“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” -L. M. Montgomery
Can I just mention how luxurious it is for an introverted writer-type to have a place of her own? I am sitting in my favorite jammies, munching on a bowl of grapes watching Peyton play while I write this.
How marvelous is that? Virginia was right: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” -Virginia Wolfe (Note to self: buy lottery tickets.)
“The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” -Maya Angelou
It’s been a time of transition, a time of learning, and a time of growth for me. Roughly translated, that means I’ve been humbled a lot over the past couple of years. Re-building one’s life after a divorce can’t be done without recognizing the ways that you totally screwed up the first half of your life.
This weekend, with the help of some of the finest people on the planet, I moved into my own apartment. I now live alone, for the first time in my life. Did I mention that I’m watching football in my jammies?
“Home wasn’t a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.” – Sarah Dessen
It’s weird. And oddly luxurious, even though it’s pretty spartan in here. I have quiet to write and space to move around and think. I find myself thinking that I’m really grateful. The debt of gratitude I owe to my dear friends who let me live with them after my separation is mammoth. My children, my sister, my boyfriend, and many dear friends and co-workers have also been huge sources of strength and help to me.
I find myself continually thinking about the brew-ha-ha that erupted after President Obama said, “You didn’t build that on your own.” He had a good point (even if he made it poorly). I work very hard, and I’ve saved for a long time, but many people helped me. We don’t live in a vacuum: the encouragement (and the ridicule) we give affects people. The tangible help we give makes a real difference.
To those of you who helped me (and you know who you are), thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can’t wait to pay these huge kindnesses forward. Joy shouldn’t be in rare supply, especially at this time of year.
“At the end of the day, it isn’t where I came from. Maybe home is somewhere I’m going and never have been before.” -Warsan Shire