seasons

Our dog has been my teacher lately. And so has my daughter. Simone continues to remind me of the powerful wisdom she holds of living in the present moment. A few weeks ago she helped with breaking the ice after a frustrating morning walk to the beach with my family---on the way we had learned we forgot the pale and shovel-- Simone was walking too fast on her leash--Sage was whiny --raindrops were slowly falling out of the clouds and onto our heads---I had originally envisioned this walk to the ocean to be much more pleasant. Our moods were not good when we reached the shoreline. I laid out a blanket for us and hoped these bad feelings would melt away and pass as fast as the clouds above us. Simone sat down beside me but quickly decided to get up and walk to the ocean. She slowly let her paws get wet and then all of a sudden that was it--her furry body was leaping into the waves. We watched as her golden coat merged into a dark brown color and her legs moved so instinctively in the water as she paddled into the current- every movement of hers was like medicine to our souls. I looked over at Kyle and smiled and realized that was all we needed. We were by the ocean, our feet were in the sand, the sun was beginning to peek out through the clouds and pour warmth onto our shoulders. We were here together right now in this moment and I could see happiness begin to fill us.

I pulled into the park last week with Sage after a day of packing. Her little body needed to release some energy and I felt anxious to get her to a playground to run around. As I turned the corner though I saw there was a family reunion going on under the park pavilion and immediately a bad word came out of my mouth. I didn't have the energy to socialize with park strangers and I told Sage we were going to go to another park. But then I heard, "Don't be scared, Mommy. They're our friends- don't be scared of our friends. It will be fine." And my heart melted and I knew she was so right. She is such a gem, my greatest treasure.

 We have officially moved off the farm and will be spending a couple months with family to figure out our next move. I thought I would be carrying around more sadness after saying goodbye to that place but it turns out I'm not feeling much of that at all. After we had packed and cleaned everything out, I went around to each room and said thank you. Thank you for keeping us safe. Thank you for adding inspiration into my life. I walked to the door and took a nice long look at the large cluster of windows facing the west. They were always my favorite feature.  When I looked at them, I felt them give me an encouraging hug to get out. Leave!...go!...I felt them say. You guys weren't happy here on this land anymore- go find your happiness--- go learn and grow away from this farm. Go on an adventure- go meet new people-go watch the sun set from another place! And swooooosh- their energy lovingly turned by body around towards the outside. I walked out and shut the door and never even felt the urge to look back.