the gritty industrial edge of Burgos with my feet like flabby filets of halibut, I hit a very low low. Walking A to B day after day suddenly seemed pointless. And somehow indulgent - given the coterie of persons looking after the kids.
Over black rice and squid that night we talked to a Quebec man who did the French Camino last year after an "unexpected break-up." He has already walked 500 km in France this time (after getting re-married three months ago). Did he ever feel like giving up? Every night he said. "You've got to get up tomorrow morning and put one foot in front of the other." The Camino is only 50 percent fitness, he said, the other half is psychological.
Of course the wonderful diversion, through the pain, is seeing people living alongside lives past.
Tallulah, 13, sends me funny texts. At home we butt heads a lot and she is less than chatty (with me) but we are compatible correspondents. She sent me this selfie of her and Cy. Taken when we were in Cuba at easter.
She asks if we can come home early, it's too long to be away, she says. She's worried about forgetting things. Soccer and school stuff. Tallulah has a hard time focusing. I sent her this photo I had just taken of a sunflower field.
I said she reminded me of the one bright sunflower in the middle. Do you see it? All the other sunflowers were waiting for the sun to come up ( boring!) but the Tallulah sunflower was having a good old look around.
You are doing great and I am sure this will be one of many great memories for you in the future! It is such an adventure and an accomplishment and I hope to be doing the same trip some time in the future too. It must be hard to be away from the kids but look how much they miss you :) Keep going x
ReplyDeleteI am truly in awe of what you're doing. You're amazing! And the kids will be fine ... and will appreciate you so much when you return. Really love the sunflower pic x
ReplyDeleteStay the course Jody and these moments of self-doubt and adversity will make the experience all the more rewarding in the end.
ReplyDeleteMy dear Tallulah, your mum & dad are on a wonderful journey and keep those funny texts coming....why don't you slip into one of mum's fab summer frocks and selfie it over to her....that will likely quicken her pace.
Very well done. The endurance to make it through the hardest part of the journey, the perfectly poetic sunflower picture for Tallulah... all of it.
ReplyDeleteVery well done indeed
You are doing amazing - we have the upmost respect for you - kudos. Dave and I are seriously considering it. The sense of accomplishment at the end will be euphoric.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck on your journey.......remember YOU CAN DO IT!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing so well! I can imagine that at times it's hard to keep motivated but then you spot something amazing and it must make up for the tired feet! What a sweet story about that single sunflower.
ReplyDeleteHang on in there! Lovely sunflower story :)
ReplyDeleteSo so sweet....the whole post. Don't stop believing....x
ReplyDeleteI am in awe of your inspiring adventure. Sending comforting hugs!
ReplyDeleteYou can do it! I am quite in awe of you - I think I would have been too homesick for the kids to venture that far afield, but you know what? You are teaching them - and us - s lesson in resilience and perseverance. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteI love the pic you sent Tallulah!
ReplyDeleteYou are in my thoughts, I feel a sentimental connection every time I bump I to someone who's done the Camino or who is thinking of it, and that seems to be happening unusually often.
I also feel a sentimental connection,every time my feet hurt.
Your pictures are wonderful and don't have even hint of the mental and physical exhaustion you must be feeling. Are you coming right home after finishing?
ReplyDeleteThe kids will be fine, Jody! You can't give up! We are rooting for you! :)
ReplyDeleteI think in any long endeavors there will be moments of let down"Why am I doing this?, moments. Especially when one is exhausted and carbo deprived.
ReplyDeleteTaking it esy the following day (if it's possible) may be the order of the day.
I had experienced these feelings during my marathon, ultra marathon running days.
Other fellow pilgrims you meet and their stories will lift your spirits up and of course the call of pilgrimage itself.
Sleep well and hearty breakfast tomorrow.
You are doing great, your kids are doing awesome too. The sunflower picture made me tear up a bit, ha!! Beautiful xx
ReplyDeleteLove all the photos, and your sunflower story with Tallulah. Keep going Jody!! You'll have such a feeling of accomplishment, I'm sure all these painful foot slogging parts will fade and you'll remember the scenery (not the industrial bits), and the euphoria of finishing xx
ReplyDeleteLove your photos, admire your endurance, having been gone 2 weeks I can't imagine spending 4 weeks traveling.
ReplyDeleteLove that sunflower photo! Your kids will be even better for having to be independent for a bit. This should be a mandatory parent thing. Would do us all a bit of good...
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