Dear Friend,
How was your week? I hope that you and yours are happily acclimating to the new year.
It has been one week since our move-out-day. What a day! We drove through the rain and into snowfall to arrive in the afternoon at our first, temporary, landing place. It was good to be welcomed into a home warmed by friendship, a wood-stove, and the happy wags of the resident doggy, Miss B. She is an energetic, playful, sweetie, and was one of Winchester’s best friends.
Snow fell all night long changing the mountainside into a winter wonderland! Until the road could be plowed, no one was going anywhere. It was a surreal feeling to be snowed in. Beautifully stuck for a day. Now the sun is out and the melt begins, until the next snows!
Things are very different since move-out-day, not just the environment or weather, but changes within. It’s like I’m seeing with a different set of eyes and I’ve been sensing more depth (for lack of a better word). My focus seems sharper, even the air seems more real. And I am quiet. It’s as if the unknown is less of an obstacle. And though I will hopefully never stop learning, it’s ok that everything that I will ever learn is just a tiny piece of everything there is to know. There’s a calm.
I didn’t make any new year’s resolutions this year. In prior years I have attempted to add a discipline to my routine (like drawing one-drawing-a-day or writing a poem-a-day, etc.). And it has been fun in the past to try to create something new every day for a year, starting on a January 1st. But not this year. This year it was enough to stay on task to meet our move-out goal of January 15th, which we did do. Congratulations to us! Horns, confetti, applause, barks, squawks, clucks, thunder, howling wind …
Looking back at the week, a blur of phone calls, emails, regrouping and great conversations with our host, I realize that I didn’t really create anything (except for oatmeal-raisin cookies). I did try to practice my flute but found that my G# key and both trill key pads are leaking. This is my high-school flute, I didn’t want to bring my ‘good’ flute on the road. Oh well, I know excellent repair people not too far away. Tague Music. I’m looking forward to practicing. In the meantime, maybe I’ll grab Frank’s guitar and make some noise.
Did you make any new year’s resolutions this year? How is it going? Either way, Yay You! It’s not unusual to resolve to make purposeful changes during the new year. And ‘they say’ that before the end of the third week of January, the resolve to change will often wane. “Quitter’s Day,” in fact, is January 14th.
I’ve found that regardless of how purposefully I proceed in my life, Some things just happen anyway, no matter what I do.
In the upcoming weeks, we (Frank and I) are going to be setting out into open spaces and places where, I’m sure, we’ll have many challenges and, quite possibly, more than just a few moments of discomfort. The good thing is that we will have you to write “home” to. Thanks for being here!
Gently Be,
Leslie
PS: A heartfelt Thank You to you all, for each and every good and happy thought, prayer and wish for our safe and peaceful trek! We are blessed to know that you are there, and we keep you all in our Thanksgivings!
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