Dec. 23, 2017. The papers are signed. I am the proud owner of 300 feet of waterfront on Huron Bay in the Western Upper Peninsula. Just in time for Christmas! Within hours of my text (“It’s mine!”), Jeff arrived with his heavy equipment to start creating a road through the rugged bush. I followed him to pick up the branches. I’m learning to drive a four-wheeler and I know it’s just the first of many physical things that I will learn to do. I expect to learn new emotional and mental habits too, but that will come later.
The temperature is in the teens but we don’t feel it as we hustle about, taking our first steps to create a thing of beauty out of two acres that many other potential buyers passed by. I remember the first time I walked this property with Jeff. We could barely make our way through the thick underbrush and our boots became sodden in the low-lying places. Did I do the right thing?? It’s a messy piece of land right now, but oh, the waterfront! I could sit and look at it all day. I know that I will do that soon, but for now, so much work awaits. My mind spins with an unfamiliar buzz. Some of my friends call it “visioning.” I want to create a place of refuge in our polarized society. I want to share this place with others who need the solace of nature – especially those who have never experienced that solace. I hope to draw people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives who otherwise may never engage with each other. Such grand ideas! I wonder if my idealism will survive this tumultuous time. Whenever my mind spins, I find it helpful to immerse myself in physical work. There’s a lot of that ahead of me. And so it begins…
For Many Moons 