Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden about getting out into the wild, leaving civilization and exploring what it meant to live simply, intentionally. Oh – I need to get my hands on that book again and delve into the richness of his mind. The Dixie Chicks wrote a song called Cowboy Take Me Away, with a line that said, “I said I wanna touch the earth, I wanna break it in my hands, I wanna grow something wild and unruly…” I remember rewinding that one section of song on my CD player over and over, and loving the lyricism, the poetry of those words, the pang it gave my heart, the yearning I felt to be a part of something more than paved city streets!

Who would have known that I would end up here, in Southern Oregon, getting ready to grow a massive garden with my Cowboy (only he’d hate it if he heard me talk about him that way), my rugged man, my laughter and my joy. Our little boys roam wild and unruly all over this property. I can’t wait to share our struggles and our achievements with this garden. Already, it has taken on a life of it’s own and I feel sometimes that it is planning us.

This year, I am accepting and owning all the yearnings of my heart. The things I long to do – I will do. Plain and simple. Why long for things? The drama of it suited me as a young woman. Now, I just need to go conquer things and tackle them and get them done. Check them onto my permanent list of Yes’s, breathe deep and see what else I want to do.

(Loving that I saw the book Walden, a first American edition, on Pawn Stars with my husband, and got inspired to take a little moment and write! That is how we get this done!!)