Out in the Guestbook

Our first night in Iceland, we stayed at a beautiful cottage overlooking Lake Thingvellir. The skies were overcast and the wind was strong as we made our way to the cottage from Reykjavik, catching our first glimpses of the Icelandic countryside as we drove - snow covered mountains, small farms, and finally the large lake. We’d stopped for groceries along the way and couldn’t wait to settle in for the evening.

And that’s what we did. The cottage was perfect - beautifully designed and simply furnished, clean and comfortable, and with an incredible view.

We spent the late afternoon and evening playing cards and doing crossword puzzles and talking, trying desperately to stay awake until an acceptable time. We shared a simple but delicious meal and while we were eating, the owner of the cottage stopped by to make sure that we had everything that we needed. We assured her that we did.

We cleaned up after dinner and, soon after, decided we could go to bed without worrying that we’d wake up at 3 a.m. ready for the day. That night, snuggled together under puffy down comforters, we slept hard. At one point later in the night, I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed the night sky through the skylight, looked out the window by the bed to see the shadows of the mountains, and watched Luisa sleeping soundly beneath the covers and I was overwhelmed with gratitude for this life.

The next morning as we had coffee, I read through the guest book. There were entries going back to 2017 from people who came from all over the world to stay in this quaint little cabin in Iceland. Each time, they signed their names - Melissa and Hunter, Cheryl and Don. I wrote our entry and expressed gratitude for the beautiful cottage and the comfort and peace it gave us on our first night. I signed our names and imagined someday, someone would read our entry and know that we had been there. Even after all these years together, in small moments like that one, it still feels radical to write ourselves into existence. Melissa and Hunter, Cheryl and Don, Vikki and Luisa. We were here.