I recently returned to my home state to support my sister through some health stuff. I love summer anywhere, but I rarely catch it in the north country since moving to Colorado 20+ years ago.
TBH, where I grew up carries a sad nostalgia for me that’s hard to describe. Recognizing that certain things may never “get better,” or be “the same,” or even be tangibly possible still sweeps grief over me. The exception that keeps bringing me back: time with some of my absolute fav humans in the universe.
For the record, this stay was no different on that front. Special moments becoming fond memories ~
Picking cherries with my recently widowed aunt (happy bday Uncle Ian!). Hanging with my 95-year-old Grandma. Dinner with Dad and Tippy (happy 19th anniversary yesterday!). Brewery hang with cousins and auntie. And last but not least, driving through my childhood neighborhood with my bestie who lived two houses down.
Still, even in the sweetest moments, that familiar sadness lingered underneath.
So I retreated to the woods more than ever before, finding the forest’s embrace to be exactly what I needed.
I also witnessed so much woodland magic!
8 kinds of fungi. A robin’s egg. Black-eyed Susans. A one-eyed snapping turtle. A mama squirrel relocating her kit. Wild berries. Wishes to the fairies.
Even a firefly farewell to send me home. 🧚🍄
I’ve returned back to Colorado, devastatingly on fire and in a deep drought, with a renewed appreciation for the Land of 10,000 Lakes that raised me.
Instagram post here.
