Introducing...The Meandering Muse!

Hello!  Some big news here;  after much thought it is time for a refresh of this space's name. Since the wheel of the year has cycled almost 15 times, it is time to evolve my blog as I myself have done moving from one phase of life to the next.  

Since 2009 I've been Tilting at Windmills...after almost a seven year break I have returned as The Meandering Muse.

Some may think that running a small business is enough to keep a young family busy.    In 2007 we purchased a 130 year old farmstead on six acres so that we could garden, eat seasonally, preserve food, take care of farm animals and reach for a sustainable lifestyle while bringing up our young children.We have managed all of the typical family fun stuff, teenage years, club sports, first dates; in addition we now have a deep understanding of  advocating for mental health which has become very dear to my heart. 

Today our children are both in college and spreading their wings while we begin to preen our empty nest. In the last year B and I also each lost our mothers, after short and unexpected illnesses.  We are profusley feeling the seasons of change.  It is through entering this new phase of life that my voice has found volume again.  Join me while I meander through life while trying, as always, to take a less traveled by road.

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A Challenge To You

For all of you starting the year and thinking Whew!  I'm so glad that 2023 is OVER!!  I challenge you to take an hour and look back through your pictures.  I did this yesterday trying to gain some perspective on a year that had left me feeling numb.  I am so glad that I did!  

Entering last year after the passing of my Mother In-Law in November 2022, I wanted to try to focus on home, family and seeing friends (which still was stunted post Covid).  What I found was the year was full of wonderful things.  I started cooking again...A LOT.  We focused on rehabing and planting the kitchen garden, We had dinners with friends and a girls weekend.  B and I spent a weekend away for our 25th wedding anniversary. I surprised my mom and flew back to California for Mother's Day (in retrospect, the best decision that I made last year).  We visited Rhi in Asheville. We drove to New York to go to my cousins wedding.  And I dusted off my rusty blog and began to write again. Whew!  Not such a bad year!!  

Then August came and we went back to California for our regular summer vacation, however this time my mom was having a major, yet relatively routine surgery.  That spiralled over ten weeks into pneumonia, unforseen infections, an additional surgery, recovery, then a sudden code overnight, ventilator, my dad going into the hospital as well, successful extubation, mom starting to chat again full of humor, then a month after that sudden respiratory failure, and her passing 2 hours later. The breathtaking grief associated with this long road that was truly unexpected overshadowed the year.  I am forever thankful that I was able to be present for the time my mom was hospitalized to help her and my dad navigate the rediculousness of our medical system at work (that would be a whole other post to even scratch the surface)!

My dad came and spent the month of December split between us, in Wisconsin, and my brother's family in New Jersey, and we were able to take time together to process, remember and love one another.  I mentioned in my last post some of my mom's last words to me You Can't Be Afraid of Life.  I've realized what an important exercise it is to look back at things in their entirety. It allows you to remember all of the good in the shadow of the difficult. It teaches gratitude and not to take anything for granted.  Reflecting on this I am walking, with intention into 2024.