So excited for tonight’s Ask&Learn, and THRILLED with all your emails and FB pings that tell me how much you love these monthly events on the SOARORITY forum!  Thank you Wendy for helping us keep the SOAR! Forum and Amazing Mom blog posts coming while we are abroad!  (We LOVE you WENDY!)

When we last talked, I was telling you how “relieved” I was to be off the Crystal Chair and headed back down the mountain.  Little did I know that we would be hiking over sharp rocks like this–leaving you nowhere to sit or place your hand.

And then, we’d move from sharp rocks to repelling down a ledge that is to steep to climb.  Remember how I said in Part One that “I’ve got this!”  Ha!  Well, at this point I wasn’t feeling as confident.  But Blaze, holy cow, I’ve never seen him so excited about anything!  It must have something to do with turning seven TODAY!

He took one look at the ledge we were repelling down (with not being roped in!) and was first to go (AGAIN!).

When it’s my turn, I’m freaked.  Here’s the thing.  If I’m roped in, I don’t have an issue with heights or rock climbing.  But when I’m not roped in, I’m known to opt for the elevator instead of the escalator.  I’m not sure what it is, but I start to feel so dizzy–everything spinning more and more.  So I “ungracefully” try to make my way down this little ledge.  And you can see the kids are “super” concerned for the danger that mom feels like she’s in.

This picture just cracks me up b/c I’m terrified at this moment, and my kids are like “Dad, can we keep going?  I’m bored.”

But at some point, someone asks me if I peed my pants.  And I’m like “what?”

Then I look down, and I’m like “WHAT?!…BRIAN, STOP TAKING PICTURES!!”

It’s simply ridiculous how much you sweat in the jungle!  But the fun has only started.  Our friends, JK and Kelley, ask me to turn around to see where we are headed next.  See that black cave behind me?  There is another fun rope to repel in there too!  Except this time, you go over the ledge into pitch black.  If I wasn’t peeing my pants before, I am now!

So the youngest takes the lead because…why not?!  He has the whole way, right?!

Repelling into a space that is lit–that you can SEE– is overrated, right?!

And here goes mom!

And since it takes mom a while to get down, Brian entertains himself because he is super worried for me.  🙂

While the kids wander off into the black cave–with only their headlamps to light the way.

The darkness of the cave and the stalactites were incredibly moving!  The whole experience of being in the darkness with these huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, reminded of a favorite passage from Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way;  Creativity—like human life itself—begins in darkness.  Ideas, like stalactites and stalagmites, form in the dark inner cave of consciousness.  They form in drips and drops, not by squared—off building blocks…Let them grow in dark and mystery.  Let them form on the roof of our consciousness.  Let them hit the page in droplets.”

It’s as if they are reaching down to give you a big KISS!

As you exit the cave, there is one last treasure to explore.  But I’m saving that for another post.  🙂

So…imagine being in this somewhat remote area twenty years ago, when it was SUPER remote.   Imagine a guy and his friend deciding to go exploring in the jungle, bringing along their ropes, headlamps, with no idea of what they might encounter.  They see tracks and decide to follow them up the side of the limestone cliff where they find the Crystal Chair.  And instead of going back the way they came, they go a different route to find ledges that require repelling and a black cave.  IMAGINE repelling into that black cave with no idea of how far down it goes.  INSANE for me to even think about!  I love adventure, but I love it being tested and approved first.  🙂  It’s brave men like Dicky and his friend, who are comfortable pioneering a path, that twenty years later my family gets to try.  A HUGE thank you to Dicky!  He is an awesome guy who discovered a buried treasure–for real!!  A CRAZY HUGE thanks to our dear friends, JK and Kelley, for taking us on the Crystal Chair hike and helping the kids every step.  And a thanks to the Creator for this beautiful corner of the world that holds endless magic whether it’s on the beach with Shway the Turtle or in a black cave with a headlamp to guide your way.

We are headed up to a special lake for our last few days!  We are so excited!!  For the last four years, our friends have been telling us we have to go because it’s like entering Jurassic Park because of how BIG the wildlife is!  We take a long tail for 30 minutes, then a two hour drive farther into the jungle, and then a hour long tail boat up the lake to where our one room bungalow floats on top of the water and wildlife surrounds awaits!  No internet there!  🙂  We’ll update you when we reach Bangkok!  Wish us luck and wonder!  (And a special Mother’s Day greeting tomorrow from me and my two yogis!)

xoxo,

m

p.s.  THREE more days till Mother’s Day!!  Yahoo!!  It’s a holiday I ADORE!!   Need ideas? Here’s three!

1.  We’ve got ONE spot left in our Seattle CONFIDENCE Workshop in two weeks!  CLICK HERE for juicy details!

2.  We’ve got TWO spots left in our Chicago CONFIDENCE Workshop (end of month)!  CLICK HERE for juicy details!

3.  I’ve got ONE Mini Session spot left for Chicago–family portraits for MOM!  Email Genie at genie@fioria.us for details!

4.  Cancel three, there are four!  🙂  Best selling, YOUR BABY IN PICTURES, book!  Woo-hoo!!!