Yahoo! I’m back in Calgary. It is hard to believe how difficult it can be to travel when you are wounded. I’m happy to have that behind me.

The good parts of the trip are coming into focus. People are great. They help you when you need it. And my biggest lesson was asking for what I needed. I am so used to getting what I need myself or assuming that others would understand my needs and that asking would be rude that I did without some comforts that might have been readily available but I didn’t ask because I already was feeling the weight of my dependence on my friends. Even here at home I am loath to make too much of a fuss.

This is the ultimate test of relationship. Suddenly the rules and the roles change. In my pained state I couldn’t decide what to do and my friend admitted later that she was hesitating and second guessing herself because she wasn’t clear what I wanted. She knew how to behave when it was her husband but what to do with me was more complicated. We know now that everything worked out well and I am home safe and sound. The lessons are many and varied for everyone involved.

Hopefully I will be in a position this week to type some of the beaches book in for your scrutiny. I am thinking now about including something around the responses to sudden shifts in roles in relationship. What do you think?