Home and Settled In

Well, if you haven't heard from us now, be not afraid. Just over a month ago we finally made it to our ultimate end destination. We are home. Happy, healthy, and back in our favorite town in the world. One that isn't covered in scat of some kind.

The homecoming was bittersweet. We were on different flights all the way home and after seeing each other for 24/7 for a month and a half straight I cried when I had to say goodbye at the airport. I left Spain knowing that I probably won't return for much longer than my every-three-years schedule I've had for over a decade now. The plane took off and the stewards began speaking to me in my native language and offered me soda with lots and lots of ice in it. Makes me feel like home.

I landed in MO at around 9pm-18 hours after taking off in Spain (blame that on the 7 hour layover in NY). My sister greeted me and we managed to find a food stand open so I could eat for the 6th time that day. Dan arrived 2 hours later at 11:00 (6am Spain time-officially 25 hours after we had woken up that morning) and we went home to greet our pets and sleep in our own bed. His parents had come by and hung up a welcome home sign to greet us, and when we walked in the house was so nice and clean-WAY cleaner than it typically is when we're home. Bear...my furry soulmate... did not run up to greet me like I had imagined for two long months. Instead, he went first to Dan, his tail wagging so much he was walking sideways, and then he noticed I was home also. I'm not holding a grudge though, when he finally noticed me he was one happy dog... it's not his fault that Dan is so much taller than me that you can't help but notice him first.

We fell back into a routine fairly quickly. I was still processing what the whole camino meant to me and wondering how it was going to translate into our day to day lives, but school was starting soon and we needed to do household things like laundry and grocery shopping. School started-each of us have new preps this year- and we've been busy almost every day either working or catching up with friends or spending some time together because we miss the constant companionship we had while traveling. I can see already that the trip had some long term effects on us.

I feel more comfortable with the role my faith has in my life. I always felt before like I was "posing" or hiding behind what religious category I tried to fit myself into. I never limited myself to a single set of beliefs or a strict set of beliefs and non-beliefs, so I felt like I never really fit in anywhere because nobody subscribed to my particular array of beliefs. But I've seen a lot of different people practicing a lot of different faiths. I do not feel excluded from any particular group because of the differences we have, but I can see things from the opposite side of the coin now... I can feel included because of what we have in common. The camino made it possible for me to globalize or expand my religious identity. I've always been accepting of other religions, but now I feel like I can empathize more, understand more, and most importantly, judge less.

I asked Dan one of the last days we were in Spain if he felt like the trip had brought us closer as a couple and he said "No.". =O No? No?! I was aghast that he wasn't feeling the same feelings that I was and scared that after all we had been through together that he didn't feel the same sense of mutual trust in us as a unit- Team Dan and Julie!- that I did. After all, we battled against so much. It was man-vs.-nature, man-vs.-man, man-vs.-himself, all of those literary themes that he talks about all the time. Except it wasn't just man-vs., it was us versus everything. We worked so well as a team, as cheesy as that word sounds. If one of us couldn't stand to move anymore the other would dig through to make it possible to have our daily needs met.

I trusted him to keep me safe and keep me going. And I learned that I do the same for him. It was so affirming to me that I married an incredible man, and more importantly, that we both chose a life partner who is so supportive and fits so well to our own personalities. We did not fight. We did not run out of things to talk about. We had a great time even in adverse conditions. We made it without killing each other (and one of us-the non-annoying one-was worried about that).

It definitely helped further our relationship and forge an even more solid bond between us. It was amazing.