"I wash my hands of this wierdness..."

I have recently returned from a trip a friend of mine and I took to Key West.  In the months prior to arriving at the YANKEE FREEDOM II ferry docks at the end of Margaret Street we planned on spending a few days camping and relaxing in the Dry Tortugas.  The Dry Tortugas are a primitive chain of islands 70 miles west of Key West surrounded by coral reefs and crystal clear water. 

We arrived in Key West at approximately 3:45 in the morning.  After 8 straight hours of driving I decided to take a little nap.  So I pulled up a sleeping bag and a slab of concrete and caught some z's.  Everything that happened after that point was all part of very fortunate mistake.  Through a series of events we ended up not catching the ferry we had booked our travel with and we wound up homeless in Key West.  

For five days we slept in a parking garage and "roughed it" on the cold hard streets of the island.  I know it sounds tough, but believe it or not it happened to be just what I needed.  It turns out that the warm air, the clear skies, the slow pace, and key lime pie on a stick happened to be the perfect remedy for my illness.  

 You see, in the 5 or 6 months preceding my Key West adventure I found myself stuck in vicious cycle.  Not believing someone can eat away at a relationship like a cancer.  I felt like no one believed me.  I fell victim to the words spoken against me.  My mental and physical health literally declined as time went on.  I have not ever wept like that before.  I found that I had given myself to the mercy of my circumstances.  I allowed my environment to create me.    There was no point in trying to make sense of it all.  I just wanted to keep my head above water.

I think I packed all that baggage into my suitcase before I left for Key West.  But the sun was so hot down there I just forgot to bring it back with me.  Somewhere in between our corner of parking garage we called home and the beach I must have misplaced all that junk.  I thank God for it too... it's a new chapter in my book and I won't let anyone else write it for me.  

I feel better than ever.  I still have growing pains.  Scars? Definitely.  But it was all worth it.  Every minute of it.  I lived and loved and learned through it all.  NO REGRETS.  But I'm excited to move on.  I wash my hands of this weirdness.  It's behind me and I'm thankful for it.  

Thank you God for protecting me.  Thank you Key West.  Without your smile I might not have found mine.  

That basically sums up the wisdom I found last week.  I did keep somewhat of a journal while I was there and I am still working on translating it from paper to my blog.  I'll let you know when it's done.  Not like you care anyway...

Today I had fun.  My name is Adam.  You've been blogged.