L'Empress left me an interesting comment the other day: You're in the process of resetting your priorities, whether you realize it or not." I'm not sure she's right, but I'm not sure she's not, either.
I am definitely trying to set my priorities in regard to rowing, at any rate. One thing that's just occurred to me is that no matter what I decide about training and competing, I'm going to need to do at least some rowing, because I need to be on the water every so often. I don't know that I need to row, specifically, but I need to be in or on the element of water. (I don't care what Mendeleev said, in my psyche there are the four classic elements, and of those I respond to fire and water most. Then air. I don't have as much affinity with earth, which is probably why I've got no interest in gardening.)
One of the times I'd repeat from 2004, if I could, was being on the boat to Antarctica. We were with about 150 other people who were adventurous enough to either want to go there or want to crew on an adventure voyage, and I enjoyed that, but the part that touched the deepest chord was seeing water all around me, whether being down in it in a kayak or zodiac or just being rocked to sleep in two dimensions with spray flying outside the window.
The other memory I'd revisit was the trip to Natchitoches, and it is probably not coincidental that that one involved travel and water as well - five and a half hours on Cane River Lake, once part of the Red River and connecting to the Mississippi, and the whole weekend beside and in view of the water.
Anyhow, I've figured one way to reconnect with the Antarctic trip. I've finally found a copy of the movie they showed on board, about a tall shiop sailing around Cape Horn in the last days of sailing. I've finally found it online and have just bought the DVD from the Mystic River Seaport Museum. I'm looking forward to seeing the video; you can practically feel the spray and smell salt water.