I spent a month of my life walking.

I am writing my final entry on the plane to Paris. My walking the Camino ended a couple days ago. I am still sick and still tired, so writing has been a bit of a chore. But I have also been out of my adventure stage where I can tell of how far I walked or how big a hill was, etc, and I have been in a more personal space, processing my journey. I do have pictures to share and a video of when I made it to the Cathedral. So instead of a report of my days I will just post them and share a couple thoughts instead.
Somehow, saying " I spent a month of my life walking " feels so much more impactful than saying, "It took me a month to walk the Camino". I think when I am doing something and just adding up the days, I realize it is a lot of days but it still seems like not a big deal since I have plenty of days....I hope. But when I say I have walked for a month of my life I feel the size of that time in relation to limited time I have, and realize the weight of that time.
I think commiting a month to anything is huge, but to simply walking, all day, every day, sounds a bit crazy. It wasn't crazy though. It was the most important thing I have ever done, just for me. It didn't matter that others were with me, my walk was MY walk. There are many Camino truisms, one of them being that the Camino begins when you finish walking. This is when the work really begins. Now I get to reflect and come to understand what I experienced, how I experienced it, and maybe even why I experienced it. And then I need to figure how to carry it all forward with me. This was not adventure vacation. It was a learning moment that I sought out and paid a price for. I know it was worth it.
I am already thinking about my next Camino. It will be a while before I am ready, but I already feel the little desire to be walking again.
I am so happy to have had the people who walked with me, with me. I believe I may have quit if Jayme wasn't there to support me in the beginning when it was beyond hard. I know I would have cried a whole lot more tears of fear, pain and frustration. I was happy to have Richard who added a bunch of levity and encouragement to some tough climbs, and for understanding that we probably shouldn't do another Camino together, but instead stick to vacation travel. And I was so happy to have Noelle, Ken and Deb with me. I felt a huge longing to get back to simply being siblings with the good and not so good those relationships are made of. I felt I had lost so much of that when we all became caretakers for our parents. But mostly, I was happiest just being with me. It has been forever since I just thought about me, not me in relationship to someone else. That time was precious.
So, I thank everyone who followed my journey for your love and encouragement and a special thank you to Violet for her genuine interest in what Grammie was doing. And also thank you to Penelope who can't read to follow me, but sent me video messages of love and support. Truly, you all buoyed my spirits in ways I can never fully express.
I love you all, and wish each of you a Buen Camino.Read more