The last week has been a rush. Edi’s been out of town and I’ve been batchin it with the kids. Honestly, I’ve loved it. Right now I can’t really imagine *not* flying, but if she ever banged out the bux, I’m thinkin I could be Mr. Mom no problem. My only concern would be not being ‘sensitive’ enough. I’m so focused on doing whatever it is I need to do (really, *whatever* that is), that I’m not always aware enough of when to slow down for a minute and ‘smell the roses’. No, I’d never really *stop* and smell the roses. But I do slow down from time to time.
Which is the whole point of next week. I’ve actually scheduled a *nothing* day on my backpacking trip. But we might come back a day early… So much for that idea. Anyway, the whole mad rush this week has been to make sure I’m ready for the trip (I’m all packed now), and ready to go back to work, and ready for Edi to come home and spend some time with the kids, and caught up with FSP work so I can be away from email for 4 days (the longest time in a year, I believe), and ….
So after today, I’m ready. I’ve rushed around and I’m ready to relax. So I’ll get up early … as if that’s relaxing, and head up to the mountains. We’ll rush through breakfast so we can get to the trailhead early enough in the day. But don’t forget, we have to stop at the ranger station to pick up our wilderness permit (thank you government). Then we’ll put on our packs and hike for a few hours. Gotta make sure we get to the campsite early enough so we can set up camp before it gets dark. We’ll have to pump water and hang up the water jug, set up our sleeping arrangements, get all our ‘accessories’ out (stoves, cookwear, shovel, lantern, food sack and rope, etc.), cook dinner… Relaxing huh? Trust me, it’s worth it.
Speaking of stuff, I packed heavy this year. The 3-litre box of Hardy’s Shiraz must have done it 😉 (yes, I really do intend to relax on this trip) So my belt pack grosses (including just over a litre of water) at 8 pounds and the pack at 46 pounds. But the *only* thing I’m load sharing on is the tent (I’m not bringing one). Considering the ‘luxery’ with which I’ve packed (an extra pair of ‘heavy’ shoes, the wine, non-freeze-dried tuna, olive oil, a heavy-ish camera, and so on), I figure that’s actually not too bad.
On a more ‘personal’ note, this morning is my best friend’s son’s dedication *and* first birthday party. So the one day Edi and I have together will be enjoying friends and family at the party. But that reminds me, we have to go shopping…
V-