It’s dark and quiet this morning, a cold autumn wind whistling through the trees and making me thankful for afghans and blankets and a second cup of hot coffee.
The last few months have been intense, a hurtling sort of time when you just need to hang on for dear life and push through until you can find breathing space again. A time where self-care is essential to make it to the end of each day when you can finally collapse into bed, sleep like the dead, and wake up in the wee hours to start fresh.
Yes, it’s been hard, painful, and scary, but also rich and meaningful and laced with connections with incredible people who make me stop and smile and feel like there is much reason for hope.
It’s been a time of personal hibernation for me, pulling back from much to make sure I can handle the vital without crumpling.
And now I’m catching my breath as we move into a new season without floods and catastrophic storms and cancer concerns and huge work commitments and debilitating injuries and broken water pipes and dead appliances and the innumerable other things that have had us shaking our heads and wondering, what next?!
This week I get to wash laundry in a washing machine instead of by hand, fill animal troughs with a hose instead of hauling buckets, hear properly with both ears, and take time to actually plan my next steps instead of lurching from one bonkers situation to another.
I am grateful.
Grateful for baby guinea fowl in the warm kitchen, bottles of pear ginger jam on the window sill, and new asparagus shooting up in the gardens. For cuddly dogs, full rainwater tanks, and our first harvest of pomegranates. Aren’t they beautiful?
The newspaper I work for is closing this week and, even though we all know it’s the right thing and the right time, we’re rather sad. We’ve loved working together, loved sharing the stories of our amazing community, and we’re going to miss it and each other very much.
I’m not sure what my next steps are, but, as we write stories for our last issue on Friday and pack up the newsroom and meet together for final drinks, I’m quietly excited about the future.
In the meantime, I plan to rest, potter in my gardens, work on farm projects with Bear, and trust that my next steps will be good ones. xo
Oh my gosh, so intense. Glad you are getting some time to reflect and move forward. Such a shame about the newspaper. All the best for the week ahead.
Sad about the newspaper 😪, but i am sure you will find something you love to do quickly. Hope all the best for you and bear. ❤️❤️
I was wondering yesterday how our days will unfold this season. After seven weeks of a lurking bear causing havoc in the community and then peace when he was gone makes me long for the usual year of harmony and peace on the farm. I am stringing strands of hot wires today just, just in case, around my barns and I am sure through the summer it will be useful to do the grazing pastures too. We have two dozen kids dancing and leaping around the mamas in the warm morning sun and the bird song is magnificent. Our three dogs are kept very busy protecting the herd from the usual predators, cougars, wolves, coyotes, eagles and the waking bears…I am always watchful for the four grandchildren and friends to be safe as they grow and delight in the land.
The winter rest is over… my garden is showing the rich earth again, fences are uncovered from snow and ready for repair, manure is ready to be moved and through all the kids and kids and work I have a friend trusting me to illustrate his book…
Breathe… one breathe at a time, one day at a time…God knows my strength and will help me and you and us and our loved ones…. I am so glad for breath. It is such a gift…
Love you and Bear… be well dear ones
Here we are finally able to celebrate spring in as close to normal manner as we’ve had in two years. The sun is out, the sky is blue. Tourists have returned. Travel restrictions are slowing becoming history. We are thankful for all those everyday normal things we’d lost and now are finding again.
Krsta..love your attitude..one suggestion..replace the word hope with TRUST! Hope is a dead word..part of the propaganda machine. TRUST has power in it..use it.
Ever your well-wishing friend,
Michelle
This mornings quote on my facebook page sounds as if it was spoken just for you! Look for it!
hugs and love!
Michelle