Reflections On My New Home

This week marks seven months since I moved to St. Louis.  When I left Alaska, it was with sadness to leave my friends, but with eagerness and excitement to start a new life.  I was looking forward to crafting my life from the ground up, making new friends, finding new haunts, and rediscovering myself.

Along the way, you have patiently followed bits and pieces of this adventure.  You have come dancing with me, enjoyed some hot cocoa, taken numerous walks in thepark, and shopped vicariously through me.  When I moved here, I assumed I would be spending three or four nights a week on a jiu-jitsu mat, and instead I find myself spending that time on a dance floor.  I figured I would be lonely the first several months, searching for friends, struggling to find a place; instead everywhere I go now, I find people who are genuinely happy to see me again.

Life is what we make it, and I find that the life that I am making for myself is wonderful and fulfilling.   There is a certain balance to my life that for many years was missing; emotional, social, physical, spiritual- all of these things are coming together in a cornucopia of life.

No, it has not always been an easy journey.  My first couple of months, I did every random thing that crossed my path as I searched for those routines that would help define this new chapter of my life.  This led me to a gymnastics meet, outdoorconcerts, and the occasional farmers' market.  Some of these have become integral parts of my life (such as swing dancing), and others have a definite “been there, done that” flavor (Area 51). 

I have made awesome new friends, some for gossip, and others for hugs, and many more for a smile or a laugh any time. 

I’ve also learned a lot about myself.  My sense of rhythm is not awful, as I have always believed.  It is just poorly developed- a skill rather than an innate talent.  Meeting people is not a difficult task, it is just another skill (which was also poorly developed).  Downtime is something to be appreciated, but like so many things in life, it is easier to appreciate when it is not excessive.

Where will I be at this time next year?  I don’t know.  But I look forward to continuing to share my adventures- there are more parks, festivals, museums, restaurants, concerts, races, flea markets, dances and neighborhoods to wander through.  Some of them may be places we have gone before, but that’s okay.  This is my home now.

Thank you for continuing on this journey with me. 

A few fall pictures from Forest Park for your enjoyment: