03.15.18
Today flew by. There's no way to fully acclimate myself to the sleeping patterns needed for this. I know when I camp I acclimate with sunrise and sunset but the rest of my life I've been a complete night-owl. How long will it take to reset? There's the '10 before 10' idea which I like-getting in 10 miles before 10 am. Rising with the sun would certainly allow for this. Of course, I like hiking around dusk too. Seeing a sunset from a trail is something else. We'll see. Tomorrow I'm dropping Jasmine the cat off at her new home for the summer. Never thought I'd get attached to the little house-tiger...sigh. She's been to Washington and Arizona and every state in between-usually freaking out in the back of a car but the last trip she was actually pretty chill. Pretty amazing that one.
I have two more official days of work. More questions from more people. Things I haven't even thought about generally. The most common question is 'How are you going to eat?' and I tell 'em about the drop system and how all that goes. Someone asked 'Well, why carry anything then if you're getting everything sent to you?' I explained the desert, sleeping in mountains etc. I suppose it's a very foreign idea to lots of people and why wouldn't it be? Some people say 'Why?' And my answer changes sometimes, depending on what I think will translate the best. Sometimes it boils down to 'I just feel like it', which is entirely true.
I'm in this in-between state. This thing in front of me and some things behind me. Counting the final few days before I head west.
I check in every couple of days to the out-patient facility in Phoenix where my mom is making a slow, steady recovery. It's hard to separate everything on the one hand...one thing leading to the next. The sum total of everything its been like to go through something of this magnitude with someone...of course, I'm not the one going through it. Every day is still a struggle in some way I know. A general lack of energy as her body slowly heals. There's small residual effects from the chemo. Tenderness. A persistent cough. But she's spoken to me every time I've called-even in the midst of the most critical moments. The gofundme campaign was just unreal in terms of the outpouring of support and care and prayers. All that gives me pause too.
What's the real difference we make at the end of the day? Who are we helping? How are we making things better? It seems like my mom rarely pauses to consider the implications of how she lives her life. Everything seems innate and authentic when it comes to her relationship with the natural world. Whether gardens or birds or hikes or building habitats or advocating to protect land and rivers. It just comes from a well somewhere inside.
There's a bridge here because of that. An appreciation passed on. The same with Randy and his son (my step-brother Josh). I'm leaving just as Josh and his girlfriend have returned from an entire year adventuring around the globe. Their blog and pictures have been a source of inspiration-from Vietnam to the shadow of Tibetan base camps to Patagonia. Unreal. They worked, saved, and did it and there's no price-tag for the accumulated memories.
Josh has already done some major summits including Kilimanjaro and Ranier. His girlfriend Liz has done distance runs through the Rockies numerous times and worked with Doctors Without Borders as well i.e. both have done their fair share of traveling.
There's a part of that bridge that parents pass down. Stepping stones I suppose. It's the last thing you'll admit when you're a teenager but there's always a part of your parents with you. Sometimes it just takes awhile to remember.
I have two more official days of work. More questions from more people. Things I haven't even thought about generally. The most common question is 'How are you going to eat?' and I tell 'em about the drop system and how all that goes. Someone asked 'Well, why carry anything then if you're getting everything sent to you?' I explained the desert, sleeping in mountains etc. I suppose it's a very foreign idea to lots of people and why wouldn't it be? Some people say 'Why?' And my answer changes sometimes, depending on what I think will translate the best. Sometimes it boils down to 'I just feel like it', which is entirely true.
I'm in this in-between state. This thing in front of me and some things behind me. Counting the final few days before I head west.
I check in every couple of days to the out-patient facility in Phoenix where my mom is making a slow, steady recovery. It's hard to separate everything on the one hand...one thing leading to the next. The sum total of everything its been like to go through something of this magnitude with someone...of course, I'm not the one going through it. Every day is still a struggle in some way I know. A general lack of energy as her body slowly heals. There's small residual effects from the chemo. Tenderness. A persistent cough. But she's spoken to me every time I've called-even in the midst of the most critical moments. The gofundme campaign was just unreal in terms of the outpouring of support and care and prayers. All that gives me pause too.
What's the real difference we make at the end of the day? Who are we helping? How are we making things better? It seems like my mom rarely pauses to consider the implications of how she lives her life. Everything seems innate and authentic when it comes to her relationship with the natural world. Whether gardens or birds or hikes or building habitats or advocating to protect land and rivers. It just comes from a well somewhere inside.
There's a bridge here because of that. An appreciation passed on. The same with Randy and his son (my step-brother Josh). I'm leaving just as Josh and his girlfriend have returned from an entire year adventuring around the globe. Their blog and pictures have been a source of inspiration-from Vietnam to the shadow of Tibetan base camps to Patagonia. Unreal. They worked, saved, and did it and there's no price-tag for the accumulated memories.
Josh has already done some major summits including Kilimanjaro and Ranier. His girlfriend Liz has done distance runs through the Rockies numerous times and worked with Doctors Without Borders as well i.e. both have done their fair share of traveling.
There's a part of that bridge that parents pass down. Stepping stones I suppose. It's the last thing you'll admit when you're a teenager but there's always a part of your parents with you. Sometimes it just takes awhile to remember.
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