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Life. Something we all inherently breathe in around us. Something we all feel as the steering wheel grazes our soft fingers of comfort. Something we see as the highway road behind us glows from the orange and red flickers of an early sunrise. I never put much thought into my first major move to a destination so far north. Growing up along the warmth of the Atlantic ocean in Jacksonville, Florida, whose salty arms pushed me up even on my lowest days, that was home. But to then move nearly 20 hours north into the world of winter, where warmth was only to be felt and experienced 3 months out of the year…….such an adventure was daunting to say the least. My move was to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, right around the Thanksgiving holiday. Within the first few hours of my drive (which started at sunrise), the feelings of doubt crept in, much like the slow creeping of the clouds into the vast expanse of blue the farther north I traversed. As hours began to weave together like a caterpillar's cocoon, my heart started to retract and expand simultaneously, wondering if it could make it the next hour and the next few hundred miles. Memories began to unravel like the thin wisps of a spider’s web after a spell of rain. Memories of the palm trees, the tanned and sometimes sunburnt friends as we ran along the beach, the endless days of sun, the songs of the seagulls and the smiles of the local business owners greeting my friends and I to an early beach romp. In every beautiful, perfectly compact memory, the heart began to expand further than the desire to retract. But with each stretch of mileage into each new state, it only seemed to make me stronger and more appreciative for the gift of the ocean. By hour 15, night was already upon me and the temperature outside was close to freezing; a stark contrast to the soothing 70 degree weather from whence I came. And by hour 20, once fully arrived at my destination, heart bewildered, feeling disconnected and adrift like the bottle at sea, I merely sat in my vehicle of spirit that brought me here and breathed. I breathed truly for the first time, fully aware of how I felt, where I was in the present moment. A sensation I was only familiar with right before the first dive into a wave. I let my fingers graze and gently grasp the cool steering wheel. First breath, cold air, slightly anxious. Second breath, still cold, more appreciation for safe arrival. Third breath, knowing this is temporary and grateful to have had the experience and courage to make a change. Fourth, ready for a new adventure. Fifth…..peace within, knowing I would find my way back home to the ocean’s embrace and the sun’s smile once more. And in the moment, for the first time, I realized a gift all around me hidden in plain sight. Life. Something I din’t expect to find.