listening 12:43 AM

Deep breath. Hmmm. I am currently sitting in the waiting room at the ferry dock, we are waiting to board and head back to the mainland. I have so many thoughts and my fingers feel almost frozen on the keys because of mind overload. There are so many things to say I can’t think of just where to start or how to start it.

Hmm, ok. Well, we have exactly one week left on this adventure. I feel like when we arrived in ohio half a week ago I was just wishing that it was over right then… seeing Jason around his family made me miss mine a lot and I also was missing having time to myself. But as we’ve been learning love is a lot about choosing others over yourself and though it can be uncomfortable, it is worth it. We have had such great conversations.

One of jason’s relatives shared a story of how she paid for someone’s meal at subway the other day and a friends family in Pennsylvania talked about how they had volunteered at a drug rehab home in philly. As we travel people are always asking us to share our stories and so its really nice to hear from others as well.

Stopping in Connecticut to surprise our friend Adam was lots of fun.

We got to meet a good friend of his, Karen, who shared stories of her past 4 months in Italy. Something that she was saying really stood out to her there was that the people did not multitask. If you were conversing with them they were totally focused on talking with and listening to you. Not half listening while doing a million other things like we have a tendency to do. I thought that was really cool. That’s something that always stands out to me; good listeners are almost like sparkling lights. I know, I talk about sparkly lights a lot :)

(that yellow speck is a firefly in adam's front yard btw....)

Anyways, from Connecticut we left with a number of love notes to share at our show and started making our way to the island of Nantucket.

It is an interesting place, very quaint and historic looking. During the summer months it is bustling with tourists and people who have summer homes here.

It’s a wealthy community and at first I felt like, “what are we doing here? These people don’t need any help.” But I quickly remembered that its not about financial or physical need, its about heart need. I say, “not here” pointing to my head, my mind, “but here” pointing to my heart.

We decided to rent a car and we met a somewhat cynical guy at the car and bike rental shop who didn’t seem to like us much and didn’t think we should be helping out in a place were so many people are not “in need” and we talked to him about why that’s not the point and though it was hard to tell if he received any of that I think explaining it all to him helped reaffirm it in our own hearts.

Next we headed over to a nursing home and as Emily said they were very eager to let us help right there on the spot. When I walked in the door I automatically felt nervous and kind of uncomfortable and honestly I didn’t really want to be there… there’s a lot of sadness in those places. But I know that love is a decision, so I pushed down my feelings and I ended up sitting with an older gentleman named Sam. He shared story after story with me; how his niece and her daughter had come by just the other day to plant flowers with him; how he had worked making boats with his dad when he was younger; he had also worked in a galley kitchen and waited tables on a big boat; he once snuck a little duckling into the nursing home inside his jacket because he wanted to give his friend some food and water.

he loves painting and drawing pictures for people and encouraging and helping people… he’s younger than many of the residents and so a bit more capable.

My job was to sit and attentively listen. It was fun and so much easier than I thought and he was a really neat guy, I know he had even more stories to share. We ended up having dinner with him there and so Em and Jason were able to hear some of his stories. Even though the place is uncomfortable and full of strangers they need to receive and give love just as much as anyone else. Sam has so much courage and hope and he is such a positive influence on the place, I’m thankful that we could help brighten his day as he brightens the days of so many of the residents.

After we left there we went to see a friend from school, Michelle, and meet some of her friends. It was really great!

They were so excited to talk to us about love and so we got a lot of video responses and some songs and promises of artwork to be sent to us. Her friends were made up of local Nantucket islanders, a bunch of kids who were born and raised on the island and come from all walks of life. They were very open and accepting of us and eager to listen to our stories as they shared their own. Something that one guy, James, said that stood out to me was that love comes in the little things. The things all around us like butterflies. Everyday pieces of life.

Later that night we went to our hostel to get some sleep, because we had been up since 5am, and we ended up staying up late talking with two of the managers of the place, Jamie and David. I feel like we frequently end up staying up much too late simply because we meet so many cool people. They were excited to hear our stories and said they would mention us on their facebook page and send us their love notes. I think David may even write a best selling book on his thoughts on love.

They also let us write the question “What is Love?” on their chalkboard and the next morning we had a few cool responses.

I am so excited about our show and sharing everything we’ve gathered with all of you! We also would like to have a live feed from our show on here so if you can’t make it you can at least check it out from wherever you are… we’ll get all that kind of stuff figured out eventually.

Well anyways, those are some thoughts from the past couple days….. sorry for the length! I guess to sum everything up…. I’ve been learning that love is a decision: sometimes I don’t feel like it, sometimes I would rather go sit in a coffee shop by myself and read or journal than help someone or listen to them (and alone time is good too! Don’t get me wrong!) but people need love and we can all give it, a lot of times its as simple as providing a listening ear and our full attention.

As i post this we have arrived in Jackson, New Jersey where we are staying with ou friend Meg :) tomorrow we will be spending the day in new york city. we'll post again soon!

Have a wonderful wonderful last weekend of june!

<3ginger

ps. we found annie!

(sounds like a band right? :) )

baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more 12:36 AM

"What people need is a good listening to."

- Mary Lou Casey

Today was full of a lot of listening.

Forgive me if this post is brief, we wanted to let you guys know how awesome our day was! but the next post will have much more of our thoughts, conversations, and pictures from the day.

We made it over to Nantucket this morning and were able to connect with a local nursing home. I thought it was so cool cause we just walked in and said we'd like to volunteer and they said what are you doing right now? So we were able to sit outside with some of the residents and talk with them one-on-one until dinner. One of our new friends, Sam, invited us to eat dinner with him :) and we got to hear lots of fun stories about his life and see his artwork. Afterwards we met up with our friend from school, Michelle. Her friends were really cool to meet and get to know. We got a lot of different opinions on love and more love stories recorded. When we made it back to the hostel tonight we ran into some of employees and were able to hear many more stories of love.

This trip has really shown me how important listening is.

Wether it's a grandmother who keeps asking me the same questions over and over or two silly friends we just met who are trying to discuss the different ways to view love (through a not super confusing example of being on top of a mountain, that seemed confusing to others:P).

All those people deserve my attention.

My time.

All those people matter.

Check back tomorrow for more lovely things :)

In the morning we are off the New Jersey!!

<33emilyy

what do YOU think love is? 10:11 PM

this is where you come in!

maybe you know us, heard of us, or just stumbled upon our blog either way you are important to this project.

we want to know what you think love is.

so this is what we're asking for!

-a letter or video of you telling us what love is

-is there a time you've seen an act of love, whether it was something small or something big, anything thats stood out to you?

-how has your idea of love changed during your lifetime?

please send all video responses to loveeachone@gmail.com and any letters to:

Love Each One attn. Ginger

1130 Greensboro Lane/#646

Sarasota, FL, 34234

another rather long... full of thoughts post :) 8:33 PM

This morning we left Pennsylvania with the intention of sleeping in Nantucket tonight. However traffic quickly demolished the possibility of making the 8 o' clock ferry. So it was time to replan.

We knew our lovely friend Adam lived in Connecticut, about halfway to the Nan-t. So without a warning we were going to arrive at his house to see what good we could do. On the way there we made a quick stop for gas and a bathroom in New Jersey. I know I've been in New Jersey before, but it was just because I was staying at a hotel in NJ with my school then busing over to NYC. So when we turned off a random 'middle-of-nowhere' looking exit I wasn't expecting much. However I quickly realized that we had stumbled upon a rather busy bit of city. Lots and lots of different kinds of people lined the streets and shops. So many many people. I just kept looking out the window at all the different faces, ethnicities, body shapes, hair do's and clothing styles. Every kind of person seemed to be in that city. And it felt extremely overwhelming.

I kept thinking about how all of those people are just people. Yes they're all different but they live so similarly. They all have families and dreams. They probably work to make money in hopes of reaching their dreams. They probably desire to feel attractive and be confident. They all probably seek after someone's approval, even if it's just their own. They desire to feel important. To feel worth something. To be loved.

So I concluded that everyone seeks after a lot of the same things. But most of the time, even with all those similarities, people never reach out to the people they walk beside on the street. And that seems kind of weird... but oddly true. Especially in crowded areas. Like parts of NJ and NY.

Anyways, we stopped at Wendy's for a bathroom break and were confronted with multiple cleanliness issues and unhappy people. It left me feeling frustrated, unwelcome and anxious to leave. I felt like we were in a dirty city, full of people who were only focused on themselves with no desire to help others. I realized through all those feelings we haven't really been in a city city, so I suppose it's an atmosphere we haven't tackled yet. After we left though we went through the drive-thru and payed for a few people's meals :) I think the cashier thought we were sorta crazy. But I'm glad we were able to shine a little light while we passed through.

I think often times when we are in dark places, where love is not being shown to us, we often just want to escape. To get back to somewhere comfortable. But the only way to solve the problem is by confronting the issue. By directly, purposefully and unconditionally loving those that don't act in love and don't deserve our love. By changing people hearts with the light we have in us. That is how the dark places can be demolished. That is how love will win out.

<33emilyy

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

-Maya Angelou

Cincinnati. Home of the Bengals, chili, the Reds, King’s Island, and me. 2:27 AM

No two parts of this trip have been the same. For me to say this last stop was different for me than our past stops, albeit true, implies that there is a routine, or a “norm” for how the rest of the trip has been. However, in reality, the only “norm” is that there is no “norm.” Every time we stop, every person we meet, every act of love we choose to make, has been unique. Every experience just deepens a foundation in us of loving others and enhances our understanding of what love is.

But for me, this last stop was different.

Late Thursday night/early Friday morning we rolled into Cincinnati, OH, where I was born and raised. Over the past week my anticipation of going home has been growing more and more. I’m not one to get home sick, and it actually takes a good amount of effort on my part to keep in touch with people who aren’t staring me in the face. I’m just naturally an “out of side, out of mind” kind of guy. Not cause I don’t care, but I tend to end up focusing a lot of my energy and attention on the people I’m currently with and the situations I’m currently in. But as we got closer and closer to Cincinnati, it took everything I had to keep my face from breaking out into a big goofy grin. Needless to say, it was good to be home for a few days.

There have been countless times throughout this whole trip where it just seems like we’ve been at the right place at the right time. The timing of things has just been perfect in so many situations; everything from being able to help our new friend enter rehab in Knoxville to getting to see the Goonies in a movie theater in Wichita. Everywhere we go things fall into place, and Cincinnati was no exception.

I spent a good amount of time in Cincinnati visiting family. For one thing, my great aunt Sybil was in town this past weekend from Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s always great to see her because she is so full of life and energy. She really encourages me. It was a pleasant surprise that she just happened to be there at the same time I was.

On Friday, Sybil, my mom, my sister, and I went and visited my grandmother in the nursing home. Even though she doesn’t always know what’s going on, I think she really enjoyed us stopping by. And it was really good to get a chance to visit her.

From the nursing home we met up with my dad, and traveled over to the hospital. Just that morning (again, talk about timing!), my cousin Beth and her husband Michael had their first child, a healthy young lad by the name of Jacob Eli. He was a beautiful little baby, and I’m very happy for them. To my surprise, Jacob and I coincidentally have the same intials: JEH.

On Saturday, my mom and I visited my Scoutmaster from Boy Scouts at a physical therapy center. He had recently had a stroke, and was now in the process of speech therapy, etc. In just a couple days he was going to be moving to live with his sister in Delaware, so she could help take care of him. Again, the timing was just right that I was able to see him before he left.

Finally, on Sunday we all drove down to Jeffersonville, Indiana for a big birthday bash for my grandfather. We rented out a hall, had a DJ, food, cake and tons of family and friends showed up. It was great to see him, and to get to talk to people about what we’ve been doing. I could tell he really appreciated all the love everyone showed him by taking the time to come.

And that’s what this trip to Cincinnati has really taught me about love: that love, while many things, is also time. A lot of the things we’ve done for people have been acts of love using the money we’ve been given. This trip has changed the way we see things. We’re constantly looking for opportunities to help someone, pay for someone’s food, or gas, etc. But time invested can be just as important.

These were the highlights of my visit to Cincinnati, because they pushed me to show love in a different way. I don’t like hospitals, or nursing homes, or physical therapy centers. They make me really uncomfortable and sad. I admire the people who are able to work at those kinds of places, because I don’t think I could. Visiting my grandmother is always bittersweet. I love getting a chance to visit with her, but I hate seeing people suffer the loss of their physical and mental strength. But that’s what love is. It’s stepping outside of your comfort zone, its sometimes doing things you don’t want to do, going places you don’t want to go, so that you can invest in another person’s life. I enjoyed getting to see all these people that I love during our stop, but I know that for them all, it meant the world that I took the time to stop by.

Choosing to invest your time and energy into another person goes a long way. It’s amazing how people just open up if you’re willing to listen. Sometimes a quick family visit doesn’t mean much to us, but you’d be surprised how much it can mean to them.

We came to the conclusion that the true test of what we’ve learned on this trip will be how we choose to act in a few weeks when we’re all back home. For some reason the hardest people to love sometimes are the people we actually care about the most. We tend to treat those we love worse than we do complete strangers. Maybe its because we know that they love us and we unintentionally take advantage of that. Maybe we just don’t realize sometimes what we have. I really don’t know why it happens. And as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter. What matters for me is that I am choosing to make a conscious effort not to let that happen anymore. Choosing to walk in love isn’t always easy, but the point is it’s a choice.

I recently memorized the love Scriptures in 1 Corinthians 13. Meditating on them has been really helpful for me. It’s been a great reminder of what love looks like and how I should be acting. For those of you that don’t know what it says after “Love is patient, love is kind,” I leave you with this:

Love does not envy.

Love does not boast.

It is not arrogant.

It is not rude.

It does not insist on its own way.

It is not irritable.

It is not resentful.

It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Cheers!

Jason

morning quote: 8:42 AM

"to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; that is to have succeeded."

- ralph waldo emerson

chocolate mocha chip 3:11 AM

its been a couple days since we posted last... sorry about that! its so interesting how different each of our stops have been.... currently we are in cincinnati, ohio staying with jason's family... i love how being with someone's family helps you understand that person so much more :) its been really nice talking with his parents and his great aunt and siblings and friends.... we continue to find that showing love most frequently comes through listening.

tonight a couple of fun things stand out in my mind.... we were at walgreens and emily and i were waiting for jason and his sister kelsey to finnish up so we were up at the front and we started talking with the woman at the cash register.... she was really friendly and very interesting and as we told her about what we we doing and about our school and everything she very quickly opened up and told us all about her kids and her life... its so cool how when you take the time to listen people will really open up and share their lives and their stories with you. peoples hearts come out with their words.

just before we ended up at walgreens we had gone to get ice cream. we walked into graeters literally as they were turning off the "Open" sign. but the kids at the counter were very happy to serve us (even though we took forever trying to decide what to get! we taste tested at least 4 different flavors!). after we all had our ice cream and we were eating and talking i overheard them disappointedly counting the tip money and i thought, "oh! hey! do we have cash! we should give them our business cards and a big tip!" because they were super helpful and patient and friendly and they totally deserved a good tip. we gathered up some tip money and just as they were asking us to leave so they could lock up we went up to them to hand them the money and when the guy saw the amount he got so excited and started hugging us and stuff..... it was so much fun! i was so glad that we were able to share some love with them simply through smiles and a nice tip :)

tomorrow we are going to jason's grandfathers birthday party where we will be surrounded by a whole bunch of people... so that should give us lots of opportunities to ask peoples opinions/thoughts on love. its going to be a good day!

btw, if you haven't seen toy story 3 yet.... go see it!

good night and sweet dreams :) <3ginger