Friends,
How is it that almost two months can pass, actually almost six months can pass, without writing my weekly thoughts?
I had an amazing time on The Camino.
Three weeks trekking across northern Spain with my twin was good for my soul. Two changes of clothes, a camelbak full of water, a sleeping bag, plenty of bandaids to keep the toes from rubbing, and some toiletries....oh, and a bag full of quartz by the time I crossed Castilla y Leon (couldn't help it, they were everywhere we walked!)...
I returned to my assignment in Kansas for a 5-week extension, and it is coming to an end next week...
In the last several months, several significant things have occurred. One of the most compelling events has been my father's diagnosis of lymphoma.
He has made it through chemotherapy and just started radiation.
It's time to take a short break from travel and be there.
Isn't this why we travel? We like the flexibility of being able to take 3 week walks in Spain. We like to go places at the drop of a hat. We like the ability to stop everything when life calls us to be there for loved ones.
So! I am taking a four-month break from working for my travel company this fall, and I am returning home. Not just my home. The home of my parents.
I still consider myself a traveling therapist. That is what I do. I go in where there is a void. I fill the void, pump up the practice, and try to leave each place better than when I arrived.
I am going to take my own little "assignment" (prn work) in two buildings near my parents' community this fall. I am excited to help out my parents and to be near my siblings. I will continue to work with our elder-crowd and look forward to spending more time writing about them again.
Yes, I have heard you. I will try to start posting more often!
I have a lot of thoughts about coming home, but I'll save those for the next couple posts. Suffice to say, life is full of circles, and at some point, we have to come around to close each one of them.
