Christmas in Silver City

This post is dedicated to all of the "Santa Clauses" around the country who sent us gifts of words and chocolate to Silver City, New Mexico.

Words can't even express how difficult the last week has been for us- over 13 flat tires, broken bike pieces, running out of food and water, being stuck in the mud, riding in the dark, crashing into mud puddles, cycing, yelling, and for the first time in 3 months, not wanting to get back on the saddle. One of the only things motivating us to continue on was wondering what surprises awaited us at the post office. We didn't want to get our hopes up too much though, knowing that there might not be anything.

When Patrick drove us to the post office yesterday, I could hardly contain my anticipation. Of course, we had to jump through hoops, red tape, and ridiculous postal regulations- the postal clerk at first refused to hand over our parcels due to some strange rule...little did he know the determination we had to get our hands on those letters! Finally, we carried our precious treasures back to the house to open....

One at a time, we opened our presents like kids on Christmas morning. We were so surprised at how many great letters of encouragement we received from all of you!! Some made us laugh, a couple made me cry, and all of them I tucked into our journals to peek at when the journey gets tough again. Oh yeah, and the chocolate is already long eaten!

Many thanks to all of you! We'll carry your words with us as we reach the end. And Chuck & George- you are quite right- the biggest challenge is yet to come. We'll spend the next few days trying to picture adjusting back to "normalcy," while trying to hold on to those pieces of serenity, simplicity, and kindness we've picked up along the way. So much to contemplate on that train ride home...

Merry Christmas xoxo