Many thanks

It has been so. so long since I last wrote, and, truth be told, right now I don't even feel like putting fingers to the keyboard or thoughts to the screen. But, I promised myself this Sunday evening would be the ultimate finale to my dry spell of writing. And, with those first two sentences, and a few flavors of tasty chocolates lined up next to me, it is. My travels this summer were wonderful: sailing through the islands of Croatia with a group of amazing Aussies who made me laugh at least once every 10 minutes and made me fresh fruit martinis daily, seeing my favorite fabulous captain, spending birthday time with Mom in Vancouver, visiting Grammie and my friends and family in Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle, trying to take Dad on his first hot air ballooning adventure (the wind never did fully cooperate), fun filled stops back at home base, cruising through Ireland with two lovely ladies, living it up in each town with food, drink, and new people, and trying to remember the rules for driving on the wrong side of the road, enjoying great times with Miss Mona back in Zurich. Seriously amazing summer... it ended with me eager to begin a new school year of kids and crazy.

Yes, some travel dilemmas occurred. Credit card fraud, a blowout on the tire of the rental car, a lost camera in the back of the taxi, a misplaced ATM card. It seems each of the petty little annoyances that could happen did; yet, each of those was counteracted by a wonderful event, a good samaritan, or positive situation that somehow balanced the full picture into perfection. Because bad things don't often occur when I travel, I was thankful each was solveable. There was only one enormous casualty of the summer, which happened to be the loss of my journal. Some people have special possessions, memorabilia which are near and dear to them. I am not attached to much. My jewelry collected from around the world, my photos (which are now backed up in several locations), my art, my books, and my journal are it. I'm not sure where it went, as I know it was in my handbag journeying back from Dublin. Somehow, it abandoned me, and I've been devastated ever since. That book contains my life, everything that has happened since I moved to Switzerland... highs, lows, ultra lows, and countless hours of processing, celebrating, and pondering. And since then, I've been a little lost. Well, a lot lost.

I have a new journal out and am prepping in order to be ready to start it tonight. I'm forcing myself to write, to move on, let go, and start anew. And perhaps I should begin with the first thoughts I think each morning when I awake and the last thoughts I have before I fall asleep. Prayers of gratitude for everything I have, everything I am, and everything I aspire to be. I need to get back to the basics, and take the time to send these thoughts out into the universe again. I've taken too long a break from this practice, and need to get back into the groove...  I've put it on hold, and it has affected me in various, noticeable ways. I just needed some time to figure this out. The shift to reprioritize often takes a feeling of wobbly imbalance so we can eventually take action and adjust. Gratitude and writing- funny how things so seemingly small can be so consequential.

Please send good thoughts and writing mojo my way! It is time. On I go.