You Are Here

This morning was a breath of fresh air--almost felt chilly, and it was lovely...

We've been getting up earlier this week to get a jump on the heat of day and spend more of our time working in the (relatively) cooler air. Yesterday we beat the sun up (very farmery of us) and though I'm not always the earliest riser, I love the feeling of a new beginning the sunrise brings.

This summer has been one of new beginnings. My older sister, of course, had a baby this spring (the most wonderful baby.) She and my given brother are experiencing a life discovering who she is, what it means to love her, and how to be the best parents to her that they possibly can, all the while supporting each other. They inspire me. My younger sister became engaged this spring, hours after my niece was born, and will be married in a few weeks. Her and my given brother-to-be have a new life together, making each other laugh, practicing compromise, finding the place in the world for the two of them, loving each other fully. They inspire me. I love my sisters like, well, sisters. There is the love between parent and child, which cannot be matched. And then there is spousal love which is (I understand) a beautiful work of art--on a much different level (do I have that right? my experience is nil, but based on what I observe, it seems, done justice, ever progressing towards perfection) ...but siblings, sisters... that is a bond all it's own. This past weekend we remarked on how different children from the same family, same parents and upbringing, are so different. It's not a shocking revelation, and different we are --I'm glad for it. I love the love that we all share that allows for the love of the differences. To see them, accept them and wish them well. Well. Wish them wonderful, even if they clash with our own values or beliefs, or maybe don't align just perfectly. We all educate each other, with best intentions in mind. Maybe we are not all sold all the time, but we're informed. Informed of a different perspective and informed again, constantly, that we are loved--we are being looked out for, whether we like it or not. (Honestly, I think we always like that part.)

Just a few days after my niece was born and just a few hours after the engagement, these bits of newness changing all our lives, forever, for wonderful..... I moved to the farm. Not near as momentous, but a step in the right direction for me. I hope to experience the new kinds love that my sisters are experiencing someday, the kinds of love that our parents raised us with.

But as I plan for my future now, --gardens and goats, sheep and chickens.. I can't help but be excited about where I am. Who I am. How those I love (family and friends alike) have shaped me. Have given me this small courage to follow this reoccurring ideal stuck in my dreams.

But I'm also reminded to be humble, to work for my luck, to create my own happiness and know and own what that means to me.

This Wailin' Jennys song, You Are Here resonates with me a lot at the moment, the lyrics (as those of many of their songs do) just ring true:

And I'll leave you with that tonight. This weekend will be filled with friends, farming and funny pictures I'm sure. Which I will share with you soon.