Early morning my last full day at home, I am watching day break over the pasture from the comfort of my warm bed. Wistful and eager all at once. The Sunflowers and Black-eyed Susans are the only things awake with color in this early dawn, even the Morning Glory, which I diligently grew from seed late last winter await a direct hit from the sun before trumpeting their arrival. All I can think of is “I love it here”. My life in Colorado feels as big as the great outdoors, full and rich with beauty, and friends, and nature, and pets and family…
Now the distant mountains are lined with the first rays of sun. This time of day always makes me feel like anything is possible if I just get outside. When I turned 50 and realized that indeed I was middle-aged since I probably wouldn’t live to be 100, I made a vow to myself to spend more time outdoors the second half of life. I’ve been somewhat successful.
I’m not even sure what a blog is. A cross between a diary and short story? All I know is my husband is hounding me to write one, so write I will. I’m not an English or journalism major like many of my friends so it won’t be polished or eloquent and I don’t want to be too personal (“TMI, Mom!” my kids used to say in high school) so I’ll spare you that, but I do like to listen to stories and share stories, and that’s what I’ll try to do here. As I head out into the great big world, out of my well-feathered nest where I tend my illusion of control, out to the places that push the boundaries of my comfort zone, “where you might learn something new” as my wise friend Joan said at book group recently, I’ll keep an open ear and an open heart and listen a lot. Then I’ll tell you what I heard.
Time is slowly passing and the sunlight is gone. The sky is cloudy and I’m not talking about those fluffy white clouds with their beautiful tinge of grey that float across the clear blue Colorado sky. Nope, this sky says one thing: “Ohio”. It’s okay, I cut my teeth on cloudy Ohio days as a child, and maybe I can use a little cool grey today to contrast with the warm sun of tomorrow, in India, where I know adventure awaits.
