Date: 2013-03-02
To: A Time for All Things.....
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Good morning dear readers, Yesterday: Yesterday was the last day of training before work, because yesterday was the last day AT work. I¢ll miss the serene moonlit sky twinkling with stars. Even with bad weather, I felt incredibly accomplished being up at 5am when a very few others were blearily walking their dogs or the 1 or 2 hardcore runners I saw. The picture is of the watch my team gave me back in December, engraved on the back with ¢Follow Your Path¢. They picked this before they knew my trail name ¢ for multiple reasons it¢s very special to me, and I¢m definitely NOT taking it on the trail as it¢d get ruined. I stopped the battery from running at 5pm yesterday ¢ I¢m looking forward to all the memories when I start it up again the night before I start my next job. This week felt like one long farewell, filled with laughs, memories, and some tears. It isn¢t often that it¢s so apparent when you¢ve touched other people¢s lives - that's perhaps the best gift I received this week. As far as physical gifts are concerned, at my lunch going-away party on Tuesday, I was so touched to receive a book of memories with motivating messages that I can carry on the trail with me, amongst other gifts including a beautiful clock that will sit on a desk at some indeterminate time in the future, reminding me of 12 great years. Yesterday, I was gifted with 2, very light, incredibly thoughtful, special keepsakes that I¢ll also carry with me (thanks Suzanne!); I didn¢t really want ¢the end¢ to come.   I put off silly things like cleaning my oatmeal bowl for the last time because I didn¢t want to pack it up, and more serious things like my goodbye notes and emails because I didn¢t want to say ¢goodbye till later¢ to people with whom I¢ve spent so much time and have so many fond, funny, and touching memories. While I¢m so excited for this journey, ultimately change is scary for me, but if I¢ve learned anything in the past few months, it¢s a lot easier to deal with when you are in the driver¢s seat and have some measure of control. Today: A morning hike, and then a party at a local winery, what could be better?! Tomorrow: A simpler life, what an absolute luxury this is for me, being able to take months off of working and my front-country life and not really worry. I can¢t wait to get off the clock ¢ I spend so much time looking at my watch and thinking ¢I have this much time to do this, then I have to go on to that¢, and so on and so forth. Days easily pass in this manner, speeding by actually, until I¢m not sure where the time has gone.   I¢m a morning person, so I can¢t wait to wake up to sunrises and birdsong out in the woods. I love my sleep, so I can¢t wait to go to sleep with the setting sun in the middle of summer, and not feel like a dork going to be early. I¢m rejoicing in the fact that I can go on this hike and not sacrifice my long term security (i.e. my retirement savings) or any major responsibilities. There are, of course, the persistent nagging thoughts about what to do post hike....should I get another research administration position, which I admittedly have loved? Open my own baking business, which has been rattling around in the back of my head for a few years now but seems like a far-off dream that I could never afford? Am I brave enough to do so by myself? Hmm, I seem to remember thinking similar things when thinking about the AT over the past few years¢¦..regardless, I¢ll have lots of time to think about both big and small things in the next several months, on the trail from Georgia to Maine. Post-hike, I have already decided to move somewhere with mountains (Colorado keeps sticking in my mind) ¢ I¢m just happier with mountains. The endless scenery, the tendency for waterfalls with bubbling mountain streams, the endless breath-stealing climbs and sense of accomplishment at the summit¢¦. I need a place that encourages and promotes an outdoor, active, lifestyle to help me be healthy and happy the rest of my life. I¢m committed to living in an area that helps me be happier. So many people have written me sentiments such as ¢Carpe Diem¢, ¢Never, ever, postpone joy¢, and so on. I¢m really proud of myself that I had the courage to make this change in my life. Here¢s to today, and tomorrow! Word of the Day:Ciao:   Italian for ¢goodbye¢, so long, see you laterI signed many of my goodbye notes with ¢Ciao¢, not because I can speak Italian, but because I like the sentiment (and really like the word! Makes me feel sophisticated) ¢ now is not really ¢goodbye¢ forever, but only until our paths cross sometime in the future.