You're already home where you feel loved

"Momma once told me / you're already home where you feel loved" 

- Lost In My Mind, The Head and the Heart

It has been a bit of a tumultuous week.

Going from Frazer Lake, where bears are as abundant as people, to town, where there are (comparably) many people. Thankfully, one of those people is Sebastian, who is visiting for two weeks...

... to thinking I have all my housing figured out, to learning that no, the week that two of my out-of-town friends will be visiting is the one week that I no longer have a place to stay. And then being generously offered a place to stay for all three of us...

...to learning that the cousin of a close friend lost her arm in a serious ATV accident, and seeing the community rally to support her...

... to having my mom officially move to Abu Dhabi, so that now both my parents are living in the UAE. Which is pretty difficult to wrap my head around.

This week has been a funny combination of feeling alone, supported, uprooted, welcomed, distant, and close.

I'm super thankful for those who have opened their hearts/homes/gardens/arms/everything and anything to me this summer. Much love to you.

Independence Day

It is disappointing when people question your judgement when you want to go to a wild place alone. Especially when you find security in solitude, and when you are qualified in so many ways to be doing what you're doing.

I kayaked to and camped on an uninhabited island this weekend. Alone. Nothing bad happened to me. I was in full control of almost everything. I felt safe, content, peaceful. 

Tonight, I walked alone for less than a quarter of a mile through town and was followed and yelled at by a staggering drunk man. I felt neither safe, content, nor peaceful. 

One of these scenarios is more common and sadly, more accepted than the other. Let's stop discouraging women who find tranquility in wild places. Encourage exploration and self-reliance. Discourage the idea that a woman must be accompanied by a man in order to feel safe. 

Happy (belated) Independence Day.