snow globe

I live in a snow globe.

The past decade has been a constant series of shaking that globe into a fury of life altering events.

Shaking and shaking and shaking.

And, in the process, I have discovered life. We live on the edge, and it is not always good. But it is not always bad. In fact, most of the time is better.

I have stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon surrounded by family. Hiked the trails of Yosemite alone. (Really short trails, not scary at all. I mean seriously, this is me, after all. The solitude was amazing, though.) Walked in forests and deserts and oceans.

And yes, even watched the snow fall and felt the earthquake, literally, beneath my feet.

I’ve waited a thousand yards outside an office building to find out if my husband survived a shooting inside, and two thousand miles away from the birth of all three of my beautiful grandbabies. All have both happiness with four joyful outcomes.

Sadness with being separated from those we love most.

I live in the smallest space. We move every few days. In this crazy mobile world, we have neighbors. People know our names. I have talked to more people in the past three months than in the past nine years.

We have no place in the world. Yet, we found a home, at last. We chose a tiny life and found a giant world.

I know that if I had really had choices to make, this is not what I would have chosen.

I am not a brave person.

And it would have been the wrong choice. Other than days and nights and every other minute of missing the special moments of family, I found myself.

Maybe someday, you will meet me, too.