The inevitable occurs

Just a quick note before I turn my computer over to Martha so she can check her email -

Portugal is still beautiful, and creation is the most interesting and engaging kind of challenge, but I'm starting to go a little nuts. I knew this would happen at some point - you can't live and work and spend so many hours a day every day for a month with three other people and not expect that it would take its toll. But the inevitable always seems to sneak up on you: in this case, when all of a sudden you start to feel irritable, and insecure, and emotional for no particular reason. Aram cracked a joke at lunch that gave me a good belly laugh and that's carried me through most of this afternoon, but it still lurks beneath the surface, this vague sense of malcontent.

As always, it comes back to the same lesson: I haven't been taking care of myself first. It's so easy to just stay at home, or go with the crowd, instead of really making the effort to 1) ask my body what it needs and 2) follow through. I'm getting better - yesterday I took the initiative to come into Espinho on my own and ended up hanging out with some of Diogo's (now my) friends, and today I've managed to kick my butt into gear as well. But there's still something missing, some balance that's been thrown off kilter. This is normal. This is life. I just means I need to address it.