by Mary Tate
I am about three months in to the role of Field Services Coordinator and I am often asked, “How’s the travel?” My answer is typically a nonchalant, “I don’t mind it.”
My husband does not understand this at all, but I truly enjoy driving the PA Turnpike back and forth between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg and sometimes taking a detour on back roads. The scenery is often breathtaking and something I frequently take for granted. I love experiencing new places and meeting the people that live there and call it home.
I did catch myself pondering this question of travel one evening while making dinner. There is no doubt about it, it can be a lot at times. But after reflecting upon this, I have a notion as to why I find it somewhat therapeutic. There are the obvious reasons, such as listening to what I like rather than what my children like or stopping to look at the cows that are so close I can see their drool. Yet, the real reason goes much deeper. I do it for the same reason that I drove my three kids, summer after summer, the nineteen hours from Dallas to Pittsburgh to see our families. In retrospect, I must have been a little crazy packing an infant, toddler and school-aged child plus a dog into the car, but it was an adventure, and as they grew older, we all looked forward to that adventure. It is the same reason my parents drove straight through the night to Vero Beach, Florida each February to visit my grandparents. It was because we were afforded the chance to spend time with those whom we cherished so the getting there part was insignificant.
When work doesn’t seem like work, you don’t mind doing it.
That is the simple reason I do not mind the travel. I value what I do and get excited about the potential impact of what can be accomplished. The opportunity to share that with those who care about where they live is a privilege and always a bit of an adventure.
See the full photo gallery by fellow PDC staff member Emily Zebel, from a recent site visit with Mary and Stefan to Lansdowne, PA.
