The Planning

Sometimes I think that part of the best part of a trip is the planning. The thinking about it every day. Of waking up in the morning and thinking, “Only 4 more months til the adventure.” Of looking at your empty backpack and then perusing Amazon to shop for the things you need for the journey.

This last weekend I went to Arkansas to meet the girls that I am hiking the Camino de Santiago with. It was such a fun weekend. The girls are so much fun, and I am super enthused about going to Spain with them.

On Saturday we loaded up our packs, stopped at Subway for sandwiches, and headed out to a beautiful lake and hiked around it. I think it was my first time to hike with an actual hiking backpack. I kept saying things like, “This hip strap really makes a difference,” because it really does, when the weight is carried on your hips instead of your shoulders, it really is easier to carry. I also felt like this was real doable, to carry a pack and hike the Camino. Then I had to keep reminding myself that all I had in my pack was a 6 inch Italian herbs and cheese BMT from Subway, and 2 bottles of Gatorade. But I still felt like the Camino was going to be a breeze.

Ahhh…. the optimism of the beginning stages of a journey.

Anyways, the hike was gorgeous. We walked by beautiful high cliff-type rocks, wound around through the green, green, green trees, inhaled the perfect forest air, and let the breeze tease our hair into disarray. We sat on a high rock overlooking the lake and ate our lunch, watching the geese on the lake below. We talked about various and sundry things, like - would there be animals in heaven? And wouldn’t it be fun to plan a singles rally that was centered around Humanitarian work?

We got up and continued our trek around the lake. We had stopped for lunch before we had even gone a mile and I was thinking that I was about done for the day. (Hello! The Camino will be 10 to 12 miles a day, and here I was thinking I was about done after 1 mile. Sigh. See, the optimism of planning the journey!)

We walked by people who were climbing up the sheer rock walls, putting great faith in their person below who was anchoring the rope. In light of that, the Camino seemed like a breeze!

I got my second wind at mile 4 or 5 and felt like I could probably walk forever. But then all of a sudden, we were back at the vehicle, and I was not sorry about that.

In the evening the girls came over to my brother and sister-in-law’s house, and we ate cornbread and gravy around the fire. It was so yummy! The wind was blowing like crazy, so we all had to sit on the same side of the fire. Conversation and laughter flowed easily as the sun slipped down to the other side of the earth.

I jumped on the trampoline with my 9-year-old niece. She says NO ONE WILL JUMP WITH HER. Not her mom, not her dad, nor her siblings. She then told me in a conspiratorial tone, “Now do you see why I am so desperate? I laughed out loud and told her that yes, I could understand why she was so desperate for me to jump with her. Have you jumped on a trampoline lately? It is not for the faint of heart. The niece can jump nonstop forever, it looks like. I was stopping frequently, huffing and puffing and with my heart rate in the 100’s. She would say in disbelief, “You have to rest AGAIN?” I tried valiantly to engage her in entertaining conversations so that we could just lay on the trampoline instead of jumping all the time, but she did not fall for my tactics. So, then we resumed jumping, holding hands and singing, “London Bridge is falling down, falling down…”

We also did a fair amount of swinging on the swings. When I was a kid, we had a swing that my cousin and I would go back and forth on and say, “Cracklin virgie, cracklin virgie.” Don’t ask, because I don’t know where that came from. It is one of those senseless things from childhood that you never forget. So, I introduced it to the niece, and we said it as we would swing side to side. Something about swinging just makes you feel young and carefree again. Pointing your legs way up to the sky and feeling like you just maybe could touch that tree branch waaaaay up there. It was an amazing feeling. Next time you are by a swing set, jump on and see if you can touch the sky.

It was such a fun weekend! Family time, girl time, and I really think that niece time was the best of all. If you are driving by Arkansas, please stop and go jump with that girl! You would make her day.

Now I am back home, and have been enthusiastically online shopping, looking for things to fill my backpack with. After all, I suppose I need more than a sub sandwich and 2 Gatorades in there if I am going to wander about in Spain.

Journeys are three times experienced. When dreamed of, when lived, and when remembered.

Everyone needs a dream in their pocket. It gives a quiet infusion of joy to the everyday grind.