Before I Leave for My Camino – A Love Letter to My Husband

To my darling Lou,

This is all your fault.

There we were, comfortably sitting on our recliner sofa watching Martin Sheen in a movie called, “The Way” and somewhere near the middle of this movie, you grabbed the remote, pressed pause, and said to me, “You know, you should do this – I can really see you doing this.”

Notice the use of the word, “YOU.” – not we.

That pretty much sums up our relationship – you set the goals and I do the grunt work. And it’s worked for us for some 25 years.

You’re the reason I’m planning to walk – alone – 500 miles across Spain, to do the Camino de Santiago. You voiced what I was thinking. Yes, I was dreaming what it would be like to walk “The Walk,” but you said it out loud and made the dream seem so real.

Kind of like our life together. My wildest dreams become real with you; our marriage, our children, our travels, our ups and our downs. I love them all.

I know you’re scared for me, for this adventure. You’re worried that I’ll talk to too many strangers, spend too much time taking pictures, that I’ll get lost, that I’ll get hurt, that …. Your list of concerns is endless. Your biggest concern though, is that I’ll be my stubborn ol’ self, that I won’t ask for help when I need it most, that I won’t listen to my body when I ache, that I’ll push on and refuse to take care of myself. Me too.

But this I promise you – yes, I’ll talk to too many strangers, I’ll take way too many pictures, I’ll totally get lost, I’ll probably have some aches and pains….but most of all I promise on this adventure – I’ll listen to you. I will try my hardest not to be stubborn, to ask for help when I need it, rest when I’m tired, and to listen to my inner voice, because that voice will almost always be you only wanting the best for me.

I love you today and for all the days to come. Thank you for this adventure. See you at the “end!”