Write EVERY Day...HOME

Starting 2015 in California, the place of my birth, the place of my mother's birth, the place of my grandmother's birth...the place that holds so much of ME. All of my childhood lies within about a 150 mile radius of the kitchen table that I sit at tonight. It has been a weird "last week" of the last year. Today starts yet another...and where will it take me, take us? So many steps ahead to climb. My wish for the next year is simple...strength. To dig deep within and summon strength to live peacefully, presently and pressure-free. SO often I find myself frustrated with the little things.When given the power that they do not deserve, they can be overwhelming. In 2015 I have a hope to push everything insignificant to the side and focus on the people and places that make me whole and powerful. To love them and care for them fiercely. This week has been filled with smells of this beautiful drought- ridden reminder of my life, smells that evoke memories, memories that bring peace and understanding when I am trying so hard to understand why some things happen to the people that they should NOT happen to. 2015 bring on your love...bring on your healing...bring on your reasons to remember and stay present. Today I am thankful for acorns and peppercorns, camellias and redwoods all in one place, smells that remind me of hikes and creeks and playing on gnarled branches. My mom's rum cake and my aunt's perfume.  Powerful wind and the coastal air that softens my dried up high desert heart. Lemons and oranges from our neighbor's tree. REAL citrus....it is heavenly! Scrunched up lavender and a bay leaf in my pocket from a walk. Grey-green olive trees and agave all mixed up in the view from beneath the eucalyptus. I am immersing myself in the tangible during these last hours of January splendor in the Bay. Tomorrow we head north to responsibility, snow, juniper and pine. Smells that are HOME as well, but for tonight I am thankful to be right HERE. Thankful for my MOM. Thankful for LIFE and a CHANCE to see it through another year. Thankful for California no matter how much it struggles. Thankful for green grass and a few almond trees left amongst the condos and concrete of the Santa Clara Valley...thankful for this little oasis of Mt. Hamilton, for better or for worse, you are home and home feels good.