Harvesting May Flowers

It's late May, and life is grand. Andrea came home after my last journal entry, thank the dark gods, and not only brought me love and bourbon, but stopped me from continuing on my embarrassing spiral into further heart-spilling, truth-telling romanticized alcoholic episodes...for now.

Looking back over the last nine weeks, as well as the first few journal entries in Mexico, one must stop and glory at the spiritual growth cycle, and adaptation skills of a human being (old dogs like me have a harder time at new tricks than young kittens like my lovely Andrea). We never stop learning, growing, and accepting the change that comes with the latter, and that thought drives us towards tomorrow, while reflecting on yesterday. There have been various steps on the climb to the place we find ourselves in today, everyone a marker in time, holding lessons that if not written down, a fella like me may forget. There was the overwhelming adventure of leaving our home in SF, as well as the nomadic drive into unknown territory in search of a new home in Mexico. The arrival into the Promised Land of Sayulita was packed with anxiety, thrill and the haze of moments passing too quickly to remember. Then came the early, challenging days full of excitement, apprehension, soul-searching, and adjustment - asking questions to ourselves that needed to be answered before we forgot why we were here in the first place.

Today and the weeks leading up to today, on the other hand, are full of wonder and celebration. Wonder for the land we are so lucky to be living in, wonder at the personal growth we are both going through every day, and celebration for every day we have together in this free-road of a life we have made for ourselves. Its funny how one day everything is so foreign, new and beyond the thought of comfort, and then before you know it, things just change... You start knowing everything. You start seeing things not as new anymore, but with that worn beauty of something that is familiar to your eyes, your ears, your senses overall. Whether it's the roosters crowing all night, the smell of the Carniceria (butcher shop) next door, or just seeing locals enough times to know their faces, and that you can tell they are getting familiar with you as well . This is the gift you get from keeping at things, and pushing yourself into new situations every day. This is where we are lately, celebrating the gift of comfort won from persistence and time. It's like the ground below us has settled to accept our weight on this new land, and feels softer to our feet. It feels more like home than ever before.

We begin to have a role in our new community, as well as a whisper of a voice, where we were once challenged by just trying to define our sense of self without careers to hold on to. We revel in those days of searching as well as any tough growth moments passed, because we know so clearly that without those questioning days, our own discovery would have been limited. One of the things most notable is that lately we feel as though we are actually living our life here, opposed to just lodging in a new town. Our days and weeks are full of things that are actually contributing to our future, growth, and the community. We have appointments, we have to-do lists, we exercise, see movies, meet with new people, and are challenged and motivated to do more, while still having time to stop and harvest the flowers of our work.

This feeling of life and comfort has moved us to start looking for land as well, and fulfill the dream of building our home and family here in Mexico...to plant a garden, grow a family, and have roots in a town and country we find so special. An outpost for us and our extended family to always have, whether when running from the law, or running for a rest from the chaos of life...this home will be all that.

We had a first for our time here, and that is that we both got very sick as soon as Andrea returned from Indiana. Being sick in the heat of Sayulita, and not wanting to leave the bed brings a certain sweaty misery that is hopefully not to return for years. All the movies and Mexican-strength Robitussin can't stop the dismay, and we are glad to be better.

Another titanic marker in our lives is that approximately 14 days ago, I quit smoking. If you know me, you know that I like smoking. It's yummy. Been doing it a lot for many years...but alas, one eventually tires of wheeeezing every night and every morning. So, in the land of bars and booze, prime resting ground for the Argentine Smoke Wolf, I quit. Thanks to Andrea for her support, patience during the hard days, which are still here, and constant motivation when I have none. I have never quit in my almost 20 years of smoking like this, with a commitment that may actually stick. I'll always have booze, a vice yet to be on the endangered list.

May brings special magic with it, because it was on May 23rd 2004 that Andrea and I were married in Sayulita. The best day of my life, without question, so being back in the land of the life-starting day is awesome. To celebrate, we have left Sayulita for our first trip inland, and are currently residing in the lovely Casa Roja, in the town of San Miguel de Allende, state of Guanajuato. This town is just amazing, so full of history, the birthplace of Mexican freedom fighters and independence, and artistically awe-inspiring. The entire town is colonial and baroque in its architecture, and its streets are European-like with its cobblestone beauty. We have been here 3 days, with 3 to go, and are loving it.

As we begin our slide into full blown summer, we send our love to you, and hope these words find your lives and hearts full of freedom, beauty, truth and love...