Gratitude

I need to get away from this computer and let other people have a turn on it, but I keep remembering things that I want to share with all of you.

When I got into the Bear's Den Hostel (at 8:50 pm... WHY can't I stop hiking earlier in the day?  UGH.) on Sunday, the woman who runs it said, "Oh, you're Bree Carlson?  You get more mail than I do!  I've been wondering who you are, because this stack of mail (2 packages and 5 letters) is for you!" And then, on Tuesday when I got to the post office at Harper's Ferry, the clerk said, "Oh, you're Bree Carlson?  People are worried that you're starving!" And then he brought me 6 packages and 5 more letters.  Guys, I had to buy a bag to tote everything you sent me back to the hostel.  (Confidential to the Beanes and Voters: both boxes of cookies were gone within 24 hours.  Confidential to Surjeet: I still have the things you sent me, and think you're a jerk. Confidential to everyone else: THANK YOU!)

A while back I wrote about how I thought that hiking the AT wasn't a solo task, but something that it took a community to support.  I wrote about how blessed I felt to have had so many people wish me well when I left Boston, and how loved and supported and amazed I felt by it all.  I still feel that way, only more so, along with a deep and powerful sense of gratitude.  This trip would be so much harder if it weren't for all of you.  I really can't find the words to explain all you've done for my emotional well being, even if it's just periodically stopping by and reading my blog.  Thank you for making this journey that much more pleasant, and for making me feel that much more connected, heard, and loved, than I have in years. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you.