David: Heading Home

First off, it is our 5th Anniversary today...Happy Anniversary to us! A year ago we were in Cairns, Australia...hard to believe.

As our 399 Days of Travel are drawing to a close, my thoughts are turning more and more to what my life will be like back in Portland. Traveling each month to a new country and city has become my "new normal", and I am sure that I will go through an adjustment when I realize that this spectacular part of my life is over. It's going to be "just Portland", and while I love Portland, it's going to be hard for it to compete with "exploring a new city each month". (Allan has ruined me for life!) I will miss the new friends we have made on this trip, yet it will be so great to reconnect to my many friends at home.

I also think about who I will be when I return to Portland. For over a year, I have been "Travel David", and what I mean by that is I have been more extroverted. Have you ever noticed that when you travel, you do things you normally wouldn't do at home? Whens the last time you explored the area you live in? I've lived in Portland for over 6 years, and have never ventured to see Mount St. Helens! Traveling also pushes me to take certain risks and do adventurous things like...talk to strangers. I say hi to people I pass on the street, I talk to people sitting next to me in a cafe...I also walk more, and I experience things at a slower pace. I focus more on being present as I go about my day, and in the evening I more consistently reflect on what I did, and think about what each experience had to teach me. Most of my communication with family and friends is in written form via emails, which for me tends to be more heartfelt and honest, and I do believe that some of my relationships have deepened because of this type of communication. Sure, on the down side, I indulge more when I travel; for example, at home I would never walk into a bakery and buy several pastries and eat them all in one day, but I did that on this trip. I also drank twice as much coffee, and often stayed up late...But for the most part, I like the Travel David a bit better than I like the Old David, and really, what would be so bad about just remaining Travel David even if I am not traveling anymore?

So what will I do when I first get home? Well, first I want to kiss the ground of Portland--and America, for that matter. While I may complain about our politics and some of our social rules, America is still a fantastic country which I will always dearly love; tea parties, republicans, and all. Then, I'll put on Barbra Streisand's new CD, Love is the Answer...I've been waiting 6 months to hear it, and so that will be a treat. Next, Allan and I plan go to Trader Joe's and load up on our favorite foods, and later, I want to finally take off these clothes that I have been wearing for over a year, take a nice long shower, and put on some different clothes! Exciting! I hope to sit with Allan for a moment, and soak in the reality of what has been, and what now is...and then gratefully climb into our familiar bed and rest my head on my familiar pillow. I'll need a good nights sleep because the following week will be a marathon! A mountain of mail to sort, hair to cut, doctors to see, teeth to have cleaned, friends to visit....oh, and I'll probably have to learn how to drive again! (I am not really looking forward to driving again...I have seriously loved not having a car, even though they can be awfully convenient at times.)

Allan and I will probably also have some adjustments to make. Since my condo is rented until at least August, we will be living together in his house. We won't be together 24/7 anymore, but still....we are both a bit unsure of the whole cohabitation thing. When you live alone as long as we have, coming home to an empty house can be a wonderful feeling....so how do we still give each other that space? We are currently talking about that....But practically speaking, I can't move back into my condo until I have a job....Oh yes, a job. Such an irritating detail, isn't it?? You have no idea how much I have loved not working. I have never understood it when people retire or win the lottery, and keep on working. Sure, I would probably still work as a volunteer for a non-profit, but I might also take classes in Creative Writing and Advanced Spanish, or just meditate 8 hours a day...if I could do it, that is. Oh well, work can be a fun endeavor, and I am hopeful that a fabulous job presents itself soon after I return. I would love to find a job that allowed me to travel, and one that would also give me the satisfaction of doing something uplifting in the world. (But I am reminded by some of my friends that the unemployment rate is still high in Portland. If you hear of any jobs for me, let me know!)

In closing, I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank a few people that helped us out from afar...to Allan's dad Bob, who cleared away a dead jasmine plant from my condos deck, watered my plants, and handled some of my mail...and to Bradley and Landon for also taking care of my plants at Allan's house, and for also sorting through my mail when Bob was gone. And to my neighbor Rob who helped get my condo re-rented while we were in Peru. The four of you made it possible for us to be away, and I appreciate the help you so freely gave Allan and me. I also want to thank my Mom, LaRue, and my sisters, Cindy and Sandra, for keeping me updated on things going on with my family, and for passing along notes to our Dad and our other sisters, Tracy and Terry...it was hard on all of us to be a world apart, and their emails meant so much to me. And thanks to Judith for her loving focus as I traveled into the unknown...her support, advice, and amazing perspective kept me grounded these past 13 months...as always. And I would like to thank the many readers of this blog...your comments and emails were so appreciated, and I will miss this type of connectivity. My friend Marty thinks we should turn the blog into a book--what do you think?

And finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my dear sweet Allan for inviting me to accompany him on this amazing, wonderful, exciting, life altering journey around the world. It has been a gift beyond anything I could have ever dreamed--so much bigger than anything I have ever allowed myself to imagine. Allan is and always has been such a positive and uplifting force in my life. When I say I can't, he says I can. When I say it's hard, he says it's a challenge. When I say I'm afraid, he gives me his hand...and breaks things down to a size I can handle. I know that we have had some rough days on this trip, scattered about like potholes on a road....but they too have been gifts; opportunities to patch and fill with something stronger. A trip like this takes countless hours to plan, and thousands of details to remember, and Allan did most all of it, navigating our journey so that every transition was smooth and comfortable, and every day was the best that it could possibly be...all while keeping us on (and under!) budget. He was forever turning my attention to small details that said so much about a location, and enriched each day with his perspective and ideas. It really has been a Global Pathway of Presence, to walk this walk with Allan, and I am forever grateful for his kindness, generosity, patience, integrity, humor, and love. My life has always been blessed, but being with Allan these past 5 years has taken those blessings to a whole new level. Thank you, God. Thank you, Allan. Thank you.

Love,
David

P.S. While we return to Portland on March 19th, we leave on April 1 for a trip to Missouri to celebrate Allan's 50th Birthday, then I continue on to Salt Lake City to see my family for a few weeks, and then take a trip to Arizona to attend a meditation retreat and see my teacher, Judith. So I won't be back to Portland full time until May 20th.