Birth of a Journey

After calling home to let them know she had made it, Jaimee slept for three days. She was so tired, in fact, she barely noticed her hostel or other surroundings on the way there. The trip had been absolutely exhausting. She had seen beautiful clouds through the plane window and the mountains of Nepal reminded her of a much grander scheme of her own home of the hills of West Virginia. Her body was finally rested and she was ready to explore. She gathered her backpack and went out into the lovely country of Nepal. The street vendors were plentiful and she loved the vast array of goods she was able to find. From fruits and vegetables, to beautifully woven tapestries. The vivid colors on the streets struck her fancy and she found herself visiting every stall. The people were friendly and most of them spoke English. To her surprise, the people of Nepal learned English in school and had been for the last 50 years.

First she had to grab some food. She tried some Dal Bhat Tarkari (rice lentils) and Alu Tama (soup of potatoes and fermented bamboo shoots, the former being delicious while the latter took some getting used to. However, both were filling and she wasn’t trying to eat anything that left her tummy feeling overburdened before the climb she had before her. She looked around a bit more and decided on the last street nearest her hostel.

After checking out more of the local street fares she found several trinkets for herself and some souvenirs for her five babies at home, including Sean. She decided to go back to her quarters and prepare herself for tomorrow… the Big Day.

In some ways she wished she had chosen a more private setting before her hike. She had not felt any privacy, really since she had been alone with Sean in the car. Between the plane, the streets and the dormitory like setting of the hostel, she was getting used to remembering what college felt like. Honestly the dilapidated feel of the hostel she had chosen even reminded her of the days she used to get high. For a moment she looked up at another set of bunks and thought it looked as if the frail man sitting there were about to pick up a piece of foil and smoke through a straw, or maybe a chore filled pipe. She found herself feeling cravings she hadn’t felt in many years. Funny they would come to her now, the day before she would be at the base of Mount Everest. Her biggest obstacle to date.

She stopped what she was doing, closed her eyes and said a prayer. “Dear Heavenly Father, take away these cravings for evil I am starting to have. Though the heart and mind yearn for a more spiritual plane, sometimes the body is weak and the mind plays tricks. Keep my faith strong and my willingness to do what You would want for me always in my soul. Help me always try to follow Your guidance and keep my heart pure. Watch over my family in the days, weeks and months to come and keep them safe while I am away and if it is Your way, please guide me on my journey to the peak of Mount Everest, where I can find stillness and peace through You. Thank you for everything I have experienced, Lord. Through the bad, I have gained knowledge and acceptance. Through the good times I have known pure joy. I thank You for allowing me to gain understanding through it all. In Jesus’ name! Amen!”

Though praying had not always been a part of her life, she found a calm in getting closer to Jesus. She wasn't even sure she was doing it right, but it was the way she had come to know her prayers and until she learned better, this is what she was left with. She didn’t feel others had to believe as she believed, but it was her form of meditation and helped her stay away from drugs. The serenity she felt allowed her to focus on the tasks at hand and forget her cravings immediately.

She wasn’t sure what to expect tomorrow. She had browsed some internet sites, overlooked some travel brochures and even seen some beautiful photo books of the country and the mountain range. Nothing had prepared her for what she had already seen of Nepal, so she was sure she was not prepared for the base camp or the hike that followed.

She would start with a guided tour that trekked 12 days from the base of the mountain to get her familiar with the slope and acclimated to the weather. Then she would be on her own to get as far as she could up the mountain. Though some took the trip in as little as 6 weeks, she wanted to give herself the extra time to make sure she was able to achieve her goal of reaching the peak. She was almost out of breath and her heart was beating in her throat thinking about what was ahead of her.

As she reached the base camp the cold was becoming amazingly unbearable already. She would stay there for the night to get used to it. She imagined it was what it might be like being born.

Leaving a warm, soft and safe interior to come, all of a sudden, to a bright and unknown area where it’s freezing and hard to breathe. Going from hearing mother’s heartbeat to a cold, stale exterior, where people are yelling and swinging one’s tiny, frail body around like a rag doll, briskly wiping you off making you feel sensations you’ve never felt. Being born had to be traumatic!

Could she possibly make this dream come true? She was already reconsidering and she hadn’t even started. She looked around and started to panic. She was unbelievably cold!

One of the tour guides looked over and must have known what she was thinking. “You’ll get used to it, believe it or not! Let’s see what you have in your pack and see what we need to add to make sure you are safe. How bout it?”

His beard and mustache were long and bushy, adding more protection from the cold. She would have paid him no attention, but his icy, blue eyes spoke to her and seemed to warm her insides. She couldn't draw her eyes away from his stare. What magnetic charm those eyes held. Deep pools of wonder had her mesmerized until she almost walked straight into him. Almost...

She walked up and dropped her pack at his feet. Wanting to act nonchalant, she casually asked, "what do you think of this?"

After she unzipped the different areas, he gazed down and said, “You’ve done your research. Very nice. Let me just add a few things I’ve learned can be helpful in a pinch. He turned around and she noticed his nice, firm bottom. Damn he wasn't her type at all, and yet here she was, warming up just at the sight of this man.

When he turned back around and smiled, she was sure he had noticed her staring. She started to blush and turned away but he kept to task as if he hadn't noticed anything. He added an 18 foot pole that folded like a tent pole and a red flag. He also added some freeze dried food and extra water. Otherwise he thought she was adequately prepared.

“There are already a few people in the tent. If you’d like to join us for the evening, we are telling campfire stories without the campfire. Still, it might warm you up a bit inside,being around other people. Unless you’d like to find another guide.”

“I guess you’ll do just fine.” She laughed, still feeling a bit embarrassed and carried her pack inside, ready to introduce herself to the group.

The tent was spacious, but with 6 people already circling, it seemed a tad bit snug. “Oh another one!” Shouted a lady from the far corner, “let’s make room! Squeeze in, squeeze in. We’ve been telling some of our other adventures before this one. Do you have any you’d like to share?” Oh and for each adventure you share you have to take a shot of some of the smoothest vodka I've ever tasted!" The lady poured a tumbler full of vodka and passed it around until Jaimee was holding the cup.

The tipsy lady started talking again. "Anyways, as I was saying, for each story you add, you must take a shot, measure your own, we all have been" the group laughed in unison. "So do ya, do ya have any stories to tell us?"

Jaimee laughed and tried to fit in where they had made room. Boy did she ever have some stories to share...