Extroverted introvert, they call it. The sort who can be perfectly content with lots and lots of alone and quiet time but will chat it up with no problem when the opportunity arises. I am so that and sometimes it really serves me well. September was such a chock full month, full of driving and games and school and appointments. My husband came home a couple weeks ago in the middle of the madness and I had dinner in the instant pot. The sun was still out and it was unseasonably warm. He mentioned maaaaybe taking a walk, but fatigue was voting for sitting down instead. I ran and grabbed shoes and dog leashes and convinced him we could squeeze in a short walk before dinner with the girls and dogs.
We were rounding a corner, with girls and dogs, when we noticed a chicken coop in a side yard. A woman and her neighbor were hauling some brush out into a flatbed trailer and all chicken heart eyes I gush, "Are those your hens?" As if they would be anyone else's hens shacking up in her back yard. This urban farmer matches my enthusiasm and says, "Yes! Do you want to come see them?!?"
Um, yes. I did, in fact, want to see the chickens. A lot.
The girls and I handed dogs off to my husband and traipsed into the yard to see the small flock and we talked non stop. Where do you live? How long have you lived here? Was your house near the fire? How old are your kids? We have a big party every summer! You should come!
The next week we got together and they brought us eggs. Today we sat in my kitchen talking a blue streak while the girls got to know each other. Amazingly they too hit it off immediately and had to be appeased with promises of another visit soon.
It is hard to start fresh in another place. Whether you do it once or do it every few years. Building your tribe all over again from scratch is daunting. It takes a lot of fortitude to put yourself out there. To be honest, the first two years we have spent here have been emotionally and physically taxing. I have put off taking chances like these because it felt like one more hard thing that needed to happen and might not work anyway. It doesn't always. This is part of the package though. This is how a community is built. You can be bitter that you have to keep doing it or you can celebrate the beautiful people who come into your life. I won't kid you - I have done both of those things.
Tonight, I am celebrating.
Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatevery you call it, whoever you are, you need one. - Jane Howard
I know so well what you are talking about!
Posted by: Nancy | October 09, 2017 at 06:44 PM