Month: March 2015

Day 47: A friend in deed – Dublin

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Freed from the small plane, I walked determinedly through the corridors of Dublin Airport. Over the heads of milling passengers, just past security, I saw her grin beaming from yards away. Geraldine had come from three hours away to meet me.

I moved toward my friend like a drowning person to a life raft. Never have I felt so relieved to see a familiar face. We met without saying anything, just hugging each other long and hard. I don’t know who started crying first, but her warm and tender, “Ah, Jen” burst the dam.

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Update 3: Taking myself less seriously

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Soul-searching is a good and valid endeavor, but so is lightening up. In honor of my birthday month, I’m giving myself new challenge—a mini-Camino—to practice taking myself less seriously.

Day 1-8: Click here to read

Day 9-16: Click to read here

With a two-day migraine and two dads in the hospital, it was doubly difficult to focus on the goal of lightness. Week Three gets an A for effort.

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Prayers for the friends and family of Germanwings passengers

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Having walked the Camino binds me to France, Spain, and Germany in a deep way. I have walked on the soil of two of these countries. I have friends who live in these places. The news of this tragic crash is hitting me hard today.

At this writing, Germanwings officials aren’t announcing the fate of their passengers until all family members are reached. The photos of the response site are chilling, though. Scores of ambulances and helicopters sit idle with their teams standing around outside. That’s never a good sign. It looks as if there’s no one to rescue.

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Day 47: Conversations with James – Santiago to Dublin (almost)

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When I’m on the ground in a foreign country, I’m fine, but I get pretty stressed out when it comes to the actual travel. At dinner on my final night in Santiago, I shared my nervousness with Don.

“I’m not sure I can find the bus stop that goes to the airport.” I felt silly. I’d walked across Spain by now, but itineraries with hard-and-fast schedules give me hives.

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Update 2: Taking myself less seriously

Published on by jenniferhofmann4 Comments

Soul-searching is a good and valid endeavor, but so is lightening up. This month, in honor of my birthday, I’m giving myself new challenge—a mini-Camino—to practice taking myself less seriously.

Day 1-8: Click here to read

Day 9: Sing into a hairbrush

I think the photo speaks for itself.

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Day 46: The beginning of the end – Finisterre to Santiago

Published on by jenniferhofmann9 Comments

No one tells you how hard it is to stop being a pilgrim.

From the beginning, everyone assumes the most difficult part is walking day after day or trying to sleep with snoring people. Or blisters.

No, the hardest part is having your soul cracked wide open (no matter how desperately you try to hide it), to discover who you really are, and understand your place in the Divine order of things… and have absolutely no idea how to live it.

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Update 1: Taking myself less seriously

Published on by jenniferhofmann3 Comments

Soul-searching is a good and valid endeavor, but so is lightening up. This month, in honor of my birthday, I’m giving myself new challenge—a mini-Camino—to practice taking myself less seriously.

Day 1: Say “Well, everyone needs a hobby—including my brain.”

Referring to my obsessive inner dialog as a “hobby” tickled my funny bone. I was in the middle of mildly complaining about a habit of my partner’s. When I noticed it, I said aloud, “Oh, yeah! This is my brain’s hobby—getting annoyed at stupid stuff! Forget what I said. You’re all good.” And I honestly felt better and amused!

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Lightening up

Published on by jenniferhofmann4 Comments

If you want to avoid fretting about turning a certain age, plan a two-month international walking trip as a distraction. Works like a charm.

That’s what I did two years ago and barely thought about turning forty!

But how do you top that? My birthday’s in two days and it’s got me thinking about what I can do to continue the Camino in my heart. It’s been brought to my attention that I’ve been leaning a bit toooo far toward the serious, introspective side lately.

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