We’ve been home for 10 days now and, as it turns out, real life is pretty hard. Of course, having the conveniences of home, plus being able to spend time with family and friends, has been amazing. But as the initial excitement is wearing off, the reality that our “adventure of a lifetime” is over, is setting in. Both Brian (yup, back to our real names again) and I found ourselves having a really hard time focusing, especially the first week at home. I would go into my room to get something for work, but get distracted by the fact that the Q-tip dispenser was low and the lotion dispenser needed to be filled. “Focus, woman!”, I would tell myself before I straightened the picture frame on the wall, and fluffed the pillows on the couch. 🤨 It definitely feels like we are in limbo…I know I don’t want to be walking 20-25 miles daily anymore, but I desperately miss the quiet and ease of the trail. My “to do” list is no longer only 3 items long…flat tent site, water, food. Instead, I feel like I’m being pulled in 30 different directions at once which used to be no big deal for me. I could juggle 10 balls in the air with ease, even poise at times. But now, it just feels confusing and overwhelming. This feeling will pass, I know it will, but do I want it to? Do I want to get used to this craziness of daily life again? Do I have a choice? These are all good questions, without any clear cut answers.

Brian and I have really enjoyed seeing family and reconnecting with friends again, that’s for sure. My friend, Amy, took me to get a pedicure with an added foot massage which was lovely. We were masked, with plexiglass between us, but it sure was nice to have a professional get the 6 months of dirt out of all the nooks and crannies. 🥴 Brian and I also took advantage of our 90 minute massage gifts, which were amazing in a “super painful but good for you” kind of way. The biggest news is that Brian’s sister cut his hair!

We were half way there…the hair was neat and tidy, but the kids wanted to “shear the beard”. So we drove home and they each got a chance with the clippers.

The transformation was remarkable, that’s for sure!! Especially since Brian had a short stubble for about 6 years prior to the trail, so to see him completely clean shaven is quite the adjustment as well. I had taken a picture of Link almost every day on the trail so we could really see how his hair and beard transformed. It was so fun putting them all together!

We are also in the process of putting a few other video compilations together. We took a picture of our tent site every single day, plus a picture of each different PCT sign we came across. We also took a picture of the trail every day which I want to put in order as well. So definitely check in periodically if you want to take a look at those. I definitely have to say that going through our THOUSANDS of pictures (literally about 7,000!!) makes me miss it already. As always, thanks for reading! Amy