Little Things

Being sick is never easy, especially in the mountains, but several little things happened yesterday to change my attitude and outlook and made me feel like a new person.

I started the day talking to my best friend and confidant, Judy. I was still feeling sick and I laid bare all my raw emotions.  Like the smart person Judy is, she just quietly listened, with a little consoling here and there.

Secondly, I had some remodeling done to my living quarters. A moving glacier tends to do crazy things to a tent platform. A sink hole inside my tent was causing havoc with my bed and any gear that happened to get too close.  I invited the Sherpa tent-fixing crew over and they did a great job leveling it out. My tent is now the pride of the neighborhood, and I am much more comfortable inside.

Thirdly, I said goodbye to four people who have become good friends over the past six weeks.  A Brazilian woman, a Swiss man, a Romanian, and an Englishman all decided to call it quits for various health-related issues, mostly due to high altitude. They all brought a certain color and fascination to the trip, and I was sorry to see them go.

Finally, I ended the day talking to an old friend at work who always makes me laugh!  I caught him early in his day and when he saw the 15-digit phone number coming in from overseas he wasn’t sure whether to pick up, but he did. I’d told him before I left not to be surprised to get a call somewhere near the top of the world.

Somehow, the combination of all these little things combined to change my energy. Maybe, and coincidentally, I’m starting to get over the bronchitis, or maybe I’m finally starting to get my energy back from the strenuous second rotation to Camp 3. Or, maybe it was just one of those little things that happened to me today that has me back on track.