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...I ate my fill of juicy, red strawberries; tart, plump blueberries; tomatoes bursting with ripeness; divinely pungent basil; and crisp, buttery corn-on-the cob.
...I wrote for myself in a long-lost journal, an effort to come to terms with who I want to be in this new environment, and rediscovered the importance of connecting with myself away from the public eye.
...I listened to the shrill cadence of cicadas, their urgent trill a backdrop I became glad to expect.
...I walked in the woods and strolled on the beach and marveled, marveled, at the new horizons to which I now have access.
...I supported local farmers, the winery across the street, and the only beef I ate came from grass-fed happy cows from my very own county.
...I dreamed of my daughters and ached for them, their physical presence in my life a void I struggle with daily.
...I prepared for my first hurricane, got nothing but a tropical storm, and was ultimately relieved that we got nothing but a tropical storm.
...I found a reasonable and appropriate rhythm to my work that has heretofore eluded me.
...I have come closer to living a balanced life than I ever have before, and am in complete and utter awe at how much time and effort it takes to live a balanced life.
...I recognized an important shift. Instead of uttering the oft-repeated phrase, I can't believe we live here, just yesterday I caught myself saying, We live here. Subtle, but discernibly different in its expression of permanence.
