I embarked on a journey that I needed even more than I realized. About six weeks ago I decided I was doing it. I signed up to volunteer in Greece with refugees and booked my tickets. I sent my out of office notes at work and just stepped forward. And it was exactly what I needed. I need to be around some thing bigger than me and the daily iterations of the projects I am involved with. This was key. I met new people, saw the blue blue ocean, basked in the sun and walked in steps paved by brave and courageous souls.

I worked at a Refugee Camp Ritsona. 

It is a camp on the coast of Chalkida, Greece.

It is located in an old Greek Air Force Base. Currently, about 800 people call this their temporary home. They are from Syria, Kurdistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa ranging from just a few days old their 70’s.
The process has brought back some spark and inspiration to me.

It was nice to be active and nice to be in and outside.

travel books

Books  I am taking on the trip:

The Beekeeper

Nonfiction by Dunya Mikhail

Translated by Max WeissDunya Mikhail

Since 2014, Daesh (ISIS) has been brutalizing the Yazidi people of northern Iraq: sowing destruction, killing those who won’t convert to Islam, and enslaving young girls and women.

STORIES ABOUT THE 12 HARDEST THINGS I’M LEARNING TO SAY

By 

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan

 STORIES ABOUT THE 12 HARDEST THINGS I’M LEARNING TO SAY

'Women in Sunlight': by Frances Mayes shines with new novel about Tuscany, friendship    Review

By 

By 

By 

By 

midway

mid way
midway

and then tomorrow I will be on my way. At least for a little while.

They say ...On average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. And how long it takes a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the behavior, the person, and the circumstances. In Lally's study, it took anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for people to form a new habit.

I am at day 17 and only occasionally have an outburst or ugly cry.

I have been trying and taking some deep breaths and playing this song a lot.



Goals while I travel.

Love more
Eat well
Smile more
Connect with people
move (the conference call marathons each day are mind numbing - - I must move)
read

back

Well, the dreams are back. This time we are driving somewhere and we were much younger and she was a young child but not like child like. I was in the passenger seat with the window down. We were driving near water as I could see the blue in the distance. But so close to the guard rail I was touching it as we were slowly driving it next to it. There is a lot going on right now and somewhere in there he is telling me to hang on and get uncomfortable.  It is not that I am not going to hang on it is just that I am not sure which way to lean and what to hang on to. Or for how long.

deja vu

I took this picture today after I poured sugar wafers into a bowl. I thought of my mom immediately. Like a trigger.  My mom used to by the sleeve of chocolate, pink and vanilla wafers at FoodTown and set them a glass bowl on the counter of her island in the kitchen. She would binge eat them. And all that would be left is a residue of brown, pink, and yellow at the bottom. But back then we did not even see it as a binge. But now looking back, I am sure she ate to cope. She ate to grieve. Vividly, I can see her twisting her hair today. Twenty years ago today she was alive and my life was so different.  In six months we will celebrate the 20th year of her passing and his 4th. Hope you guys are behaving up there.

The Milk Lady of Bangalore

April 2018 - Sometime later

I am going to attempt to write more frequently in April.
I guess I have some things to say and towards the end of the month an experience to share.
In the meantime
Happy Easter.

and now the Fall

10/1 - Sunday

I am turning the page.
Next chapter.
Same Life.
New people. Some of the Same most amazing people.

Recommend reading The Yellow Envelope

The Yellow Envelope was just the perfect book for me to read on the flight from Shannon, Ireland to Fort Bliss, Texas.  Much like Kim Dinan, the author of the book I am turning the page and starting a new chapter once again.

Summary of the book:

Plagued by anxiety and a persistent feeling that there was more to life than paychecks and mortgages, Kim and her husband decide to uproot their lives and travel around the world. Just before their departure, they’re given an unexpected gift that will shape their adventures: a yellow envelope containing a check and instructions to give the money away to those they encounter on their journey.

Through Ecuador, India, Nepal, and beyond, the pair encounter problems at every step, including major challenges to their marriage. But as Kim and her husband figure out how to give to the people they meet and to each other, they learn that money does not have a thing to do with the capacity to give.

The Yellow Envelope is a vividly insightful look at how travel stretches and pushes the traveler, and it tells the tale of the transformative power of giving, not just of money, but also of ourselves.

Granted it looks and smells complete different but it is so strikingly similar.
I am going to free for awhile and wandering. And I am going to do just that. Granted it has my style of busyness attached to it but it is mine.

How will I make a difference and who will be impacted?
I just cannot help but excited about the opportunities ahead. I mean, why wouldn't I be.

Love Warrior

I finished  listening to Love Warrior on deployment.  The book really made me think about a lot of things. For me it was powerful and insightful. I love what she had to say about life and making choices and her faith. And how things can be both easy and complicated.

Reading

I read memoirs and fiction written by women.
But in the last few weeks I plowed through Beartown by Fredrik Backman

This Is How It Always Is: A Novel by Laurie Frankel

and fiance book Worth It by Amanda Steinberg

and a family mystery Do Not Become Alarmed by Malie Meloy

Changing genres as it seems.

But as they say in my current line of work change is the only thing consistent.