California bound for the winter. 2.5 Months!

Adventure is ahead. We said goodbye to kindergarten friends. We packed. We talked about how the trip will unfold, just for fun. And as we do our last bit of shopping, empty the fridge, clean the house, snuggle extra with Rufus, have a sushi feast with family, sleep in, we realize how much we will miss the comfort of our home. The rest is sweeter. Jackie has been healthy for a couple of good weeks.

Work has been intense. So intense. And we trade “6 of one” for “half a dozen of another”.

Two years later we have forgotten life in California. We don’t really miss it. Isn’t that odd? We are all incredibly adaptable, learning to let go, learning to embrace.

I wrote a little poem a few days ago, with clarity and detachment. Fully aware. Inspired by someone’s story, extrapolating.

We run away from pain,
but pain is what shapes us.
Not the happy moments in life
give us depth and substance,
but the ache,
the pain that few see;
that is what transforms us.

But mind you:
Don’t wallow in it but push through,
And let it burn away the chaff, the impurities.

It’s not something you seek.
It finds you.
Pain is diverse
and we all encounter it.