Branching Out

/

I have really enjoyed branching out a bit since Patty died. I didn’t realize how hungry I am to personally connect with others. Zooming with distant friends and family is good - thank God for great siblings, children, and grandchildren. But there is nothing like connecting with new folks. I have been confined for too long. Patty and I did not make new friends when we moved to Vermont in 2012 - the same year Patty was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I am not as much a ‘home body’ as I thought, as I’ve been. I feel it now.

I am delightfully surprised on how I enjoy getting out, and reaching out to others.

All Souls Interfaith Gathering (ASIG} has more than met my expectations. All the people I have met are friendly and interesting. Pastors Don and Kim Marie speak my language - they connect with nature, logic, and love. And, what a beautiful environment, overlooking Lake Champlain and the Adirondack. This spiritual interfaith thing is real - is good - brings people together, while celebrating differences. ASIG is small, and given their program and people, they will grow fast, once people catch on to the logic of their love..

I have met potential photo friends with a group called Northern Exposure. (thanks for the introduction Claudia!) I am excited about the possibility of travel photo companionship - something I have never really been able to have and now I can.

For quite some time I have been in the mode of, ‘I can’t do that’… and that was fine with me, because Patty was my first love. Now, I am getting used to saying to myself, ‘ I can do that’. I love it. What’s to come, now that I am branching out?

Branch Out