Six Weeks Out

Lake Hazel house, one year ago...

The end of this Boise Venture of mine is coming to a close. Like most change, there's the good and the not so good... I've added so many friends and colleagues to my life, and though I will keep connected with many of them, I know many will drift away, as that's what happens in life. It's been good to meet new people, and see other slices of life.

I've watched Ber and Gio mature into horses, and I've become a stronger rider and regained the confidence I'd lost somewhere along the way. I've worked with several horse people, who have left their hoof prints on my horse work, and I've learned a new method of horse hoof care which will positively impact all the horses I trim. I will miss this pasture and arena, but I won't miss the scorching sun, bone chilling wind, and biting insects.

Horses at Far Pasture, last May.

I had my dear companions, Arcy and Georgia, along for this adventure, and we shared a brief "second puppy-hood" as they explored this new state. Their presence kept the loneliness at bay and kept a life-line stretched back home to what was, before Boise. Losing the girls continues to haunt me, but a little less every day. Slowly, all the good days and good memories of their many years are beginning to outweigh their final months and the emptiness they left behind.

Puppy Yin-Yang, back home.

The remainder of this northern jaunt is highly positive, and I leave with greater clarity on who I am, what I want to accomplish in this world, and why focusing on the positive in life, no matter what's coming at you, can really help.

I learned that I can start over, can build a new network of friends and acquaintances, and can muddle through things on my own without making a complete disaster of it.

Duckling in Reflecting Pool at Washington Monument.

I learned that I have something of value to offer the world outside of my little pond back home, and that doors will open up no matter where I land. Yet I realized that the little pond back home was home, not because I'd always been there, but because I wanted to be there.

My Home Town...

I learned that the greatest treasure of life is the people we know and share our lives with, and it really doesn't matter where you live...it's the people you are with that makes where you live so special. And any place can become special if you open your heart and mind to the people who are there.

I learned that my place is clearly working with kids and helping them connect to their learning and their talents. That is where my joy lies, that is where work ceases being work. No matter what anyone says I ought to do with my time and skill, I intend to work with kids. It's where I belong.

Great Blue Heron, wading in Potomac River, FDR Memorial.

So, I leave this place with more knowledge, and the inkling of an idea of where I'll go and what I'll do next. Hoping that the extra letters after my name will give me the leeway to make that inkling come to life. We'll see where the road rises up to meet me.

Stainless steel tree, Sculpture Garden, Capitol Mall.

Meanwhile, I am in the middle of collecting the data for my dissertation, which is enjoyable and interesting. I feel pretty privileged to be talking to these parents.

My goal is to have my dissertation complete by December, so I can enter the world of "normal" work come January 2011, two years to the day since I left for Boise. Not sure how the time flew by so fast, because every day seemed so long. But it has.

Here's to dreaming big and asking the universe for what you want. It may not always arrive the way you envision it, and there may be more in the package than you bargained for, but at least it's a great ride.

Hawk flying overhead, Mt. Vernon.