I woke up at around 5 am yesterday morning.  To go on a hike. On purpose.

This time last year, I was going to bed around 5 am regularly – whether it was due to insomnia or partying; nevertheless, I was lucky to get 4-5 hours of sleep a night.

I went to bed at 10 pm Monday night so I could get at least my new minimum required amount of sleep. And then went hiking for 3 hours. My how times change.

From mid-April to the end of September last year, I was gone from Thursday through Sunday. My suitcase was always packed and racked up an impressive amount of airline miles. Last year, I went to Vegas ten times, this year on my travel list is a camping trip, Joshua Tree, the Grand Canyon, a family trip to China (I hope), and maybe a trek to somewhere tropical (Hawaii? Cabo? Jamaica? All of the above?) and a few trips to Vegas, of course. Never, ever, ever would I think that CAMPING would be anywhere on my wishlist.

This is the girl that rented a spacious cabin while the rest of the church group camped. Outside. Sleeping on the ground. Taking cold showers. And I didn’t feel one bit of sadness to have to drive back to my warm cabin, with hot showers, a kitchen, and beds. This is the girl that does not commune with nature. In fact, nature hates me. And I want to go camping.

And most weekends now, I am happily at home, cooking (to the best of my ability) and reading or watching TV. What has become of me?!

Anyway, this morning, I went on a 6.5-mile hike, sharing the trails with cows, stepping over cow poop, and communing with nature. It was amazing. I even saw a cow attack this one guy. Twice. But mostly, I just enjoyed the fresh air and the exercise. But before you all get too nervous, I went home and immediately went shopping and got a massage. Some things will never change.

I’m pretty sure this does not make an exciting blog post or adventure, and I’m almost positive that my other Mommy friends can no longer say that they are vicariously living through me, but that’s okay. I feel like in this stage of my journey, I am just focused on growing and not running away for now.

Although, I do feel the itch to do something fun this weekend. Anyone up for it? 🙂