Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 38

Today's Daily 5:

1. Sleeping in - not forced, but actually kind of sleeping
2. buying the latest season of Grey's Anatomy on DVD
3. wrapped in a soft, cozy new scarf all day to combat the cold - a scarf I bought on holidays last week in the LA garment district
4. the part of the day when my brain finally kicked in and I was able to figure out what stuff needs to be accomplished in the next week or so
5. applying for a job - how's that for first day back???  at least I dropped a resume off somewhere (wasn't planned, but it happened)
6. attending a very interesting lecture on the intersection of music and Christian theology tonight

Home

I arrived back in Calgary late last night, and I'm currently holed up in the bedroom at my parent's house that I slept in (affectionately known as the "fishing room" based on it's use as the office for dad's fishing business when someone doesn't need the futon).  I'm waiting to see how long I can stay holed up before someone either checks to make sure I'm not ill, or suspects that I'm hiding and comes to find me.

I'll blog about the trip with some pictures and details in the next day or two.

This morning, though, I'm thankful for the time away I had (even if I'm wishing I'd extended it a bit longer...) I'm thankful for hours of conversation and laughter and hugs.  Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to hold onto those pretty tightly in the coming days.

So, in a few minutes I'll crawl out of bed.  I'll move into the day, and organize myself.  I'll miss the world where I could wear skirts without pants or tights underneath.

I'll be back daily with the daily 5, but even as the season of the year officially changes today to fall, I feel that shifting in my life again, too, and an urge to perhaps be quieter for a while, here.  (That said, it seems like every time I give myself the freedom not to write, I suddenly actually feel like I have things to share.  So, who knows!)

I'm grateful for escapes, and praying for a growing reality that will be less and less necessary to escape.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 37

Today's Daily 5:

1. sending an important email
2. clearing airport security smoothly 3 times today (for a total of 5 uneventful passages this trip - very unusual since for a long time I always seemed to get flagged or selected for "random" searches)
3. clearly customs smoothly both times this trip as well
4. hugs from a friend who sees through the tears and the mess and really loves me
5. looking forward to season premieres of favorite shows on tv later this week
6. looking forward to seeing the house church people again
7. free wi-fi in airports
8. rocking chairs in the airport waiting area
9. a row to myself, or an empty seat next to me on all four flights this trip
10. window seats - so good!
11. mint gum (mint should, by the way, only be in gum and toothpaste - with the possible exception of the Moroccan mint tea I was introduced to this trip)
12. memories to hold onto in harder days to come that bring instant smiles
13. watching (and or dozing) through Chariots of Fire on one of my flights today.  "When I run I feel God's pleasure".  Something to ponder again in the coming days
14. laughing and realizing you're in a multi-ethnic city when customer service on your airplane is available in French, English, Swahili, and Hindi
15. viewing the moon from the plane window on my final flight
16. being met at the airport curb by a smiling face
17. the laughter that will ensue every time I hear or think the phrase "palm trees"
18. randomly connecting with a friend from home who also had a long layover in the same airport I did, and spending the afternoon with her
19. bottled water (a godsend after spending all day in dry planes and airports)
20. eating a yummy croissant
21. laughing as I pause to consider that this is the first list I've written in a week without my "peanut gallery" sitting across the room from me, lingering on the laughter as we composed lists and the peanut gallery then added her two cents, and wondering what sorts of comments will come in the future!