I was lucky may times over on Thursday April 13th. Ron came with me to the Columbia River Reads evening with Cheryl Stayed at the PAC! We got the last available parking space in the PAC lot! I found a penny! And best: as we made our way to the overflow section - as I was not able to get auditorium tickets - NCRL staff member Kim N spotted me and gifted us with two auditorium tickets of seats in the second row center, right in front of the podium!!! Wow, it was great!
Cheryl was warm and friendly and very at ease during her off-the-cuff discussion. She said she decided to do the PCT hike because she remembered her mother saying "I've never been in the driver's seat of my life" and she wanted to fulfill every ambition she had to honor her mother. She was close to quitting the first week, swinging between "I can't bear it" and "I have to bear it". She did not want to give up on herself. She came to realize that the huge heavy pack was a symbol of the burden of life without her mother. She learned self reliance, self endurance and self acceptance. She chose not to wreck her own life; rather to trust in herself that she could go on and be okay. She said none of the bad stuff in her past is gone. "I just learned to carry it better, I learned acceptance; how to carry on even when I thought I couldn't."
She left us with this insight: "Don't expect it (things/life) to always be good. When things are bad, push through it. Expect discomfort; it will only last a while. Every life is an evolving journey and that journey is never ending."
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Thank you Claudia! I was hoping that the event would be attended and appreciated by one of us. I am so glad you went. It sounds like her message was very easy to relate to, no matter what your life circumstances might be.
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