Truthfully, I am as relieved as I am sad the summer has come to an end. This summer was full of life and excitement; I rarely had a down minute to focus on anything besides what I was doing that exact moment and what I needed to be doing the next moment.
I’m currently back in Pittsburgh and it feels SO GOOD to be in one place for more than a few days, to be back in an apartment with my husband and dog, to have some semblance of ‘normal’ for a little bit.
Since I last checked in, I moved out of my ‘summer home’ and then flew to Boise to road trip across ID + OR with Heidi. Coincidentally, my trip overlapped with Alex’s trip to Bend so it was a treat to spend ~12 hours together with our friends. I then returned to Denver where I bounced around lodging arrangements, 5 nights with a friend in Wash Park, 5 nights house/dog sitting for a friend in the Highlands.
![Smiley Creek Overlook in Idaho](https://i0.wp.com/www.lynnepetre.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IMG_0443.jpg?resize=780%2C436)
10 days after leaving Portland, I got on a plane to head BACK to Portland (hi again, Oregon) to run 15.5+ miles of the Hood To Coast relay with a super fun team. I left the race early and boarded a bus from Seaside, OR to PDX just as my team was crossing the finish line (official time: 28:46:46, 30th in our category!) to catch a red-eye flight to Pittsburgh by way of Chicago. Tired yet? 🙂
![Finishing my last leg at Hood To Coast! Can you tell our team theme was neon?](https://i0.wp.com/www.lynnepetre.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/HTC-IMG_20160827_145429.jpg?resize=780%2C477)
After landing in Pittsburgh Sunday morning and sleeping most of the day, I worked remotely for one day before boarding ANOTHER flight on Tuesday for Denver for in-person work meetings. On Friday afternoon, I flew back to Pittsburgh and packed my backpack for our Labor Day backpacking trip in West Virginia.
![Backpacking in West Virginia #tepperlife](https://i0.wp.com/www.lynnepetre.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DSCN2570-01.jpeg?resize=780%2C483)
All of this to say…I’ve more than enjoyed my summer of chaos but I’m really happy to be in one place for a little bit. While talking to my dad earlier this week, he commented, ‘Well, you guys certainly are unconventional!’ and I don’t think a truer statement could be made about this moment in this Petre family’s life.
This week, though, I’ve spent my time doing very conventional things: working (albeit, remotely), eating meals with my husband, catching up with Pittsburgh friends, bonding with my pup, exercising, getting more than a few hours of sleep a night, reflecting.
Savoring these moments of calm before the next round of sustained chaos, rapidly approaching.