This image may not look like much but to me it is a reminder of a morning when something changed. I was lying awake, looking at the hotel ceiling when it hit me that it was my last day in Alaska and I needed to get out there to soak it in! I quickly and quietly put on my sweatshirt and shoes, grabbed the hotel key and let my husband know I was going for a walk.

We had been at a remote resort, a 30 minute boat ride across the bay from Homer, Alaska for the previous six days. While there we had woken up with the mountains in the background of the little cove outside our window. Nearly every morning, we had seen a family of otters playing in the cove too. As I lie there in the stuffy hotel room, I was overcome with the need to get back out to nature!

I didn’t set out on my walk to go anywhere in particular, I really just wanted to be outside. I wanted to take in these last moments in the area so I could remember all of the adventures we’d had while in the area. As I ventured closer to the beach, the sun fought to shine through the cloudy morning. I watched birds flying around the marsh-land I trekked through to get to the beach and seagulls swarming the beach. It was just breathtaking! I saw mountains along the coast on nearly all sides of me and I just couldn’t help but be grateful for, well, just everything!

This particular morning, I was alone and had the time to run through how I’d even gotten to this moment. I was standing there in Alaska of all places and only a year before I was barely standing at all because I was suffering severe back pain. It had taken from July 31, 2019 until October 16, 2019 to determine the cause of the pain and then see a surgeon who scheduled the surgery two weeks later. The recovery kept me from bending, twisting or lifting which didn’t allow me much activity other than taking daily short walks.

When something like this happens and you have to rely on someone to help you shower, shave and get dressed, it can really weigh on your mind about whether you’ll ever be able to do things you used to in the same way. As I walked on the beach that morning, I was grateful I had healed and was able to travel to Alaska, ride in a helicopter, hike up a mountain, walk on a glacier and a volcano and do it pain free. *I did also kayak but that was NOT pain-free!

That morning I was filled with a confidence and peace I’d never known. I was able to affirm how strong I am and made myself the promise that I will always be grateful, no matter how difficult a place I find myself.