new horizon

I haven't been able to revel in my horizon since it changed almost a year ago. It's been hard for me to let go of the view I had before me before I moved. It had made a place in my heart, and I loved that it had. However, the past few weeks have been warming me up to the idea of loving where I am, loving where I live, and loving where I might go from here because of where I am right now.

My perspective just needs to shift. It's not because I haven't made friends or I don't appreciate the beautiful mountain I live by. I think I need to let it continue to seep into my soul like the snow melting from the top and making its way into the smallest streams below. It takes a little time, you know. It has to. And it ends up being so good when it finally reaches the right destination.

I want to keep letting the snow melt into my heart, so I'll keep working on making space for it.

tulips are life

It is astonishing how something so beautiful can fade so quickly. Tulips are gorgeous as they go from green leafy shoots to layers of leaves, then the grand finale that lasts only a couple of weeks. It is hard to like tulips because of this fact. I want flowers to grow and last a month or longer! Not grow, grow, grow, bloom for a bit, and then die. I am totally complaining right now, but as I realize I need to finish writing, so I can get some rest, I see how our lives are like tulips. Or at least my life, I think. I have been growing and growing so much. I wonder how long this stage lasts before the quite short bloom happens. It will be exciting one way or another. Of that, I am certain.

Tulips are life.

springtime

Isn't there just something truly splendid about springtime? The beginning of warmth and budding plants and trees cause people to perk up and look around.

I know I have been watching the trees and shrubs for new growth. I've been watching the weather for warmer and warmer days. Don't get me wrong, I do not want blazing heat, but I am ready to not be so cold anymore. I think I lived in my coat for half the winter this year. My hands were the coldest part on me at almost any point.

I hope things continue to improve, or I might want to head south for next winter!

tracks

Riding on trains equals adventure to me, so when I see train tracks, I begin thinking of what excitement is coming my way. I don't care how far (or not far) I am going; riding the train is going to be good.

I have begun to use day trips on trains as a way to get work done. I do take a break and get off to walk and get a bite and soak in scenery to boost my creativity, but the swaying and constancy of the train seem to help me focus.

I also use the train to take me on little trips and open up the door to adventure. It is always a good day when I begin it with a train ride.

One of these days, I want to take a coastal train trip or even cross-country. Man alive, that would be fun.

I would walk 5(00) miles

We lived in Las Vegas, so there wasn't any snow or much weather except heat, but when I was driving to school the other day, I thought of how my best friend and I would walk to and from each other's houses, which were pretty far apart, quite often. But we didn't care.

Why didn't our parents give us rides more often? Well, because it was the 80s and 90s, and parents (or at least my parents) were pretty laissez-faire in their upbringing approach. I didn't die, so it was all good. Also, my dad shouldn't/couldn't drive by the time I was in high school, so he was off the carpool list, and my mom was working like three jobs to keep us afloat since my dad became disabled.

I remember one time I was cutting through an open desert area instead of taking the sidewalks to save time, and I got feeling kind of paranoid about someone trying to steal me or a snake getting me, so I started speed-walking like a super freak to where my shoes got so dirty. That crusty desert dirt sticks to everything. I was so irritated at my weirdo self when I realized how encrusted my shoes had become. What a dork! is what I recall muttering under my breath or very loudly into the open air (not sure which) to myself as I hit civilization.

One of my favorite memories is when I went to my friend's house before a church dance. She had gotten in trouble for something or something like that, and she wasn't allowed to go unless she got the entire house clean. I was like, dude, challenge accepted. So I remember helping vacuum the untouchable sitting room and helping with one of the bathrooms at the top of the stairs. Not sure what else I helped with, but I was not going to let my friend miss out on our all-important church dance that Saturday. We cleaned and cleaned, and then we went to that dance. It felt so good to beat that system.

Another cherished memory of mine is how we used to walk to my house sometimes after school and eat my parents out of house and home. I swear they had to shop case lot sales for my friends and me alone. We were furiously hungry some days. And what's really surprising is that we were small. I'm pretty sure all that walking, miles and miles some weeks, kept us fit.

Now that my best friend and I live in different states, we still work to make time for each other—but we do not walk. We are way smarter than that now and have cars. Thank goodness.