Phew. Did that even just happen?
This summer was crammed with awesome adventures. I’ve been trying to look back at it and reflect with some semblance of organization on everything that happened, but it’s going to take some time. Not only do I have thousands (actually, literally, thousands) of photos to look through and so many different experiences to write about, but it was full of such change and growth. #deep (thanks, Becca).
I’m writing now from Kyrgyzstan, where we’ve been settling in for almost two weeks already, and only now am I somewhat capable of climbing out of the haze that was this summer and starting to write about it. We have blog posts on back order from our time in Korea, weeks in Ireland, yoga teacher training, flying Roxie, and settling in to Bishkek.
It doesn’t seem like all of that could possibly have fit into six weeks, but somehow it did.
I’ve known about our move to Bishkek and our summer travel plans since January. No matter how hard I tried to focus on the present moment and where we were, there was always something in my mind anticipating where we would be or what we would do or what it would be like. Granted, that sort of thinking and distraction is tempting even without a huge life change looming in the distance – it’s always tempting to think of where you will be or what you will do or what it will be like – but with a huge change coming, it’s even more of a distraction.
I didn’t realize until slowing down at my yoga teacher training how much I had been practicing the opposite of being present. I was constantly planning, imagining, and scheming. I was worried and exhausted and ungrounded. At the same time, I was busy with work and travel and spending time with so many loving friends and Ryan and Roxie and incredibly grateful. Life is a conundrum.
Now we’re here. Well, we’re always here, but we’re in Kyrgyzstan and the bigness of it all is passed. Now that there’s less of a temptation to think and plan and anticipate, I have started to look back at this summer and the incredibleness and difficulty of it all, and continue to practice being present with where I am.
We were there, and we are here, and it’s pretty amazing.
