It was raining a year ago.
Like it is raining now.
Only a year ago it was colder.
The moving van arrived about 9:00 AM to unload.
Furniture.
Books.
Boxes.
Clothes.
And suddenly we were “home.”
From one house and community where we had lived for nearly 30 years
To a new house and a new community.
And a new chapter in our lives.
It has been quite a year.
Lose.
Letting go.
Learning.
Beauty.
Trying to figure out how to use these next years in ways which are meaningful.
Something I am still trying to do.
I realize now how tired I was.
In some ways I still am.
There is an unwinding and loosening which takes time.
Longer than I thought it would.
A prying open of space so something new can begin to take root.
I have tried to be patient with the process.
Patient with myself.
Tried is the operative word.
Maybe I am not as patient a person as I thought I was.
When I retired I had a list of what I wanted to do.
I thought I would be able to plunge in and check off my retirement list like I checked off my daily To Do list when I was working.
I still have that list.
Pretty much the same today as it was then.
What have I learned?
This…
It takes time to learn new things.
I just have to try it.
And, it’s okay if it doesn’t work out or doesn’t work out the way I imagined.
It’s okay not to be busy all the time.
Walks in the woods or along the lake restores a balance in my life.
Community is important.
I miss the community I had.
Church folks/People of Faith are important to me.
We, including/especially me, are FAR from perfect, but for a few moments, on some sort of regular basis, we risk putting ourselves in a position/place to be confronted and challenged by ideals and dreams and possibilities larger than what fills our lives the rest of the week.
I am grateful for the time and the opportunities I have. Even when it feels hard.
So…
One year in.
On to year two.
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