Semblance of a Plan

It's finally Spring in SEMI! Yesterday was our first 80 degree day and Claudia said it seemed like the whole world came out of its shell. I agree - at one point I had to stop and give a "whoo hoo" (accompanied by a vigorous booty shake). I could feel the physical and mental change in myself in just one day of warm weather.

I may have written before about how the lack of a "plan" for what our future was going to look like was causing me great anxiety. Being a person who doesn't suffer well, I pushed (maybe too hard?) for at least a geographic area where we will end up by the first of the year, 2012. That geographic area is right where we are.

The Upper Peninsula is a beautiful place ... if there is a heaven, it's gotta have those rocky beaches and waterfalls that we found in the Porcupine Mountains or it ain't all it's cracked up to be. My soul has been soothed watching the sunset over Lake Superior. I have found peace in the power of the Presque Isle River. And yet, the idea of starting over again feels overwhelmingly oppressive to me. When we first moved to Michigan, I got lost quite frequently. In Memphis, I intuitively knew whether I was heading South or West and made the mistake of assuming that meant I had good sense of direction. After we moved to Ypsi, I realized it was only because I'd spent 40 years using the Mississippi River as my touchstone. Sometimes, I would be so far off route that it felt like I was losing my mind. Add 50% to my travel time to account for this and I was NEVER on time for anything (something else that causes me stress).

Then, there is my community. I have people here. People I can count on. People who really know me (and still like me!). People I can laugh with, cry with, love with. Leaving Memphis was an adventure and I don't regret it, but I miss my people every single day. In a broader sense, I love being surrounded by Universities and all that means. Culture, food, music, art, really smart people, activism, diversity. And beer. We musn't forget beer.

So...I asked Bill if we could stay here. Close enough that I can plug in to all the above when I need to to keep me sane. Of course, he said yes. Or at least he didn't say no. I don't think it would have been his preference, but he is willing to accomodate me, at least for now. Who knows, there may be a point where I feel better about the idea of starting over (again). Right now, this is where I need to be.

Meanwhile, back on the farm....

I put out my spinach and kale this weekend. I'm in search of some Lombardi spinach seeds but haven't found them yet. I've got tomatillos and beans coming up and hopefully I can stick those in the ground in the next several weeks. I'm also really excited about a shiitake mushroom workshop that's coming up. Oysters and shiitakes right in my own back yard? HELL YEAH!