Howdy from the Rock!
It's good to be home and I'm working hard to get on this time zone-so far unsuccessfully.  I've woken both mornings way early so have been operating on little sleep.

From the moment I stepped out of the customs hall at 2:00 am into the arms of waiting friends, I have been receiving a wonderful welcome back to the rock!  Thanks so much to Judy, Marie, Matt, Eva, Janine, Bill, Don, and M the Limerick Queen for hanging in so long at the airport.  Your presence there meant so much!  I haven't even begun to unpack those big bags because it's been far more fun to visit friends and colleagues to catch up after being gone two months.

This morning, during a radio interview, the host asked me which I thought would be harder to recover from: the failed climb or the giardia.  I was quick to point out that I don't view the climb as a failure.  From the very beginning, I was very intentional in not tying "success" to the summit.  I designed the climb's logo with the Newfoundland flag on the 007 rather than the top to remind me (and everyone else) that "it wasn't only about the top."  Of course, there is still much disappointment about not getting a chance to try for the summit, but "failed" isn't one of the words I use to describe my Everest experience.

Some of my teammates are climbing towards the summit as I type this.  My thoughts and prayers are with them for a good climb and a safe return.  You can track their progress at www.mountainguides.com  I wish I was climbing with them but console myself knowing that when and if I am ready, I will go back to Everest with more confidence, experience, and knowledge that I gained from being there this spring. 

I have started uploading my pictures to my computer-what amazing memories are contained in each image.  I don't think I ever wrote about the sense that I had, that going through the Khumbu Icefall changes you-or at least it changed me.  It marks the convocation between Everest trekker and Everest climber. 

Today, looking at the pictures Mingma and I took of the icefall, that feeling was confirmed.  The baptism of those terrifying beautiful icy hours changed me from someone who dreamed of climbing Everest to someone who had climbed on Everest; from someone who 22 months ago could hardly speak the dream aloud to someone who shared the climb with thousands of kids and adults around the world.

Giardia and bronchitis cannot steal that change or those moments.  They cannot take away the glory of traversing the Western Cwm.  They cannot thieve away staring up the Lhotse Face to a summit that is so close and so far at the same time. They cannot alter a communion with people around the world who shared my dream and the hardships of living it out.  They merely kept me from climbing as high as I wanted. 

As I transition home and share stories, I am beginning to speak aloud (rather than write) of my Everest experience and already, that process has helped me begin to understand it in new ways.  I know it will be a tapestry that I unwind from the loom of my spirit and soul for the rest of my life.  How I view its weave and pattern looks different today than last week, will look different next year from right now, and I have no idea yet, of what I will weave next.

TA