2 Days

I’m arriving at Amicolola on Tuesday. It’s getting close. And terrifying.

Posts will probably be shorter now as I’ll be posting on my phone. They’ll also probably be more broken thoughts than anything.

Will and I drove up Florida today from my parent’s place in Miami Beach. We enjoyed an amazing cruise with the family this past week and stayed the night with my parents. Enjoying the time with them and a place to sleep. This morning, we had a great homemade breakfast and left for Ocala National Forest.

We made it. We have our site set up. Now we’re hanging out until bed time.

Of all the preparation I could muster, I hadn’t prepared for the farewell from Lilly for 4-6 months. We knew this time was coming. I don’t think either of us could have prepared for the goodbye adequately. The past 48 hours have been tough and the trail hasn’t started.

I reflected a bit last night about something I posted when asked how Lilly feels about my leaving.

We’ve been together for 8 years and did distance during college since I graduated two years before her. While it’s been some time since college, distance is not something we’re worried about.

 

She knows how important this is to me. I’ve also told her if there is any doubt on me doing it, that our relationship is more important and if the timing isn’t right, then I can hold off.

 

We’ve been extremely open about our aspirations in life and if either of us sees an opportunity to fulfill a goal, we communicate and plan a way to make it work.

 

That being said, my departure date is literally a month away… and it’s becoming very very real. So it is scary. But having that support on the back end is helpful and reassuring.

 

I’m trying to come up with ways to keep her active in the hike. Not just sending pictures but also sending post cards or trinkets. We’re big into breweries so a mug or two while on the trail.

That’s more or less testing the media function but it is, I feel, a good picture of us.