I like to flex together with others. If they, too, are willing to flex.
Yesterday and the day before, our little troop of travelers got to exercise group flexibility—with a vengeance.
It all started on Sunday, when, after (and, sadly, during) a fabulous brunch at Heidi's brother Martin's farm, first one, then two, then three of our number were struck down by the Ghastly Intestinal Ugliness. And then Heidi rushed off to deal with a crisis (a very real crisis)—with the key to the community hall in her purse, so we couldn't start cleaning up. Return time: unknown.
So Patty and I decided to go for a hike, to the top of a nearby hill with a reportedly stunning view over the valley we were staying in. On the way up, Patty—who is much more conscientious than I am (and I don't mean that in a bad way; I wish I were more conscientious)—kept wondering if we should turn around because Heidi might already be back at the hall, or almost there, and we should help with the cleaning up. I just kept saying, "I think we should get to the top." Patty flexed, and on we marched.
As we reached the top of our hill and saw the, indeed, stunning landscape spread out below us, Patty murmured, "Oh. I see."
Sometimes, it's good to let one's own wishes take precedence. (I guess that was an example of me not being so flexible. I really wanted to get to the top, to see what was there. I already knew what awaited us at the community hall.)
In the meantime, we got word that Heidi had returned, so we hustled on back and helped with the cleanup. (In the midst of which, Heidi's sister Kaisa fell victim to the GIU—no warning. It's an awful little virus.)
The next morning, two more of our group fell to the virus. Patty and I were the last men standing.
But even though the victims of the day before were getting back on their feet (it's an awful little virus, but it's a quick one, at least), the fact that several of us were so sick meant that all of us had to rethink our plans. When we met with Heidi—who has done so much planning and calling and negotiating for our six-day outing together—she was, like, "Oh, okay. Clearly, we need to cancel tomorrow's travel plans. We'll figure it out."
Unflappable. And . . . beautifully flexible.
Fortunately, it was no problem to shift our travel plans (for nine!) by a day. And so yesterday some of us rested and recovered, while a pod of us went for a hike or two. It actually ended up being a nice respite between the bustle of the wedding party and the week of travel in the Westland.
And in the meantime, everyone seems to be well on their way to recovery.
Here's what we got to sit outside on our fjordside veranda and enjoy this evening, after a wonderful drive over a high mountain pass and through vibrant green valleys.
I rather think that if we hadn't postponed our trip, we wouldn't have been greeted by this amazing spectacle.
Flexibility is a good habit to cultivate. This evening verified that for me.
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