returning without, returning within

After months of deciding, prepping, planning and moving, our family of four has landed back on old familiar stomping grounds in Midwest America. How strange its been to walk the streets, sidewalks, paths and trails I walked nearly half my age ago. How strange to find myself face to face with the person I was then and to be present to all of the choices I have made along the way that have made me who I have become. Prior to the move I was eager to get here, get a job, buy a home and start our new life asap. Generous lodging accommodations from friends and family have afforded me with a slower re-entry and time to reconnect with the pieces of my former self. I miss the jagged peaks of the Cascade mountain range and the wildness of the Pacific Northwest landscape...but I find the gentler rolling hills and somewhat tamer waters of Wisconsin supportive of a return within. My ravenous desire for new vistas and outdoor adventures could constantly be fed in my prior surroundings. While my new surroundings are certainly not bereft of exploration opportunities, the familiar landscape lends itself to an inner calming. I find myself organically slowing my own pace and seeing the people around me, especially my immediate family, with a greater curiosity. I am still unclear of all the reasons why this move was essential for our family...but I am quite certain this is a significant part of it. I am grateful for the way "the places we go" support the inner journeys we travel...for me, a journey to slow and simple.

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