First Steps

Gill and I are preparing for our hike. Both of us are in different places and perhaps it is quite fitting that this journey will take place for both of us right after a major life change. We will both pack up our things, leave where we are living, and we will be in hiatus until the next stages of our lives begin. Truly we will be on a journey of change. As I began today to break in my brand new hiking shoes I am struck by the participation that my friends will have on this journey even though they will not actually physically be in Spain. From helping me pick out the right backpack to hiking putting the first miles in my shoes my friends here are and will be a part of the journey to come. It is comforting to think how much influence they have on the next part of my journey. I know too that this holds true not just for my walk in Spain, but for the job search and the move to come.  As Gill and I work separately to make it to the same place, both of us have people in our lives that are marking the beginning stages of this journey.  Among the goodbyes and moving on it is often not as easy to see that the friends that are there when you walk the first mile in your shoes stay with you the rest of the way.