So, let it be known that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love spending time with friends and family, and it's just so much more relaxed during this time than at Christmas.
This Thanksgiving is the first time I've ever had to travel home for a holiday. At first, I wasn't really excited to go across the country again, but as soon as I landed in the Grand Rapids airport my opinions about it changed. Without getting into all the separate stories, I'll say that my friends have given me a royal welcome back to Michigan. Some people have expressed jealousy at what I'M doing with my life, but after hearing how things are going here...I'm pretty envious of them in return. It's all made me very homesick.
Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE where I'm at in life. My several previous posts about how happy I am...I'm not saying any of that is untrue. I'm really living my own dream. But damn, I've missed my friends and family here.
I spent some time verbally processing all of this in depth with one of my close friends tonight. For a lot of selfish reasons, staying in New Mexico for a while would be absolutely phenomenal. For a lot of less selfish (but still personally appealing) reasons, moving back to Grand Rapids is also a great idea. Either way, I know I would be very happy with my decision. I'm in a rather hard spot right now, and I know both Thanksgiving celebrations I'm going to tomorrow are only going to make it harder. At least I'm having this crisis right now, when I have time to think about it. Anyway, I'd appreciate any wisdom, thoughts, and prayers you can offer.
Really didn't think coming back to Michigan was going to be this hard on me.
Peace.
Showing posts with label mountains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mountains. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Thursday, September 3, 2015
New Home
"You really love your job, don't you?"
My roommates caught me landscaping our front yard after I got of work today. I'm trying to clean things up around the outside of our house, maybe get some native flowers growing on top of the retaining walls by the stairs.
But yeah, I do love my job as a grounds worker here at Glorieta Camps. This is the sort of work I like: working outside all day with my hands. Even on the hard days (like today, when we were chipping branches all day), I would take this over just about anything else.
People here ask me often how I like working here, and I find myself giving them more and more positive answers every time I hear the question.
I am so happy here!
Seriously, let me tell you some of the reasons why. First, I've been actively trying to move out West from Michigan for several years now (as many of my friends there know), and it's been a lifelong dream of mine to live near the mountains. Second, my work situation here is fantastic. I have my first salary, free housing, a job I love, great supervisors, and it's stable.
That's the key right there. I haven't felt real stability in my life in sooo long. I'll get a job I love, but it's a temporary position; maybe I'll get a job I really don't like and I'll be looking for different work; maybe I'll get a good, stable job, but I know I won't be living in the area for long. It was often some combination of those. Now I feel like I can finally sit down and rest in life. I don't need to run around looking for jobs or try to figure out how I'm going to move somewhere else. It's a great feeling.
Another reason I'm happy: I finally live in a place where I can do the things I love. We are surrounded by mountains, close to national forests and wilderness areas, and not very close to any big city. There's great hiking and camping both on camp property and just off it. Rock climbing and mountaineering abound. It's almost like a dream to me.
Sometimes I feel like I'm overwhelming people when they ask how I like it, but I feel overwhelmed myself. I don't know if I'll be at Glorieta Camps for life, or for more than a few years. I don't necessarily feel like this is "it" for me. It's just...everything seems to finally be going right for a change, and I haven't felt this way in a very, very long time.
That's why I'm so happy.
Peace.
My roommates caught me landscaping our front yard after I got of work today. I'm trying to clean things up around the outside of our house, maybe get some native flowers growing on top of the retaining walls by the stairs.
But yeah, I do love my job as a grounds worker here at Glorieta Camps. This is the sort of work I like: working outside all day with my hands. Even on the hard days (like today, when we were chipping branches all day), I would take this over just about anything else.
People here ask me often how I like working here, and I find myself giving them more and more positive answers every time I hear the question.
I am so happy here!
Seriously, let me tell you some of the reasons why. First, I've been actively trying to move out West from Michigan for several years now (as many of my friends there know), and it's been a lifelong dream of mine to live near the mountains. Second, my work situation here is fantastic. I have my first salary, free housing, a job I love, great supervisors, and it's stable.
That's the key right there. I haven't felt real stability in my life in sooo long. I'll get a job I love, but it's a temporary position; maybe I'll get a job I really don't like and I'll be looking for different work; maybe I'll get a good, stable job, but I know I won't be living in the area for long. It was often some combination of those. Now I feel like I can finally sit down and rest in life. I don't need to run around looking for jobs or try to figure out how I'm going to move somewhere else. It's a great feeling.
Another reason I'm happy: I finally live in a place where I can do the things I love. We are surrounded by mountains, close to national forests and wilderness areas, and not very close to any big city. There's great hiking and camping both on camp property and just off it. Rock climbing and mountaineering abound. It's almost like a dream to me.
Sometimes I feel like I'm overwhelming people when they ask how I like it, but I feel overwhelmed myself. I don't know if I'll be at Glorieta Camps for life, or for more than a few years. I don't necessarily feel like this is "it" for me. It's just...everything seems to finally be going right for a change, and I haven't felt this way in a very, very long time.
That's why I'm so happy.
Peace.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Home is where the heart is
I long for a simple life; a peaceful life. Living in the city has its perks, but it is not for me. Do not mistake me: by "simple" I do not mean convenient. If I wanted a life of convenience, the city would indeed be a good home...but it is not my home, and never will be. If, as they say, home is where the heart is, then my home is across a whole range of mountains, and spans nations' borders. My heart lies in the desert canyons of New Mexico, the rugged wildness of Durango, the grand splendour of Jackson Hole, the friendly simplicity of Moyie Springs, and the silent beauty of Kootenay Lake. These places are more my home than almost anywhere else I have lived. The day now fast approaches when I can finally leave Michigan and follow the setting sun.
Peace.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Mountains and West Bound
*This is a journal entry from my trip to Idaho, one day prior to arriving at the farm. This is not a complete journal entry; I have abstained from posting all of it, as it contains personal thoughts which I have shared only with close friends*
Mountains can be very deceiving when trying to judge distance. Everything seems much closer than it is, and what looks like a twenty-minute drive could actually take forty-five minutes. On the flip side, because they are so large, one can seemingly gain very little ground on a certain peak, then realise they have traveled ten miles.
Mount Moran has an enormous hole in its center this time of year. You can see right through, as long as there are clouds behind it. The clouds in the hole don't move with the others, though. Strange. *This was a reference to the glacier on the side of the mountain, which at times matched the colour of the clouds behind it almost perfectly*
-
I realised something else today. This "West" I have longed for is not really a place. It is freedom, beauty, the wild, adventure, and love. The American West is romanticised; the ideals behind it are what I truly long for. These can be had anywhere in life. I can carry the West in my heart and live the life I have always wanted, even apart from the mountains. This may change my life.
"West Bound" is no longer just a Facebook pseudonym: it is becoming and is already who I am. Perhaps it will be a "real" pseudonym for future writings.
We will be in Moyie Springs by Saturday. I am excited to have a wood-burning stove and a place to put my belongings other than the car. I am also excited to start writing letters.
Mountains can be very deceiving when trying to judge distance. Everything seems much closer than it is, and what looks like a twenty-minute drive could actually take forty-five minutes. On the flip side, because they are so large, one can seemingly gain very little ground on a certain peak, then realise they have traveled ten miles.
Mount Moran has an enormous hole in its center this time of year. You can see right through, as long as there are clouds behind it. The clouds in the hole don't move with the others, though. Strange. *This was a reference to the glacier on the side of the mountain, which at times matched the colour of the clouds behind it almost perfectly*
-
I realised something else today. This "West" I have longed for is not really a place. It is freedom, beauty, the wild, adventure, and love. The American West is romanticised; the ideals behind it are what I truly long for. These can be had anywhere in life. I can carry the West in my heart and live the life I have always wanted, even apart from the mountains. This may change my life.
"West Bound" is no longer just a Facebook pseudonym: it is becoming and is already who I am. Perhaps it will be a "real" pseudonym for future writings.
We will be in Moyie Springs by Saturday. I am excited to have a wood-burning stove and a place to put my belongings other than the car. I am also excited to start writing letters.
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