Greetings from the land of cognitive dissonance and wonder!

Flashback to the year I was 10 and we moved to Florida three days before Christmas. It was, shall we say, quite the change from the American Midwest!

I remember going for a walk on the beach on Christmas morning. Pelicans instead of reindeer. Sand instead of snow. And the hypnotizing sound of waves breaking on the beach. I was home!

And, that was about 5 decades and a whole lot of White Christmas ago!

Today, it was the California update of all those memories.

An outdoor deck in California, draped in tinsel and Santa hats. My most beloveds. Pelicans. Waves on the beach. Outdoor heaters – blessedly! And Granddaughter #1 practicing PSAT words.

Juxtaposition!

Brava!!!

It’s a really good word for what the world feels like these days.

Love and Hope and fish tacos. Secret sharing. Bikinis and sweat shirts. Likely un-homed people trying to get close to the patio heaters.

Christmas Carols with an island sort of style in the wind. (And me, trying covertly to sing along!)

The lines that really hit home for me, in the context of the big world, were these…

To face unafraid

the plans that we’ve made…

For tonight… fish to grill. Knitting lessons for a school project. A beading project. And coloring book time.

Not the version of the way we’ve always done it that I was raised with.

Not the world I grew up in, either.

And the place I most want to be, given my best understanding of my cosmic promise, only recently finding form in my awareness. I’ll admit, it’s not what I ever expected, consciously. And it’s totally my path!!!

Please stay tuned!

ps… the art is my inner camera-phobe’s way of honoring my promise not to use photos without permission!

pps… do you have a sense of cosmic promise? I’d love to hear! Just ask the calendar elves to find you some time. 45 min. My gift. Bring a cuppa, some red thread if it’s handy, and your big questions!