Between the pressure of opening the library doors to the students on Monday and dealing with funding issues for next year, it has been a helluva week. Not to mention finding myself in urgent need of new, cheap housing! To cap it off, I went on a hike up Table Mountain yesterday.
What better way to put the world, my little slip of a life, into perspective? I am sore and cramped but entirely elated today. It was a 5 hour hike, with many stops along the way, with my new friend Joe. He is a rock climber par excellence, so go figure that the entire last hour descending the mountain along Platteklip Gorge my legs were like jelly. I had absolutely no control over my thighs and every plonk of my feet was an effort of deliberation. Even at the finish I was slow to take each step, legs shaking like jello! My little left leg was vibrating uncontrollably as we left in my car, pressing on the clutch. But my, what a finish it was. Topped off by a sunset and later a salt bath, I'm on No. 9, having just made by biggest climb (by a long stretch) ever!
And so, what is the lesson, Miss Teacher Shannon? That the struggle is worth it? I think so. This week has been a ride of tears, of burying my head in the library bookshelves when no one was around, feeling like an absolute train wreck with no obvious track to pop back onto. And so it goes.
I have to share that I feel certain I will be staying in South Africa beyond my January plane ride home. I don't know what I will be doing, but I feel more than ever, with my legs barely able to lift, that I am in the best place for me right now. I've been more challenged than ever before and I am constantly able to push myself, more and more than I ever anticipated. I suppose for a great planner like myself, the biggest challenge yet will be to deal with the uncertainty spread at my feet.
One day at a time. Inch by inch. Is that not why I have a square inch tattooed on my shoulder? The library opens tomorrow and that is an incredible feat. Please, enjoy the photos of the last several Saturdays spent with dedicated volunteers, who aided my in prepping books for check out. Followed by the ever glorious hiker's photographic trail.
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