Ozarks

The foothills roll,

The movement we didn’t find in the state south of us

Now north is the corner of the house, cold and open to the field

East is the morning and the porch swing that has moved for so many of us

West is where I am, or was, depending on the day, week or month

On all distances in between I find echoes of conversations

This way, that way and another

Mother, Father, sister and brother

The things I’ve craved, the dates I’ve forsaken, to be absorbed without question

Once, twice, and again, to imagine and hope I have it to do over again

Only Blogging about Major Life Decisions

Why is it that I only feel compelled to blog when I’m either getting ready to make a major life decision, or I already have? Am I using this blog for therapeutic reasons, or is it just my way of conducting the mental dialogue we all have with ourselves at critical junctures in our lives? I think it’s a bit of both in my case. So, what you ask, is the major life decision, and have I made it yet? First, yes, I’ve made it, and second, it’s an out-of-state relocation with my husband and 8-year old son. Not that monumental right? Well, maybe not if we hadn’t just moved to THIS state 4 years ago (almost exactly). Which is another line of thought I must explore later – why a lot of the major events in my life always occur around the Fall? Hmm… I’m thinking Freud would have had a field day with me. But, I digress . . . .



The barn on our property in Northern Arkansas



The move. We’re heading from Mississippi to Arkansas, so I guess this will continue to be the Misadventures of an Alaskan Girl in the Deep South – or maybe just the South. Arkansas, and certainly Northern Arkansas doesn’t feel like the Deep South. For one, in Arkansas they understand that mashed potatoes are a must at Thanksgiving and aren’t as familiar with the culinary qualities of cream of mushroom soup and Velveeta cheese (since we’re on the Fall theme).

Next on the list of life and its critical junctures – I will be a stay at home Mom when we move. A role I’ve only ever taken on once before for a 10-month stint. And, you also ask, how am I feeling about this? A little scared, and a whole lot of excited. So, maybe this will become less about me talking to myself and more about what a girl from Alaska does when she moves to the Deep South, moves again to the “less than deep” south and tries her hand at the simple life. Gardens, chickens, carpool, volunteering, cooking healthy meals, long walks with the dogs, learning to knit (seriously have always wanted to learn to do this). A little legal research on the side and a ton of taking care of my family. It sounds like a little slice of heaven to me; I just hope I can be thankful for the chance to have that mental dialogue with myself on a more consistent basis, and not just on impulse.