This morning my good friend Harvey flew in from Oklahoma City to spend some time with my Winona team.  When I went to pick him up from the airport I had an idea.  Once he was in the car I asked him how many bald eagles he typically sees in Oklahoma.  When his answer was “none” I knew I was on the right track.

Instead of jumping on the interstate we went back behind the airport on Fisherman’s Road and we were able to see exactly what I was hoping we would see.  On the ice, in the air, and perched on trees were well over 30 bald eagles migrating through.  To make it even more awesome, a couple of the eagles had caught fish and pulled them up on the ice to eat.  It was perfect!

We tooled around the backroad for a few minutes and then got on our way driving up the Mississippi, making the same drive I was thankful for yesterday.  Along the way I was able to point out a couple of eagle nests and it was fun seeing his reaction to the wonderful scenery.

As I drove home from Rochester tonight I kept thinking about that little bit of time when I was essentially a tour guide today.  It brought me a ton of joy, and, as I thought more about it, it was on a couple of different levels.  There’s the joy of bringing a smile to someone else’s face, there’s the joy of seeing the sights myself, and then there was something else…  when playing the role of occasional tour guide I am looking at this thing I’ve seen so many times before through the eyes of someone else and I’m left awestruck by it.  When I’m showing someone a location, sight, or whatever it reminds me to appreciate it and see it more clearly and with more gratitude, and what an incredible gift that is!  Hmm… being an occasional tour guide…  I may have to add that to my dream book or retirement list. 🙂

Thanks!!!