Shanty in the Desert

Day 130 –I woke up this morning very early and there was a sound I could not recognize at first. After a few seconds I realized it was rain and the faint smell of wet soil came in as well. This is unbelievable! A rain in the desert in late May!!  It rained until I fell asleep again. When I woke up again two hours later, it was dry again. I stayed in the “living room” area of the tent, where we ate the night before, drank some tea gain, talked for a while with the father of my daughter’s friend and just enjoyed a relaxed morning. After the kids woke up and we finished breakfast, they had to leave and we (me and the two girls) decided to go on a hike. We went into the desert, walked the dry bed of a creek, climbed some serious hills, and rocks, found some fossils and two hours later very sweaty and happy we got back in the car and drove to my parents’ home. I wrote about the memoir book I am trying to finish for my dad, so I prepared a few questions ahead of time and I set with him and asked all those questions, got some interesting answers and never before heard stories and recorded it all so I can transcribe it later at home. I think this idea might actually work. I get new stories, and I get more details so I can make old stories more alive. We have 35 pages right now, I want to get to around 100 and then call it a done project. We stayed at my parents’ home for a few hours and then we started the long drive back home, dropping off the friend at her grandparents’ house.

We came back so dirty from our little adventure in the desert, and very tired. It was good to take a long shower and be clean again. So, even with simple way of life I will opt for a shower, always. But so many other things in our daily life are so good to part with, at least every once in a while. It was such a wonderful and relaxing weekend, meditative in a way, since it is all just about now, about being in the present, with very few distractions. I enjoyed this weekend very much and I have to do it more often. I know that not far from there someone opened a retreat center, where you can stay for a few days or even longer. I have to check about that and come for a long weekend. It can be a very special weekend; a desert spiritual experience.

I am thankful for a wonderful weekend. I am thankful for a very relaxing time ahead of this coming week that will be extremely busy with work. I am thankful that I also got to see my parents and pick up few more stories. I am thankful that I got to enjoy one more weekend with my daughter, something I don’t take for granted and cherish every moment of it.