Abnormal Becomes Normal

This morning I woke up alone, in my bed, in my apartment in Phoenix, Arizona. This seems like it should be the most normal a 32-year old Phoenix resident could possibly feel starting the day. Given the experiences of the last 13 days, it could not feel any stranger waking up under these circumstances. There was no tent roof above my head. Jenn wasn't laying next to me. I wasn't thinking about making camp stove coffee, or where the next stop was, or where we could get a shower that day. I just laid there trying to piece together where I was. I rolled over to check my phone for the day's news and finally hopped in the shower. This was all part of the routine I have been familiar with for years, but today it feels so alien to me.

My mind is still racing trying to remember and capture all the things we did, all the places we saw, and life-altering experiences we had. I know that it may take weeks, months, or even years to complete the process of introspection that needs to follow an experience like the one we just went through. I expect that I will be writing about this trip for a long time to come. I expect there will be recovered memories, forgotten experiences, and the occasional day dream that I'm back in Redwoods just taking deep breaths and truly living in the moment.

I know that I should give a recap of the last few days because so much happened that I shouldn't let it escape my mind. Right now, I'm digesting the experience. Trying to make sense of everything that happened and where to go from here. I knew this trip would be life-altering in many ways. There is no way a person can see the majesty of the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, The Golden Gate Bridge, Redwoods, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Arches National Park, and the Four Corners in such a short span and be able to return to 'normal' instantly. My mind is still busy processing and making sense and trying to figure out how to integrate this experience with the life I was leading prior to it. With time I know this will all come.

But today I'm just trying to re-orientate myself to my new (old) normal all over again.