Perspective

Before I decided to stay on Lopez, I had written several blog entries about my move away from this Island. Now, Steve and I have come to a resolve that staying here is a good thing for both of us. When the decision was finally made to stay, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude, as this is where I truly want to be. I did not know this fully until the need to move was not so pressing and it was safe for me to feel these feelings. Through Steve’s acceptance of my desire to stay and as well realizing the many blessings we have in this community and among the intoxicating natural settings that surround us, the slow pace of life, family and the relationships we have built, we found a way to accept the blessing in its entirety, to be ever grateful for what we have. We, again, feel fairly sure of this path.

So here I am, alive and breathing in the day, a day in the life of a Lopezian. My sister may have a child soon, my parents are a common part of my life and are close and reachable, and friends and connections are ever popping up and budding among the weeds growing in this vast and beautiful space. I love it here and I feel so much support. Lopez has been a place of wellness for me, and in my adult life this means a lot. I have grown in stability and Faith and find myself living an ever full and capable life, filled with people, activities and work that are gratifying and nourishing. I have great friends and as I expressed, my connections are ever growing and expanding.

I am grateful to realize all that I have here. Moving has put me through a process of viewing and analyzing my life and needs in a special way. I found myself evolving and realizing what was important to me. So here I am in a situation very similar to the one I was planning on leaving, and am looking on it in a completely new light. I see my life, still very much the same, through new lenses, and yet things have changed around me.

There are a few new developments. We have decided to expand our food business starting with selling a 7 pepper rub nested under a label called  ‘Throw Down Fixins’, and Steve is joining the Board of Lopez Island Brewery, a new development on Lopez, as well as us becoming investors in the company. I feel ever more in touch with my Bible Study and Women’s group, I am exciting about helping my sister raise a family, and I can be ever closer to my parents as they approach old age.

I am blessed, I am here, much is the same, yet everything is different. Thank you, Lord.