She could barely see the house in the distance. Even enshrouded in mist, it still looked like she remembered. Would it smell the same, she mused as she splashed along the muddy path. From half a world away she had imagined this day wondering if it would ever come. The recent rains hung in the afternoon sun, dripping from the grass that slapped at her tall rubber boots.

She remembered the last tim...

The scent of piñon pine

and the burning Christmas candle

evokes the spirit of every Christmas past.

Bing Crosby’s White Christmas weaves through the excited shrieks and high-pitched voices of little ones.

Sparkling white lights reflect off silver tinsel and reveal keepsake ornaments hung deep inside the tree

whose bristling needles reach out to enfold me.

Home

where iced Peppercockers and warm hu...

I could hear the cow bellowing before I could see her. I came over the rise of the rock and peered down over the edge. She was on the smallest of ledges, and I glanced around hurriedly, trying to figure out how she came to be there. Her hooves scuffed in the shallow layer of red sand as she shifted uneasily from side to side. She bellowed again into the stiff wind, her plaintiff cry carried hopele...

My head blares logic all day long.

Reality viewed through observation

Decisions reached via pros and cons

Linear

Beginning to end

Straightforward

Unquestioned though sometimes impulsive

My heart aches and sings

Senses and perceives

Leans in

listening

Watches and wonders

Stays open to possibilities

Loops and weaves

Sometimes impulsive, always reaching to know more

Peace is somewhere in between....

“I’m just speechless! For you to come all this way for my birthday is such a gift! And you’ve arranged this lovely lunch with exquisite wines and delicate desserts! I’m overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness!

Over the years I’ve gotten to know each of you, but I never dreamt that we would someday sit together! You have moved me and shaped me, helped me understand myself and my family in myriads of wa...

She sat on a stump in the Aspen Grove kicking the fallen leaves with her converse tennis shoe. Her fingers traced the ruts in the bark below her, the only tactile connection in her loneliness. How could she be this homesick when she had dreamed of getting away from annoying brothers and nagging parents? Her hair brushed her wet cheek as she glanced up at the glowing yellow leaves rattling above he...

The familiar coat

now ragged

The coiffed curls

bedraggled with neglect

The polished boot

scuffed and sodden

The spirited eyes

empty and dull

The essence of hope

replaced with apathy

or worse

This stranger in the street

was yesterday my friend....

She glanced quickly in the rearview mirror, watching the small yellow cabin grow even smaller as she pushed her foot harder against the pedal. She felt her heart drain away, left behind with them. How long before she saw them again, she wondered. Setting off on a new adventure was not without loss....