05/18/2026
There has been a reoccurring theme lately in my life. Call it nostalgia, call it grief, call it self reflection, call it whatever you want… I think there’s a lesson in it for all of us, though. Recently, a friend of mine mentioned that she spent a lot of time just sitting by the ocean, and it’s her story to tell, but the basic gist of it was that that time spent in nature, by the water was time that helped her get through some very challenging circumstances. It got me thinking about my own life. Those that know me, know that I used to live in a town that was right on the Mississippi river. I spent as much time by the river, by streams, by ponds and lakes, as I could. Often times I had a fishing pole in hand. Even when I no longer was able to eat fish, having a fishing pole with you made it less likely that the police would chase you away at night. About 21 years ago, I moved away from the Mississippi and have not found that place of quiet and solitude again. I don’t even have any good pictures of being on the Mississippi at the moment. What I do have is a bunch of overgrown flowerbeds that I need to get out and pull about two years of weeds out of… but there’s a lesson than that too. Last night my dog was going nuts about something in the front yard. It was a mama dear, trying to have her baby in the front flower bed, that is overgrown with weeds I’ve been meaning to get to. It’s not an uncommon thing for dear to leave there fawns in people’s flower beds around here, simply because where there’s people activity, the coyotes are less likely to be milling around. So lesson number one, find a place of solitude, along the water, in nature, someplace safe, where you can sit and reflect… lesson number two, just because you focus on the overwhelming tasks that you have ahead of you does not mean that even in the mess, good things won’t happen. No I did not go look for the fawn… in fact, I am going to hold off on doing anything in my front yard for a week or two to see if mama comes back. Even in the mess, good things happen. I have said this before, but if you don’t have a place outdoors where you can go, check out Nicole’s awesome page on Instagram.
