Another transition in process: the stability of home eludes me as we move from place to place. Our home in Boulder is meant as secondary but its lure is powerful: the brisk mountain air, the solitude, the quiet, the gathering place for family at holidays. Meanwhile, Northern California has drawn us back and friends greet me with warm hugs and endless talk. Molly rejoiced to be able to meet in the city for walks and museum exhibits. Linda beamed with the pleasure of being able to see one another more often. My Granite Bay friends added an interim book club supper (without the books, as we knew conversation would overwhelm any author, no matter how brilliant or engaging) to welcome me back. Oh, I have missed these gatherings, the women so bright, caring, perceptive. Community is not to be over-rated, as it reminds us of who we are, why others matter, and the importance of knowing people intimately, without boundaries or posture.
I feel in my bones that this move is right for us; certainly there are fits and starts, inconveniences of once again physically making a house our home, the painters, the floor installers, the closet-makers, all can be found to fit our needs, with patience the sometimes missing ingredient. Our timing is not ideal, but we can wait for these intermediate steps to come to fruition. I can walk or bicycle through the lovely neighborhoods, wander along the vineyards, peruse the local shops and cafes, or stroll the two hundred year-old plaza. No matter which route I take, I submit to the lush ferns, the still-blooming rhododendron, and the magnificent magnolia and oak trees. The winter greenery was unexpected and thus makes this place even more precious. I may add winter nature viewing to my summer passion. John Muir, be prepared!
It is difficult to take one step at a time, to savor what I currently have and to anticipate, patiently, what will come. Yet despite our many transitions these past almost two and a half years, from the Sierra foothills to San Francisco, to Austin (where we lived in five different places during our two-year tenure), and back to Northern Califorina, we have been fortunate to be able to choose from a variety of places in which to live. For that, I am most thankful.
[Boulder autumn sky, lower Mt. Sanitas in forefront]