Exhausted in a good way

I'm exhausted

In a good way

Seems I've been running since Spring

getting ready for The Kid's graduation then our out of town guest

We gardened and painted and moved furniture and shampooed carpets 

and and and

then we attended graduation, welcomed our guest, had a graduation party,

went on a family vacation, went on motorcycle rides, and little outings

and and

jumped on Amtrak, went to Seattle, met more stranger bloggers

rode to Oregon met more stranger bloggers

played in river, drank Boozie Smoothies

and

back on train for 51 hrs

met some cool strangers

the funny lady from Chicago who thought we were out of our minds

who justified our actions by saying 'everyone knows artists are weird'

but who had her friend sneak some snacks and drinks on board for us 

the kid moving to North Dakota to work in the oil fields

to send money home to his pregnant wife and little child

The girl who was moving from Washington to South Dakota to try and find a job

and return for her kids and things when she did

The kid who left Washington and his child to try and make money fishing for blue crab

Both not bowing under the pressures of life but fighting back by seeking a new start

And the two poor guys from North Dakota who I barraged with questions

It's like they were sitting under the spotlight

As they patiently answered all my questions about their lives working

as general contractors, farmers, truckers, operating the big rigs and working in the oil fields

I couldn't know enough

And the train wasn't big enough for them to hide
(Bob/Dean: thanks guys!)

And my hero

the 71 year old Veteran who was oh so thin

who had colon cancer and was going for chemo treatments

who last year became partially blind...limiting him to colors and shapes

but instead of being angry or sad...told us stories of how he was going to blind camp

was learning to make baskets...had great ideas for some he'd like to try

spoke of his friends there who made furniture and how they had talent shows

These people who confronted their challenges by living their lives

And he said all this with a smile and a sense of humor

Proudly extending his watch so that I could hear it tell time

I asked my stranger dangers

what they hoped to get out of this adventure

As for me, I had no expectations

I asked my angels to let me be open to see what I should see

and recognize it when I did

And what I discovered

was that there are no such things as coincidences

that people are more connected than we'd like to think we are

that the world is a freaking amazing place

that we have a choice on how we react to a situation

that our problem today may not be as bad as we think it is

because it's destined to change

And most importantly for this self-proclaimed people-disliker

I discovered that I like people

Real people

Not those that hide behind anger or fear or self pity

I. Like. Real. People.

My train buddy says I'm a People Collector

I've given that alot of thought

and I think I agree

I'm sure I'll have more to share

but for now, I feel like this

and I have to go start planning the motorcycle trip 

that we're supposed to be leaving for next weekend

~ ~

Buen Camino