Tonight I’m really thankful you aren’t listening to me suck wind as I write this! Due to a slight delay our flight into Chicago was as bit late and we didn’t have much time to cover most of the airport to get to our next flight. The last of our group made it on with less than a couple of minutes to spare – thank goodness!

Even though my heart rate is elevated, I’m breathing hard, and, I’m seating heavily, much to the misfortune of those seated near me. Regardless, it’s another airport adventure to add to the memory banks. Just as we regularly bring up the time we missed our flight well now have the story of making it as well. Gotta love bear miss and barely win stories!

The past fifteen minutes were quite the contrast to how the day started. Becky and I woke up early and did yoga on the palapa over the ocean as the sun rose. Talk about breathtaking beauty! While Becky stayed very focused on her practice I stopped on several occasions and watched the sun, the ripples in the reflection of the clouds, the changing colors in the sky, the birds flying by, and even some fish jumping. Spending time doing yoga in that moment and being 100% present was incredibly refreshing.

Norm told me about a book I’d most likely be interested in and as luck would have it he had a copy there to read. The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston is a great read focused on the search for an ancient legend in Honduras. I was quickly hooked. There are stories of the jungle and the hazards they faced including snakes, insects, jaguars, and prehistoric diseases. Part of it was an interesting archeology lesson as they shared different theories on the hows and whys of the civilizations as well as the technology used to find the ancient city. Throw in some wildly interesting stories of politics, the history of the banana trade, drug runners, and ethics. But that’s not all, the end was focused on pandemics – the causes and impacts of.

As I read and soaked it in I was reminded of many of may favorite college classes. A wide variety of topics stretching my thoughts and beliefs while helping me look at the world through a slightly shifted viewpoint. There are many stories from this book that I’ll hold onto for quite some time.

Whew… time to get back to breathing and getting my heart rate back down. 😉

Thanks!!!