A blog! It’s been
ages since I’ve written a blog…or anything, for that matter. Life has been
full, sporadic, busy, chaotic and devoid of calm spaces in which a mind can
settle and think. Since my wedding in
May of 2015 we have moved twice, finalized legal residency for my wife and,
after many months and hundreds of applications, she has started her career in
United States academia. The huge task of
emptying a storage unit not seen since I sold my home and went to wander the
UK, along with unpacking the worldly (literally) possessions of my wife, who
has lived in five countries in ten years, has been completed. The merging of lives has been physically
manifested in our first home, together and alone.
We didn’t intentionally pick this town or complex to live
in. It was what came available in our
price range that felt safe and home like.
When we first signed the six month lease we weren’t sure if we’d be
staying beyond that time. This weekend we decided to settle in and commit
ourselves to this little one-bedroom condo.
The commute doesn’t bother my wife and we enjoy the quiet serenity of
living on a golf course in Washington State. (No, I don't play or even understand golf...) Eight and a half months out of the year it’s like living in a park that
rarely has visitors-except frogs, herons, birds, geese and rabbits. The other three and a half months, when the
windows are thrown open, to our rare and glorious sunshine, we hear the
funniest bits of conversation and exclamations as people work their way to the
next hole.
A strange thing has happened in the days since our
discussion about staying put. My whole
being has settled. I don’t think I
realized I was on high alert for one more move, one more change, until I wasn’t
anymore. Three years ago I un-tethered my
life from everything known and familiar to be available for every experience
life could throw my way (be careful of what you wish for...). When you live
un-tethered, up for anything, it’s a heightened sense of readiness to “go”. Last week, I found the end of one of my lines
was loosely wrapped around the place in which I’m standing. Only time will tell
if I will ever be as rooted as I once was.
Secretly, I hope not. My deepest
hope is that I can find a balance between the two spaces so that I never become
lost in the roots again. For now, I’m appreciating that right now, today, I am
grounded.
