Marinate

Sue, Pete, and I reached the Cathedral Santiago De Compostela on the morning of October 9^th. We had stopped about six miles short of Santiago the day before to time our arrival in the square for the morning. This would leave us the remainder of the day to explore the Cathedral. After arriving at Cathedral Square, we obtained our completion certificate from the pilgrim’s office.

Everyone walks the Camino for their own reasons. I have shared one of my intentions in my last reflection, but I have chosen to keep my other intention private. But one thing I did learn on the Camino is that it is OK to just let things happen and savor the journey.

Since this was Sue and Pete’s second time to the cathedral, we split up for the day. I chose to take two tours, one of the Portico of the Glory which can only be seen on the tour and a rooftop tour that allows you to walk on the roof of the cathedral and climb one of its towers. Meanwhile, Sue and Pete would participate in one of the daily pilgrim masses and tour the pilgrim museum before we would reunite for dinner.

I had the luxury of grabbing a quick bite (grilled scallops) to eat just off Cathedral Square prior to the rooftop tour where I took in the scene of pilgrims arriving in the square. In the week prior to our arrival, more than 4,000 pilgrims per day entered the square via the various routes of the Camino. By chance, I met a young pilgrim from Boone, Iowa where the twins had spent their first year of college.

After the tours, we reunited, and Sue offered to take me to look at the crypt of the remains of St. James the Greater underneath the Cathedral’s altar. We chose to spend the rest of the evening relaxing and enjoying a final dinner now that our pilgrimage had concluded. The next morning, we would begin our final 7,000 mile trek home (Santiago to Madrid to Frankfort, to Atlanta, and finally Milwaukee).

I would like to thank Sue and Pete for their friendship and guidance. As I have indicated previously, I find it difficult at times to undertake adventures and feel a degree of anxiety any time I push myself out of my comfort zone. They were gracious, kind, and worked out the logistics of accommodations and routes as we progressed. It made the trip much easier for me and I am grateful for their efforts. I am also grateful for their friendship for even including me in this adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After retuning home, I took the first week to settle back into my routine and prepare for moving Claire into her new condominium and Morgan from an apartment in Germantown to Lannon. I was also determined to make progress on my desire for companionship.

I will not go into too many details, but I will share that I decided to dip my toe into the online dating world. Several of my friends have had success in meeting their spouse or significant other using a dating application. Despite my hesitancy, I signed up for one of these services and filled out my online profile. I perused through the potential matches the program identified for me and reached out to several asking them “What do you like to do on a Saturday or Sunday when you find nothing on your schedule?”

This sparked conversations with a couple of individuals, but one stuck out to me and I took that first step asking if they wanted to meet for coffee. She readily agreed even though it turns out neither of us can stand coffee. Out of respect for her privacy, I will not share any additional details at this time. It is a recent development, but I can tell you it is shocking how much we enjoy each other’s company and our mutual respect for each other’s’ situation.

It has been decades since I have travelled this path, and I readily admit it feels very foreign to me. I feel like a stumbling, bumbling idiot most of the time. But at the same time, it somehow feels right. Having someone to share my day’s challenges and successes with makes me feel . . . joyful.

Over the past few years, I have encouraged everyone to Choose Joy in their everyday lives. It is time I do that for myself. Each morning, I am eager to see what possibilities the day has in store for me, and I look forward to sharing those details with someone.

The 180-mile journey from Porto, Portugal to the Cathedral Santiago De Compostela in Spain taught me not to overthink everything, a principle I have tried to apply to these latest developments in my life.

Sometimes you just need to let life marinate to bring out its best flavors.