Appreciation

Now I've been away from home for a week. The first thing that became clear to me is that the simplest things in life are not at all taken for granted.

The car in front of the door, clean drinking water from the tap, freshly washed clothes every day, warm food in the evening, all things that were taken for granted for me.

Every now and then I compare the distances. For the distance from Ponte de Lima to Rubiães, where I almost broke down and spent 7 hours on the road and arrived soaking wet, I would have taken 25 minutes by car.

In Vitorino dos Piães, I arrived after 8 hours of walking, my water bottle broke in Barcelos, no supermarket nearby, just glad to have a bed. So it was a night when I was very thirsty. At home, I go to the tap, but I'd rather not do it here.

Fresh laundry, a matter of course at home, here I have to consider: can I still wash it, will it be dry by tomorrow? I'd rather stink than get blisters on my wet socks.

Hot food? For me, a foreign word for the past 8 days. The possibilities were sometimes available, but I was too tired the first week to go to a restaurant in the evening.

The picture shows my first hot meal since my "last supper" in Kiel on January 24, 2019.

Not everything is taken for granted and I thank God that I have the opportunities at home that I am used to!