Em Portugal

June 1, 2011

Em Portugal…

We crossed the ocean and then crossed the country and now we rest. After two long days of travel, we arrived to the south of Portugal. This is the land of hedonistic tourists – mostly British who look like sunburned piggies with their bright pink skin sprawled upon colored towels all over the beach. The south of Portugal attracts mass tourism, which is never our preference, but really we aren’t complaining. We are here for a conference. This is work.

We met Duarte’s overjoyed parents at the airport in Porto upon our arrival and dropped Marcos and Jenna with them. With hardly an utterance of “goodbye” the Morais family giddily drove North with our children for a few days of most certainly complete and total indulgence.

Duarte and I drove 6 hours south having not slept since 2 nights before. We somehow managed to find our destination and instantly felt revived upon seeing the expanse of the emerald blue ocean just steps from our hotel. Duarte swam and I showered and we enjoyed a quiet dinner in an open café.

Sleep came quickly and deeply and it lasted a very long time.

And now…more rested, we sit near the beach and breathe and ponder our personal and lifestyle changes that have occurred in the past year. When we traveled to Portugal from PA, we were always starving for sun and play and time together as a family. We would dive in head-first and absorb every aspect of it through every pore. Now, almost a year has passed since we moved to Raleigh and Duarte and I both have recognized that we are happier people this time around. We are easing ourselves into the rhythm of our time here. We have a happy and abundant life and it’s gratifying to have the perspective to see it and feel it.