No place else........

You know I think as I get older and hit this middle aged stretch I am struck by so much......so much about history, about what has happened, what matters, what doesn't, and what means something.....and taking the time to be away this weekend, with my kids and folks, is a treasure......I think you have one day where you look at your parents, and maybe your whole life, and realize that time is a thief......and precious......as we all are aging together......my kids.....myself.....and my folks....and to be honest, yesterday as we looked over that Gorge.....there is nowhere else I wanted to be...It is one of my favorite things.....being in the woods with the people I love.....and this trip was a last minute thing that has turned out to be lovely, and right on time.....and I suppose there is grief in that space too.....something about a certain point where you realize it all, and grieve what was there for so long, but not realized in the same way......places you took for granted or thought would last forever......and I think youth is the place where we believe all things stay the same and we have forever......and as I navigate this second half of a century of my life, I am aware that it will look different than the first.....for lots of reasons, and in lots of ways...and maybe the point is to begin to savor it all in a way that you haven't before......today we are plotting how this gorgeous day will unfold.....and looking forward to reveling in the sights.....I am remembering so much of it all as we are hanging this weekend.....I love my parents, I really do, and spending time with them is a gift truly.....they have walked in all of my chapters.....experienced all of my history, alongside of me and offered support and love in every one of those chapters......and I am grateful......I guess what is striking to me this weekend is that I have become more independent than I have ever been, and need and choose to be on my own often with my kids, but being here with them makes me remember that I too need them in certain ways......their steady presence......my kids are crazy about them too, and have a strong bond with them, and it is a gift to them too......so maybe this next 50 years of my journey is about taking the time to savor EVERY single day and minute.....to slow down, shifting out of survival mode and so many other states I have walked in, and taking all of what I learned to just LIVE each day with intention and appreciation and ALWAYS gratitude......cheers to fall, and cheers to new and beautiful hiking spots! Enjoy your day:) xoxxo