Redrawing the Comfort Zone

Does it ever feel like you are re-learning the same lessons over and over again? Or is it just me? When I look at things that are happening in my life, I have a weird sense of deja vu...same situations just different characters and/or setting. I could have sworn that I already learned this lesson, filed it away in my memory banks, and had it on-call for the next time a similar situation arose. But that doesn't really seem to be the case, and the training I have been doing for the climb has really brought that to the forefront for me. For some things it just feels like a refresher course, a gentle nudge to bring the hard-won lesson out of the memory banks for use in the current situation. For example, the importance of relaxing and unplugging sometimes. Our fearless leader, Jenne, has stressed this often in our conversations and in the training posts that she sends. And I have taken it in, nodded my head in total agreement, and then proceeded to totally blow past it in my own dai...

Just got the information about my itinerary.... OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG !OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! There is something monumental when you see things in print. I mean, up until now, most of the preparations for my trip have been theoretical. Yes, there have been emails. Yes, there have been some documents exchanged, but the bulk of what I have done has been planning and training. Then, just the other day, I received my itinerary for the trip. The particulars about what time we will be getting up, the way the day will (probably) progress, what will happen when I get off the plane in Tanzania, what-I-need-to-be-sure-to-do-before-I-leave-otherwise-I-will-regret-it-and-possibly-not-be-able-to-complete-the-trek-that-I-have-been-training-for-all-of-these-weeks! When I opened the email and printed out those pages, my stomach leapt. Joy, yes, but also abject terror. This $h*# just got real! Five weeks, FIVE WEEKS, from today I will be touching down in Africa! OMG! Even writing ...