Relearning to Relax

Hard as we have tried to prepare ourselves for the inevitable shock of returning to "normal" life...it hits like a sack of bricks.  Every time.  It has been an  interesting week of feeling like our trip was a dream and never happened.  While visiting with friends and family, telling stories and catching up on the last few months of summer festivities we are left feeling a bit dazed, caught in the surreal sensation that we never actually went anywhere.  Everything here is the same as when we left.  Labrador already feels like a distant memory, getting fuzzier by the day.  Life is so easy!  There are no struggles, no serious decisions, we have sofas to sit on.  Our entire summer was dedicated to moving forward, inch by inch, moment by moment, living completely in the present joy. Predicament. Puzzle. Frustration.  Victory.  All of a sudden there's a lack of things to do.  Making breakfast and getting ready for the day takes a fraction of the time!  We eat lots of food, enjoying every bite but feel a bit sluggish and heavy because it isn't followed by extreme physical exertion.  We've gone biking, but felt very silly the whole time....it was so simple, no packs, no gravel, just a joy ride for no reason except "fresh air" and exercise.  There are more people and houses than we know what to do with and after being surrounded by nothing but space we're feeling a bit closed in.  There was more room to breathe at the cottage this weekend as we launched the rowboat back into Balsam Lake, just like we did 3 months ago.  It felt wonderful to sit in our old friend who waited patiently in the dark garage for us....dreaming up the next adventure.  Our muscles remember how to row, it is effortless travel for both of us.  We stand on the dock, looking the direction we rowed away towards on May 22nd....feeling that the lake, so large before looks tiny, almost insignificant compared to what we have now experienced.  Out in the wilderness, we feel small and humble...moving through the environment.  Back in a world of pavement we feel like giants, all struggles have been conquered.  The biggest challenge now is not being challenged.