Turning a Leaf

Yesterday I had a wonderful day with friends. 

A lunchtime hike with one friends; sipping chocolate and a walk in town with another friend; and finally dinner and some more walking with another friend. 

They’re all persons from different paths of life, in many ways: people from different parts of the country, of different ages, with different backgrounds and different careers. And yet, we all share some fundamental similarities which bring us very close: we’ve all chosen to move here and stay here because of what this place offers us from the viewpoints of geography/landscapes/outdoors and social aspects. And we’re all of us starting one or more new phases in our life now. 

The joyful theme of starting a new phase with the mixture of excitement, fear, loss, enthusiasm, relief, and happiness was in the air between us and around us all day yesterday.

One of my friends said to me, explicitly: “I’m so glad you decided to turn a page and give Colorado a chance!” — So am I!

And another friend said to me, “I feel like I’ve turned a leaf” — and so do I!

In this moment, I feel like I’ve turned a leaf and underneath it I’ve uncovered, or discovered, “home”. 

I still miss and will always treasure all my friends in California and in other parts of the country and the world. I will always treasure and hopefully be able to bring with me the “pieces of home” that I was fortunate to find along the way. But in this moment, the several leaves I’m turning now feel like they need to be turned. 

These last pages of a particular chapter need to be turned even as I write them.