The last few months have brought new life, love and loss to our family.  Kim's bff from high school shared this poem at our wedding and we would like to share it here with you now.  If you know us, you see us.  If you'd like to know us or have a story of your own to heal, reach out.  Our cup runneth over.

The Garden

He treats you like dirt.
That's the fear, isn't it?
That when the warmth of this day has faded
you will fall away with ever-growing mounds of debris around you.

You've both been here before
The hope, the joy, the anticipation
of a life of tenderness and growth together
gave way to cold, dusty distance;  stones in the heart.

Kim, a desert flower
conditioned by the sun's scorch and harsh seasons of parched land: 
the Spring of growth,
the Summer of bloom
The Fall of thirst,
the Winter of release, nature’s cycle of tumbleweed.  
This traveler hitched a ride to the Granite State
and sowed new seed in Claremont where the soil is rich and rain plentiful.  

This one, this Rick, treats you like dirt; the soil that he loves.
Watch him prepare the foundation for your marriage in the way he knows best: 
waiting first for the right season (which cannot be rushed),
catching the warmth of the sun on the ground,
analyzing the chemical signature of what makes your relationship flourish,
adding nutrients, pops of energy, mulch for sustainability,
preparing the foundation for the growth of your union. 

Today you have planted a new life together
into the earth rich in hope, love and community. 
Scatter stories of your travels,
pot lavender roses, peonies and bottlebrush in this pumpkin-spiced oasis.
Bloom color like the desert after a storm,
sow resilience into this garden of plenty.  

Thank God, my friend, that he treats you like dirt. 

JR - 15 October 2022

Once upon a pre-pandemic, a small cohort of women gathered in New England to face their fears and bare their souls together in the hopes of healing.  And healing happened.

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. And yet, so often our days are spent on autopilot, going through the motions without really living. If we're not careful, life can pass us by without us ever really experiencing it.  We can choose to live each day with intention and purpose. One way to do this is to "walk your talk" - that is, alignment of actions with words. In other words, doing what you say you're going to do.  It sounds simple enough, but walking your talk can be a challenge. 

We laughed, cried, walked, and leaned in to the collective Womens' wisdom among us as Spirit moved us each toward our next steps on that beautiful October weekend.
Fast forward three years and we are forever changed by what changed us.  Life, love, and pursuit of happy-ness abound regardless of what life has thrown our way.  We practiced leaving our drama at the door and focusing on possibilities that weekend.  It is a practice that has served us well even through the most unexpected societal and familial changes.
My newly beloved and I returned to that location in New England for our nuptials last October.  It was a full-circle moment for me and a blessing for us to introduce our closest friends and family to this hidden healing place on the lake.  

Now that 2023 is upon us, I'm being nudged by the Universe and feeling a renewed energy to continue the work that was birthed back then.  A few things have changed - my hair color, for example.  But the heart and soul of the message remains.  Don't settle for the story you've been sold.  Don't fight your way out of it.  We can truly rise above the limiting beliefs imposed on us along the way.  Together we can find the support to embrace what was, what is, and what it yet to be.    
Don't fight, don't flee, just stand.
And hold someone's hand.  Life is better in love.

Hugs,
--Kim