Our trip yesterday took a lot out of all of us. It was beautiful, and I’m really glad we went (it would definitely have been one of those things we always wondered about if we hadn’t done it) but it was long, hot and tiring. Climbing back on the bike this morning to return it to the rental place took more willpower than I expected.
So today, we rested. I wanted to keep us all out of the sun and as cool as possible after yesterday — there were times during our trip that I was actually concerned about heat stroke. It was hot again today (it was 90 degrees in our kitchen this afternoon) so we stayed inside in the air conditioning for most of the day and drank lots of fluids.
For general entertainment (and to keep us from leaving tv shows on all day) I set up a picture slide show with my recent pictures — many of them were from yesterday, but it included pictures from our trips to France and the US, too.
Wow. What a life we have! Seeing the pictures like that — visiting Notre Dame, the beach in Normandy, our family in the US, as well as biking through a beautiful river valley dotted with medieval villages* — was amazing. Actually living it, I sometimes lose perspective on what we’re getting the opportunity to do here. While we live it, of course we get to bask in the wonderfulness of all of it — seeing amazing sights, visiting amazing places, having spectacular experiences. But, living it also means dealing with the minutia of life and travel, which can obscure the big picture.
Today, we rested. And, we got to spend some time stepping back and looking at the last bit of our big adventure. Life is good. I feel so fortunate.
