Here we go...!
Okay, well, I guess this is really happening! I leave tomorrow for the first leg of my journey. I get to spend a day in New York, with dear friends, before heading off to Africa. WOW!
It is always such a strange experience to have worked so hard for so long, in pursuit of a goal, and then to have it be right around the corner. On the one hand, it feels like it has been a very long time in coming, and I am so ready for my hard work to pay off. I am ready to stand on that summit and know that I earned every step of that journey. I am ready to celebrate the most challenging physical escapade that I have ever tackled. I am ready to experience a whole new country, its culture, and its beauty.
But then there is the flip side of that. I have always found it so weird that I start to feel a little bit sad, like I will be losing something when I am no longer "in training" for a major event. The excitement of having it in the future, and seeing the interest on people's faces when I talk about what it is I am planning to do. All that will be gone, because I will have done it. What I have to remember is that it is not gone, just transformed from planning and logistics, to accomplishment!
I am an idea person. I love the big picture. I am a dreamer. There is something incredibly enticing about the possibility of a dream, and the limitlessness of it, the big What If. I am good at that. I can dream with the best of them, and I have even made a few of them come true. But when it comes to the details, the nitty gritty, I can get overwhelmed and walk away. I haven't with this one. I stuck to it, fleshed out the details, and I am ready. I even finished packing YESTERDAY! There has been a lot that has gone into this adventure. From gathering the equipment I will need, to gathering the muscle strength and endurance I will need...it has been an eventful year. Now it is time to ACTUALLY CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN.
Kilimanjaro, here I come!
I want to take a moment to thank all of you, my cheering squad. Thank you for the notes of encouragement. Thank you for the get togethers. Thank you for all of the energy you have beamed my way. I know that I am stronger because of it. (And please don't stop yet! I have a mountain to climb, starting Saturday, and could use all the help I can get!) They say it takes a village to raise a child...well, I think it takes a village to raise a Patty. I am so grateful for all of you, and for this amazing chance to do something Awesôme!
Do you remember the scene in Apollo 13, where they are entering the earth's atmosphere? They go into radio silence for about 5 minutes, and no one knows if they made it or not. Well, it is time for me to go into radio silence for now. I will post pictures and details when I come down from the summit. Until then, send good thoughts, and I will send you greetings from the "rooftop of Africa"!
It is always such a strange experience to have worked so hard for so long, in pursuit of a goal, and then to have it be right around the corner. On the one hand, it feels like it has been a very long time in coming, and I am so ready for my hard work to pay off. I am ready to stand on that summit and know that I earned every step of that journey. I am ready to celebrate the most challenging physical escapade that I have ever tackled. I am ready to experience a whole new country, its culture, and its beauty.
But then there is the flip side of that. I have always found it so weird that I start to feel a little bit sad, like I will be losing something when I am no longer "in training" for a major event. The excitement of having it in the future, and seeing the interest on people's faces when I talk about what it is I am planning to do. All that will be gone, because I will have done it. What I have to remember is that it is not gone, just transformed from planning and logistics, to accomplishment!
I am an idea person. I love the big picture. I am a dreamer. There is something incredibly enticing about the possibility of a dream, and the limitlessness of it, the big What If. I am good at that. I can dream with the best of them, and I have even made a few of them come true. But when it comes to the details, the nitty gritty, I can get overwhelmed and walk away. I haven't with this one. I stuck to it, fleshed out the details, and I am ready. I even finished packing YESTERDAY! There has been a lot that has gone into this adventure. From gathering the equipment I will need, to gathering the muscle strength and endurance I will need...it has been an eventful year. Now it is time to ACTUALLY CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN.
I want to take a moment to thank all of you, my cheering squad. Thank you for the notes of encouragement. Thank you for the get togethers. Thank you for all of the energy you have beamed my way. I know that I am stronger because of it. (And please don't stop yet! I have a mountain to climb, starting Saturday, and could use all the help I can get!) They say it takes a village to raise a child...well, I think it takes a village to raise a Patty. I am so grateful for all of you, and for this amazing chance to do something Awesôme!
Do you remember the scene in Apollo 13, where they are entering the earth's atmosphere? They go into radio silence for about 5 minutes, and no one knows if they made it or not. Well, it is time for me to go into radio silence for now. I will post pictures and details when I come down from the summit. Until then, send good thoughts, and I will send you greetings from the "rooftop of Africa"!
Hope its everything you hoped it would be, be strong, be safe and most of all enjoy!
ReplyDeleteKayxx