day 6: mcdonald campground (bc, canada) to anacortes (washington, usa)

this. this is what our day was like:

"The theology of progress forces us to act before we are ready. We speak before we know what to say. We respond before we feel the truth of what we know. In the process, we inadvertently create suffering, heaping imprecision upon inaccuracy, until we are all buried under a mountain of misperception. But Sabbath says, Be still. Stop. There is no rush to get to the end, because we are never finished. Take time to rest, and eat, and drink, and be refreshed. And in the gentle rhythm of that refreshment, listen to the sound the heart makes as it speaks the quiet truth of what is needed."

-Wayne Muller

we biked only three miles to sidney, to catch a ferry to friday harbor on san juan island where we biked around the block and decided on a place to eat (again). we rode another 1/2 mile or so and then just sat overlooking the ocean. we were POOPED and decided that it would be a rest day. easy. slow. and restorative. and it was. our bodies and minds were so sluggish, i'm not sure we could've operated any other way. 

getting to san juan island also marks our crossing over to the usa. i was sure it would be climactic when our phone service would change from canada's TELUS to at&t, but it wasn't. at all. actually, i was kind of bummed to leave canada. we were just starting to get acquainted and i was beginning to love the countryside roads and the 360 degree mountain views. it was incredibly peaceful, lush, and lovely, and even though we're still physically quite close to canada, the spirit of the US feels different. and honestly, i think at this point, i prefer canada. it's weird to say that. cedar, on vancouver island, left a particularly strong impression. 

speaking of impressions, on our ferry ride, we saw a lot of cyclists, but met one family who really struck 

me. veronica, charlie, and mylah (7.5 months). they were going on a practice bike camp weekend on san juan island to prepare for their summer 2.5 month ride from vancouver up to whitehorse, alaska. i wish i had taken a picture of them on the ferry, veronica breastfeeding in her bike gear, their stroller/trailer to her left and the beautiful sea behind her.

what stood out to me about them is that i resonated with their belief system: barriers are mental, the simple life is a good one... i just felt a good connection to their sensibility and my heart felt glad to have connected with people of like mind/spirit. 

i've been realizing that we are going to meet some extraordinary people on this journey, and by doing so, our vision & our dreams will expand. i know this because they already have. when people go before us and show us what's possible, we're empowered to think differently, to dream up new possibility. i can dream a little more differently about what i want to do when i'm one day pregnant or have small children. by meeting steph and kevin and now veronica and charlie, i've gotten a glimpse of a way of parenting that doesn't fit the model i had witnessed prior. i'm very grateful that samuel and i got to see it together. 

anyway, after cycling our total 11 miles for the day, we arrived at the gregg household where we were treated to exceptional bowling alley food (no really, it was super tasty), a warm shower, huge cotton towels, washing machine, very friendly dogs, a tour of anacortes, a super soft bed & sheets and just a sense of curiosity and welcome. it was wonderful to be in a home again.

today, i'm grateful for veronica and charlie and the greggs and for rest.

month 1: adjustments, firsts, and singing

my love, 

it's hard to believe that it's already been a month since you and i got married. time has felt elusive since we said our vows and celebrated with our beloved community. we've experienced so much in the last month. you've whet my appetite for our future, for how we'll create our marriage. (yes, i posted this picture even though you think you look a little funny in it. what? i like how it --fine, how i-- came out...)

after that amazing dinner with family, i was eager to head to calistoga to start our honeymoon. i couldn't wait to be with you! we needed time away after such an intense six weeks of wedding planning. can you imagine if we had a longer engagement? lol. i'm not sure we could've handled that. 

i have to say, it felt so natural to get used to sharing a bed with you (a first!), and waking up next to your sweetness. you're really cute when you sleep. i was nervous about starting our marriage because it would be (and is!) such a huge adjustment from single life. i was surprised by how easy it was to be more and more myself with you. and after we got to tahoe, i started feeling so much adoration for you those first few days. i think my heart grew a little bigger. plus, i had so much fun with you roaming around tahoe, tandem biking, hiking, cooking, eating, watching movies, hot tubbing, and other wonderful things married people do together (many firsts!). ;-) 

i think you started singing again more during this portion of our tahoe trip too. i think singing means you're happy and at peace. you'd spontaneously break out in song about something random happening in the moment. "oh look, lizzy is eating again. eating eating eating. lizzy lizzy lizzy." (i know that wasn't even close.) and even though i don't give you much attention when you sing those made-up tunes, know that i think it's adorable and i love you more for them. it's just happening quietly in my heart. 

then we headed south to yosemite with jb & nino for honeymoon part i.5. it was a gift to be able to spend time with your our cousins, even eating crappy lodge food. golly, the food was so bad i remember feeling embarrassed that our french cousins had to eat it. but...redemption wasn't far off. a really good pizza joint, oysters from tomales bay oyster company, and a korean feast can easily cure things. haha.

i remember the day we picked them up in reno, they fell asleep in the back while you drove down the 580s. i took this picture at about the exact time our ceremony started one week prior. i thought, "you are my man." actually, i probably said it out loud given how extroverted i am with you. ;) hehe. i love looking at this photo of you. it makes me feel incredibly peaceful knowing that we committed to living out the rest of our lives together. that you are mine and i am yours. i think it was one of the first moments when i could finally sink into that new reality. 

jb & nino. ahh.... they are such sweet people. i'm lucky that i inherit them into my life by way of you. although my communication with them isn't as fluid as i would hope, what farts can do for relationships is astounding. it was so much fun to share that lodge room and drive all over california with them. and you know what i'd say my favorite part of yosemite was...yup, you guessed it: the black bear sighting!!! it was SO AWESOME when you told us all to stop and look to our right. and just like that... the bear walked right in front of us. my eyes almost fell out of their sockets because i was so elated. it was all of our first time seeing a bear! 

after our cousins left, we stopped by mountain view for a few days to scrub down your apt before handing in your keys. you spent the first day or two by yourself in your old space to clear out your belongings in order to move into my our place. i wondered what went through your head during that time alone, sifting through everything you own. you'd come home to me at night, tired. not because it was necessarily physically taxing, but because it seemed you went through an emotional marathon of closing that chapter of your life. i remember feeling glad to see you at the end of the day. i missed you, even though we were only apart for a matter of hours. as independent as i can be, i've been so surprised that i want to spend all my time with you! (although, writing this alone is pretty nice. haha)

then it was time for honeymoon part ii. friends joining us at our amazing tahoe cabin (thanks to the durdens!). it was so much fun to be in community and practice hospitality with you. we i spent too much on groceries to make sure we had "enough" food. we took them on bike rides. cooked together. shared meals around that giant table. it was such a gift to be with them, and with you. matt makes awesome pancakes and candice is crazy. joy & billy can cook some damn good chicken and mary makes mean meals. and poor tiff, she was so sick! :( and i will never forget the last night that it started snowing. it felt like magic. the snow was so dry and crunchy, we jumped straight into the hot tub! hard apple cider + snowfall was amazing. and waking up the next morning blew me away. we went from warm sunny days to a winter wonderland overnight. i had never seen the torch being passed from one season to the next so clearly, and there it was. all i wanted to do was play, and you were concerned for our safety back home. we had a bit of a conflict later about that and other things, but as usual....we resolved it quickly. (of course after some huffing and puffing and silent awkwardness on the road. i think i'm getting better at conflict resolution. don't you think?)  :)

sometimes in the morning, if i wake up before you, i like to watch you sleep (and take photos). there you are my love! my peaceful bunny.

being married to you is not just about the fun adventures we've been on....but it's the simple daily things. it's all the stuff that happens between these photos. it's the moments we're present to each other. (sometimes cooking, but definitely) eating together, asking about your day even if we spent the whole of it together, being in the same room doing separate things, all the ways you mock me and i can't help but howl, the small looks and expressions, the result of curiosity or lack thereof, the check-ins we have about how sex was, hearing your footsteps and knowing you've come home to me, it's the learnings. lots of learnings.... constant learning. i promised you i would be your best student in my vows, and i hope you feel like you are more known each day. because i certainly feel more known (and therefore loved) by you.

thanks for being you, samuel. for being my beloved. for loving me through and through. you are so good to me, especially when i don't deserve it. i've felt so served each time you: offer me food when i've already had my meal because you know i'd like a taste, tell me you love everything about me when i complain about my growing belly (no i'm not pregnant), open the car door and ask, "ready?" before you close it, ride my emotional waves and stand as a steady rock, & hold me for no reason but as an outpouring of love.

i am in love with you! and i look forward to what's to come. i can't imagine who else i'd rather be on this journey with but you. 

love always, 
your bird-dragon

ps. i know you love this song so here's one more for today.