy of General Dentistry meeting. There was travel involved to get to both. I should be looking forward to rest and relaxation with Labor Day weekend, right? Well, not so much, I’ll be travelling to Haiti as part of a mission group, I’ve never been there and I don’t speak French. This particular group that I am going with is not a faith based mission group, it is just a medical based group. I’m wondering how this experience will affect me, as we’ve all heard stories about how poor this nation is. I don’t consider myself wealthy (how can one when you have debt) but in comparison, I’m sure it will be humbling as I’ve never been on a mission trip of any sort before. My mom, who is in questionable health and her upper 70’s, is traveling to Italy at the same time, she hasn’t flown since 1988! I’m rightly concerned how she’s going to do there as we’ve had to do a bit of prep work to get her ready. I’m a bit jealous of her as I’ve never been to Italy, in spite of my heritage. Though she has issues, she has a great passion for life and living it. To borrow a word from my eight year old daughter, I’m nercited. If that’s a new word to you, let me explain it. She said it’s when you are both nervous and excited. I’m excited to serve others and experience this “once in a lifetime” trip, but nervous for my mom and myself as we take separate paths experiencing these opportunities.