Starburst
Once in a while I chance upon someone who absolutely illuminates my life. I hope that everyone gets to meet at least one such light in their lifetime. Early on in mine, during a particularly lonely spell when I was getting acclimated to culinary school in the Hudson Valley of New York, one such star burst onto my scene.
Another gal freshly plucked from her high school graduation in Missoula, Montana wound up in the same zumba class I forced myself to show up for after class one evening. Stumbling over the uninspired, dancey exercise routine, I noticed that I was in good company with her. Sensing she was also finding the experience humorous, I challenged her to a dance off, which I like to think of as the dawn of our sisterhood. In a setting heavily influenced by the intensity of the brigade system and the egocentricity of 'premier' status, meeting such a bright, uninfluenced light as shiny Kira was particularly fortuitous.
Such a brilliant friendship feels as if it were written in the stars, timeless and almost celestial. Just as within my marriage to Rich, I believe our souls have collided, forming a connection which extends beyond our earthly life. What a warm feeling it is...not so different from looking up to the night sky to remind ourselves of how small we all are.
Maybe that is why it felt so apropos when Kira wed sweet Isaac beneath the Big Sky, under the watch of Numa Peak during the height of the Perseid meteor shower last weekend. The coming together of two exceptional humans resulted in a tent-full of rather stellar people surrounded by alpine meadow. The collective light can only be described as a starburst.
May, Jack, Rich and I landed back in Dayton, feet on the ground, hearts still cushioned by the stardust of a most ethereal week. Being back on the farm, I am cherishing the life we have created here, immersed in these endeavors on the land, steeped in this community, having been completely energized by the power of that collective, mutual love. If we are but specks on the earth spinning amidst a much greater universe, I want to spend it surrounding myself with this work, which elicits a response from my body, mind and my heart and which enriches my life with connections to people and to place. I want to make plenty of time for spontaneity, accounting for the the labryinthine nature of life. To stay up with best friends on the night they marry, ending the night lying next to them in the grass, watching stars fall...that's what we're here for.
