I feel like I should start this week with a photo of what I MOSTLY saw during the last week:

This is the windowless room that I use as my office. The walls are painted a boisterous orange and yellow and emit a mysterious energy that helps me stay glued to my computer during my work hours – and there were many in the last week. Because there’s no link to the outside world and closing the door feels like I’m being vacuum-sealed inside, I’ve found it very easy to lose track of time as I plunk away at my keyboard. 

Occasionally Dan knocks on the door politely to offer up water, tacos, or some other sustenance that I’ve neglected to feed myself while lost in work. But mostly, it’s just me in there, noise-canceling headphones on, staring at my two screens, squinting, deep in concentration. Late every night, I’ll emerge sleepily when Dan’s already snoring on the couch, wishing I’d found 20 minutes to walk outside to see the city, or the sun.

This weekend, though, was a different story. Dan and I left Friday night for Oaxaca, and we spent the weekend wandering the streets and plazas of this sultry city, poking our head in churches, studying protest street art, and indulging in all things Oaxacan – stringy queso, chocolate-y mole, tejate, tlayudas, and of course – MEZCAL. It was a much-needed adventure after a week stuck in a windowless room. 

The last time I was in Oaxaca was in 2015, not long after I “quit” my job to backpack around the world for a year. Looking back at that version of me, you can practically taste how carefree I felt. (Maybe it’s the mezcal that’s still lingering on my tongue…)

She’s adorable isn’t she? But, as Rob Bell would put it, that was 30 or 40 Tuggles ago. I’m proud to say I’m just as bold and fun-loving as she was, but I’m also a lot wiser and seasoned, as both a human and a traveler. I’ve certainly been thru it since then. 

I often wonder what she’d think of my life now – and honestly? I think she’d probably be pretty stoked. I still travel as much as I can – which is a lot, comparatively. Even though I continue to be occasionally haunted by anxiety and existential dread, I have a (mostly) peaceful heart, confidence, and security in who I am, a fairly successful career, INCREDIBLE friends, and a wonderful partner. 

But, like Liz Gilbert wrote in her Letter From Love newsletter today, “Some of it has been more delightful than I expected, much of it has been more heartbreaking than I ever planned for — or thought I could survive.” If you told younger Tuggle what it took to get here, she’d be awfully upset. Her lip would start quivering and a fear would creep over her – she’d probably say “There’s no way. I can’t handle that.” 

But she can. And she did. And while I know that the future inevitably holds more heartache – such is life – I have hope that it also holds a lot more days like the the last two I spent in Oaxaca with Dan. 

Anyways, here’s some pictures from those 2 days.