"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned,so as to accept the life that is waiting for us." - Joseph Campbell

In preparation for our trip we have talked a lot about what we are looking forward to as well as what we are challenged by facing this year's trip. Many of us, myself included, have trouble "letting go" without knowing what is around the next corner. By nature I am a planner; to the point where among my friends it has become a joke that I say "tomorrow is my only free day".

The focus for the entire team this year is to "just be" while we are in Jamaica and live in the moment. Each of us has experienced Jamaica in the past but we've never experienced it in 2011 as a part of this team. The past 2 years I have even slept in the same exact bed at Sophie's Place (I think something along with that planning nature also makes me a creature of habit). But as I face this trip to begin in just over 12 hours I know a brand new adventure awaits. While some of the kids will be the same, some will have made drastic changes for the better or sadly taken a turn for the worse. There may be new children changing the entire dynamic of a home. There will be new laughs, new tears, new songs and new jokes because it's a brand new trip. Now it's time for the whole team to let go of our worries, our cares and our schedules and embrace the adventure of Jamaica 2011.

I may have planned on going to mass one evening back in the beginning of 2009 when I first learned about Hoboken Cares but I could never have planned how this trip has changed my life.