A Short Break

It feels strange, finally accepting the fact that I have thrown in the towel for this year. My week at Miss Janet's house last week was amazing, and on Thursday one of the hikers -- Otto -- was going to Boone. Since I have a friend at Lee's McRae, near there, I decided to hitch a ride and spend the weekend with Wentworth. I had a pretty good time and was distracted enough to keep my mind off of the fact that I wasn't going to Maine. I am so glad now that I pushed on through those hard times in January. Coming off trail due to an injury is bad enough. I now understand what people have been telling me, that coming off trail due to lack of determination is something I would never be able to forgive myself for.

After three days of fun in Boone/Banner Elk, I got a ride with some of Wentworth's friends back here to Erwin. I'll be staying here and helping out Miss Janet for another week, and on Saturday I'll be flying home. I chose to go home for several reasons. First and foremost, I need medical attention. I picked this Saturday so that I could be home for Easter and see some of my relatives, as I've essentially been absent for the past two years. Finally, and this one is mostly just a bonus, I'll be going to an open house at UVM, something I couldn't do last year, and as icing on the cake, Margaret will be going to an open house at Middlebury, 30 minutes down the road, so we'll get to see each other.

I'm going to treat this trip similar to when I went home in February -- I'm visiting, not returning. I'm going to regroup and then head out on another adventure. What that adventure is, I don't know.

Currently I am reading the Tao of Pooh, and I think that for the next few months I shall embrace the Taoist principle of going with the flow.