Hallo from our vacation midpoint

Blame the impulsive ADHD, blame modern millennial narcissism, blame whatever; I’ve always been a chronic oversharer. Online, at work, in my personal life. Sometimes it’s a positive force, and my vulnerability helps those around me feel safe. Other times, my compulsive oversharing is too much and I shrivel up in shame.

But!

Technically, this post isn’t about oversharing. It’s about the fact that I’m about halfway through my first proper vacation in 2 years.

When I say ‘proper vacation’, I mean 4 specific criteria are being fulfilled:

1. I’m not working. I’m not checking Slack or work emails. As much as possible, I’m not thinking or talking about work.

2. I’m not at home, near home, or spending time anywhere I’ve called home in the past. I’m somewhere entirely different and possibly new.

3. I’m not responsible for the things I’m normally responsible for, like house maintenance, animal care, or day-to-day life admin.

4. I’m not thinking about how much money I’m spending (within reason).

This post started with a ramble about oversharing because the two main things I feel like I’m taking a break from are both things I don’t feel comfortable discussing online (yet). And I’m finding it hard to avoid writing and sharing my feelings about those things, because one in particular is really fucking difficult, and painful, and likely to get a lot worse as time passes.

Anyway. Now that the complaining about withholding vulnerability is out of the way, I can post this:

• radlers

• mountains

• directness

• getting naked in public

• walking

• cycling

• long days (we’re in the opposite hemisphere)

• learning German on the fly

• cute dogs

• accidentally walking over the border to Austria

• the obnoxiously huge bathtub in our Airbnb

• mild weather

• buying treats

• trying local snacks

• the driving/car culture

• most things just being practical and making sense and being well-organized

• the trees

• occasionally forgetting I’m not in Canada

• uninterrupted time with Jesse

We carefully engineered this vacation to avoid being gone for too long, and to get as much time on our own as possible – knowing that the things happening back home were likely to make it difficult for us to be away for an extended period and to be good company for others.

Thankfully, it’s been a delight so far. Leaning on a meditation practice is keeping me present. Leaning on our dedicated physical conditioning is making activity easier. Leaning into my natural sense of wonder and awe is making the landscape bigger, brighter, more beautiful. Shooting mostly 35mm (with some video on my phone) is slowing me down.

I might post about the trip after it’s done, with more photos, but I also might not.

Guten tag, from beautiful southern Germany.