It is late afternoon on this bright, chilly winter day, and I am ensconced in a small 1800's-era adobe casita in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Beasley is sleeping on his comfy bed, one paw planted fondly on his blue and white rope toy.
I arrived here last Saturday afternoon, Merletta (my Honda Element), packed nearly to bursting. Faithful Doggo and I had traveled nearly 1,600 miles for three solid days, the Blue Ridge Mountains receding in my rearview mirror.
Crossing the impossibly-wide Mississippi River on the other side of Memphis, I recalled the last time I'd traversed this body of water - summer, 2017 while on my "Chasing Light" journey as I headed back east for home.
Now, a new journey. My sweet little bungalow nestled in the quiet hollow, with the birds and deer and calling owls, belongs to someone else as of December 30th. Tito returned to his original "Mama" owner who has two of his litter-mates. He is happy to romp and play and cuddle with them. Kitty Witty made a seamless move to my daughter's and son-in-law's place, where she prowls the nearby woods and occasionally presents them with a still-warm mouse. Roadcinante is parked for now on a mountaintop in Ashe County next to dear friends' Airstream where it is reported they whisper through the night, sharing stories of the road.
And I am now a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
I do not yet know where I will live. For now, I'm landing in AirBnBs while I learn the city, decipher neighborhoods, make new friends, plug into the writing community, and look for a long-term rental for Beasley and me. I look forward to completing revisions of my Chasing Light memoir and finding a home for it, too.
I barely feel my feet beneath me, as if my atoms haven't all realigned - it almost seems I've been teleported here, a flash of light disappearing from one place, reappearing in the next, but I'm beginning to catch up to myself. This morning, very early while it was still dark, I walked out into the casita's small courtyard and looked into the velvety sky. The stars are arranged differently here. Back in Sugar Grove I could peer out my bedroom window and know what time of night it was just by Orion's position. Here I will have to learn a whole new sky.
But they are still the same stars. And some time last night, even though the casita is on a busy street in the city, I woke to hear the call of a nearby owl, a seeming voice of welcome in my ear as I drifted back to sleep.
There is much to discover, and I am eager to share that with you here as this new journey unfolds, grateful you are still part of my story.
I wish you and yours all good health, and rich blessings on your own journeying in the coming year.