Over the Hump

It's Wednesday night here in NC, and my little Village is working it's way to sleep.  I hear a cough in a room from my daughter as she tries to fall into a slumber.  The fall weather has started since the weekend and it is currently 61 degrees.  I've had the windows  open since the weekend and I think the shift of the much cooler air has made the little ones start to sniffle and cough a bit.  The house is almost all quiet with the exception of crickets chirping outside and the woooooshing sound of the dishwasher churning in the kitchen. 

I can finally collect a moment to myself... no more grocery shopping, no more separating the girls because one first wanted the owl lunchbox and the other didn't mind the little kitty one... and then a split second later it's vice versa..., no more reading through each book bag to see what homework is needed for tomorrow, no more checking homework,  no more dinner to make, no more food to be served, no more cleaning up, no more brushing little guy's teeth, no more reading books to anxious ears, no more taking the dogs out.....
..... no more nada....  .....just me, myself and I...  It's like a Calgon moment, but I know my fatherly duties and refereeing will just recycle again early tomorrow morning.   

But...... this is- getting over the hump Wednesday.

I just read Neve's first update to her blog today and her caption, "the Camino will provide", really has deeper meaning and promise.  It's a very optimistic vantage point that allows ones' soul to see more glimpses of hope.

I can truly relate......   It's been almost 1 week since Neve started her Pilgrimage, and I feel very comfortable with my early mornings and late nights tending to my little Village.  Amongst all the personalities and comotion that may resemble a bit of chaos, I reflect back to an innocent time called, childhood.  (I would try to remember how it was being a kid and then watch them act the same way.)

I truly enjoy hearing the excitement in my 2 daughters' voices as they go into great detail of their day at school.  Their brown eyes grow so wide like owls and after every sentence, their dimples get deep as craters as their smiles grow ear to ear.   As I listen intently, my mind reflects on how innocent childhood is with no worries but what is going on here and now.   As they finish up, next in line are my boys who are excited playing with a simple bucket of soapy water outside with string tied in a 12" or more circle.   They are playing a game of who can make the largest bubble and gently handle it on their hands or blow it up above their heads the longest.... Now these bubbles are really huge... about the size of a beach ball! 

Again, it's these times of innocence that smacks me in the face to realize there is nothing to stress over, get anxious of, or feel overwhelmed.  I'm learning to take a step back and breathe more...just breathe....  I'm referred to at work in geek laymen terms as being multi-threaded and multi-tasking to a point that it seems like I'm always in constant motion with this or that task.   I don't mind being busy.   As you can tell I am used to it :-)   But, I am really learning to just pause..... and once in while take nice easy deep breaths, which in turn allows my thoughts to clear and see more of my surroundings with wider eyes. 

When it comes to my Village, I need to take off my work hat and leave the worries of servers, programs, scripts, data, documentation, errors, & politics all outside.   And all I need to do is tend to my little Village...... just listen to their conversations amongst each other and their ideas or current thoughts of what's going on around them.  It is their innocence and peace I enjoy.....    These times are the glimpses of hope that makes me excited to start my mornings and see and hear my Village's hustle and bustle.....

I guess I am over the hump.....

Buenos Noches Peregrinos!

Pamplona & 9/11

I received another email today around 12:52 pm (local time and 6:52pm Spain time).  She made it to Pamplona and is staying at an Alburgue Casa Paderborn.  She states it's run by Germans and is very quaint and appears nice. 

Around 3:00pm, we had FaceTime and she was in good spirits.  I think she is getting the hang of it now.  ;-)

As for the home front, the boys and I observed the 911 Presidential speech at Ground Zero.   It's amazing how 11 years had passed and yet feels like it just happened.   We share respects to those who have fallen here on US soil and abroad and to their loved ones!

I also walked the other children to school this morning and we all enjoyed the cooler fall weather.   Low 60's in the morning and highs of upper 70's during the day.

I'm settling into a routine now and have enjoyed the time with the family while working from home.

It's dinner time and ready for a relaxing evening.....

FaceTime

This afternoon Neve sent me an email and a text that she was in a small custodial town called, Zubiri.  Her final destination for the day was to be Larassoana, but her fellow Pilgrims walked ahead and reserved the last bed in Zubiri.

Once there, she found a local restaurant with free Wifi and finally had a chance to use her new iPad3 with FaceTime.  I was working on my laptop finishing up a conference call and was able to chat face-face with her while she sat at the bar.   My 3 sons were able to visually converse with her without any pixelation degredation or lagging voice to video interference.  The sound was clear, until it began raining over there and all the Pilgrims started piling into the restaurant chatting and began singing songs.... It reminded me of the time Neve and I were in Southwest France and started hearing the chants and songs of excited soccer fans from our tent in the wee early morning hours (excuse me... 'futbol' fans)

She introduced us to about 6+ Pilgrims and they all looked in great spirits.  It must be a rush to have various international people congregate to fulfill a common goal that thousands of people have done over a 1000 years.... How exhilerating!

I can see why her spirits were up, especially after that jaunt over the Pyrenees Mountains.  She didn't even mention anything about her feet or blisters.... (I'll give props to those hybrid crosstraining/running Brooks shoes that she opted for over her hiking boots!)  Although, I did notice  her nose was a bit shiny red from 3 days of sun.   (Note to Neve:  use that nice full brim hat from REI and more sunblock :-)

The FaceTime worked like a charm and she was fully enlightened about my homeschool itinerary for the boys and how everyone was doing sans Mama.

She said the earplugs worked like a charm the night before. Actually, she said it worked so well they she slept way late and they had to wake her up.....

Dormir bien, mi cansado peregrino!