Today is April 27th.
Today is my wonderful friend Carrie's birthday.
I'm really bad at remembering birthdays. Except Carrie's.
I remember her's because I texted her right after I took this picture...
I was on Springer Mountain, headed out for a few weeks on the Appalachian Trail and I was letting her know that's what I was doing... since I didn't really tell anyone I was leaving! She replied something like "I'm having birthday lunch with Sarah (or something)... and I thought... Jeesh, worst friend ever, I totally forgot!!
But there it is... two years ago I started hiking the AT. That's insane.
I got really really dirty....
I saw some amazing views....
I climbed some real big mountains....
I REALLY messed up my shoes (and feet)...
And I ended up walking to here...
I could tell you all the things that I learned while hiking north (and south in VA) and along the crazy trails I've hiked since. I could tell you about that amazing journey and the hundreds of things it taught me. Instead I will say this, now, two years after standing on Springer Mountain...
Life is a journey.
I may not have expected to walk all the way to Maine and a few hours after that first picture I may have been wondering if I would even walk to North Carolina. Yet I did because life is a crazy, unpredictable, unexpected journey. And its beautiful.
Life is about being patient.
Sometimes I get frustrated by where I am, by the slow slog to get to where I want to be, by what seems to be unending roadblocks in my way to my dreams. Then I just remember, be patient. Every day I drive at least 30 miles back and forth to work (usually closer to 50). That used to be about 2 days of walking! Sometimes life moves fast, sometimes it moves slow... its a journey, I'm learning to be patient.
Life is unexpected.
The very first night on the trail I spent at Hawk Mountain Shelter. I made friends that lasted for a few weeks and met someone who (except for giving him a break in VA from my presence) I walked with all the way to Maine... and is still an important part of my life. I didn't expect that but I am so blessed by it. Life is full or surprises and twists and turns... I'm learning to appreciate the unexpected.
Two years later? I'm not a dirty hiker girl anymore (well, not every day- she's hidden somewhere in there though!). I don't carry my entire life on my back, and I (mostly) go to work every day rather than follow the trail. But I look back at that crazy journey with so much appreciation for the things I learned, for the things I continue to learn.
I am blessed.
