So, we moved.
We are still in Santa Fe. We moved into the home that Noé built with his own two hands years ago. Upon entering the home, dear friends from Mexico said, “Es como estar en un rancho en México,” (It’s like being on a ranch in México), which of course makes my heart shine.
When Noé and I married, we each already had a home. For lots of reasons, we decided that the home that came with the kids and me would be our home after the wedding and we rented Noé’s in the intervening years. Four years have come and gone, with one child already in college and two more kids hot on his heels, we wanted to streamline our lives and finances. For lots of other reasons, Noé’s home makes the most sense for us to move into.
We moved in May. Dear friends helped and for a weekend, we all resembled pack mules edging the trails of the Grand Canyon – back and forth, back and forth. Wyatt came home from college, just in time to join the festivities.
The first few weeks held the usual surprises of moves –our well appeared to go dry and we had no water, discovery of a snake in our home (still haven’t found again, something very present in my mind when I walk through the dark to coffee in the morning), the septic tank backed up, the car quit working and needed an overhaul, and no internet at home for other a month. It was just like life on the ranch! All we needed were for the bulls to get out on the highway to make the week complete.
The skies blessed our home one late afternoon when the sun shone and rain fell. On our ranch in Arizona, we learned from ranch foreman Armando that when these two things happened together, somewhere in the desert, “Los coyotes se están casando.” (The coyotes are getting married.)
This home has been rented from much of its 20-year life. We hurled ourselves into painting with a flurry and Wyatt, Luke, and Wynn were absolute champs. Noé and I left for work in the mornings, leaving lists that usually started with “1. Paint” and we returned in the evening to find another section gleaming. After a week of this, the kids really didn’t think there was a need to paint and after the first couple of weeks, mutiny boiled beneath the surface of the crew of our ship. How to prevent a full-out rebellion…
For years, I’ve wanted to buy a pool table for the kids. We grew up with one on the ranch in Arizona, and like a tinaja (natural pool of water) in the desert, it was the gathering place of family and friends. After searching online for months, I’d found exactly what I wanted, a pool/ping pong table with felt the color of desert sand, on super sale – in Farmington, New Mexico, three hours away. We arrived to discover this hulking behemoth would’ve crushed our car. What to do? One rented pick-up (not easy to find on Fourth of July weekend) and several new 2X4s later thanks to Noé’s thinking, four huge young men loaded the table, we lashed it down, we headed back to Santa Fe – eyes on the horizon at the storm clouds. Untold pool tournaments and ping pong games later, it was worth every second and every penny. So far, this seems to have quelled the simmering rebellion.
In the midst of all, I taught two courses of Orientation to the Teaching Profession with students that made me smile, muse, laugh, explore ideas at a deeper level, and I felt my heart well with tenderness at these valiant souls now entering teaching. Little did they know how their stories and energy inspired me.
Due to its rental nature, this home had no landscaping. Loads of soil to turn and holes to dig. We’ve started the perennial bed, climbing heirloom roses, and lilacs for Cascabel and Grandma Grace on the ranch.
One of the gifts of a garden in summer and fall is that of giving bouquets from one’s own garden. The bouquet from this year’s garden.
I mused on the different chapters of life and how all compose the book of our life.
Luke is off to Shanghai, flown on the wings of homemade apple pies.
My apologies for being out if touch. The rhythms of life exploded like the grand finale of a fireworks show and have not quite yet settled back into place.
I’ll plant more flowers. This helps everything.
This morning, I sat out under the piñon tree and a hummingbird flew to the feeder. In many traditions, hummingbirds represent beauty and joy. The scarlet back of the bird glistened in the sun, the whirl of its wings pulsated through the air when it lifted to flight. Beauty and joy.
On to the next chapter of life.
* * *
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March 1, 2016 at 1:58 pm
You could write the book on how to make lemonade from lemons. What a wonderful tribute to your family, friends, and a refusal to get discouraged. Good lessons for this reader.
March 6, 2016 at 2:18 am
Dear Judy, thanks ever so much for connecting about the move. What an experience! We continue to paint and plant, though the focus has been more on painting and replacing the floor through the winter. Can’t wait for the weather to warm to see what survived the winter and will thrive. Hugs across the miles, Dawn
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July 29, 2015 at 4:13 am
What a beautiful home! I am so happy for you and your family! Much love!
August 4, 2015 at 2:24 am
Kristy Fernandez, thanks so very much, dear you! Sending hugs and love to beautiful you and your family! XOX0
July 27, 2015 at 12:22 am
Enjoyed reading about your partnership w/SFPS and Academy for the LoL in the Reporter. Keep up the great work.
Meredith Machen
August 4, 2015 at 2:23 am
Meredith, thanks so much. So glad you enjoyed that piece. Our program is growing by leaps and bounds. Thinking of you! Dawn
July 26, 2015 at 3:18 pm
Hi Dawn,
The joys ( and realities ! ) of life, love and family… always so delightfully presented in your words. Thank you! I think the picture of you gardening should be on the cover of some classy women’s magazine (:) !! Best wishes for a “wet well” from the coast of Maine ( yes, the beach !! )
Love, Barb
August 4, 2015 at 2:22 am
Barb, yes, the joys (and the realities!) of life! So very many of all this summer. Thinking of you on the beach in Maine. Thanks so very much for calling to share the beauty!
XO
Dawn
July 23, 2015 at 4:40 am
Dawn,
What a wonderful new chapter in your family. I love the writing, the pictures (the sky in the mirror is magical) and when I saw the pool table, I couldn’t help but think about the saying on the Ranch that you need something heavy to lift. Beautiful and the transformation is going to be captivating. Love, Sharon
July 25, 2015 at 12:00 pm
Dear Sharon,
I told Noé the story about Jan on the ranch and, “Let’s go move something heavy!” I love it! Can I tell you how often we quoted Jan during this move?! His saying became our mantra. True. Thanks so much for taking the time to write. Would love to share our new home in person one day. Love to you both, Dawn
July 21, 2015 at 8:36 pm
Dawn and family: Very best wishes on moving to the “new” home !! May God bless your efforts and each and every visitor.
Ellen Ducy de Perez, National Academic Supervisor English Immersion Program, Ministry of Higher Education Dominican Republic
July 25, 2015 at 11:56 am
Dear Ellen, how lovely to hear from you! Your note brings back the memories of such a wonderful time in the Dominican Republic with you. Thank you and thank you taking the time to connect. Mi casa es su casa. Mil gracias y abrazos.
July 21, 2015 at 1:51 am
Wish I could just pop in for coffee and a hug. Sure would like to meet Noe and all of the kiddos sometime.
I love love the new place! You are awesome.
Love you
Cathy
July 25, 2015 at 11:50 am
Dear Cathy,
Oh, how I would love for you to pop over for coffee and a hug. One day, I hope. That will give the plants time to mature and there will be more flowers for your visit!
Oh, do I ever love you, Cathy.
Dawn
July 20, 2015 at 9:01 pm
Dear Dawn, I love your journal. Reminds me of the many (15??? Or so) moves Valli and I made with kids, pets, and the “moving” stories we have told friends in our 45 years together (… Val’s underwear flyin’ out the drawers of our dresser as we hauled it in an old pickup truck !) Your storytelling skills are fabulous. Sincerely Bill Wasp BTW I passed my last NES test finally and am going to get my full level 1 teaching license asap. Many the 2 U, Laura Carthy, and all the fab maestro at SFCC.😄
July 25, 2015 at 11:48 am
Dear Bill, how wonderful to hear from you! Thanks so much for taking the time to write. Ah, brought back memories of many moves – including Val’s flying underwear! That made me laugh out loud. Thank you! Hey – congratulations on passing that NES and your teaching license! Bravo and bravo!!!
July 20, 2015 at 7:24 pm
Missed you. Thanks for sharing your move.
July 25, 2015 at 11:46 am
Sandra,
Missed you, too, querida. I hope life and writing find you well. Besos!
July 20, 2015 at 6:54 pm
Dear Dawn, You’re having one adventure after another; in no time you’ll be wondering what happened to summer! You’ve already made the house a home and your flowers will be outrageously beautiful next year, new beginnings over and over. Blessings, Dan
July 25, 2015 at 11:46 am
Dear Dan, no kidding about wondering what happened to summer! 🙂 The sun is just coming up here now, and almost time to go check on all of the plantitas. More going into the ground today. Thanks ever so much for envisioning their outrageous beauty in the upcoming years. Love that.
July 20, 2015 at 6:45 pm
How fantastic that its a house that Noe built -that just blows me away!
I am also moving – but staying in the area – after all I own a local business now! Jeff and I are finally separating. Jeff is very sad – kids are relieved and happy for me – I am near ecstatic! I will be renting a casita in Lamy until a small place in Eldo. comes up in my price range. Love your new place – very sweet. And boy you rock them muck boots real good girl!
Peaceout, Sandy
>
July 25, 2015 at 11:44 am
Sandy, now, we just need to put down the new floor in the hallway (we tore out the old carpet) and we’ll get you over here! A new chapter for you, as well. I am sending such love and peace to all. Love you.
July 20, 2015 at 6:05 pm
Wow! So many changes!!! Good luck with getting settled in over the next few months. I am moving again on the 30th, but alas, not to such a beautiful desert oasis.
July 25, 2015 at 11:42 am
Melissa, so wonderful to hear from you! Wow! I just looked at all of the wonderful offerings of Edible Material. Beautiful! What a life you’re creating. Love to you!
July 20, 2015 at 5:46 pm
A new chapter in your life I look forward to reading about………….
July 25, 2015 at 11:39 am
Dennis, a new chapter…thanks so very much for sharing in the book of life.
July 20, 2015 at 5:15 pm
Very sweet to see your heartfelt journey.
Giselle
July 24, 2015 at 10:58 pm
Giselle,
Very, very sweet to share this journey with wonderful you.
Dawn
July 20, 2015 at 4:15 pm
Such a lovely catching up! You captured beautifully the next chapter. Loved the photos that rounded out the great stories 😊
July 24, 2015 at 10:57 pm
LeAnn, so good to hear from you! Thanks so much for taking the time to write. Thanks for sharing so very many chapters with me. Hugs across the miles!
July 20, 2015 at 4:14 pm
Gosh I loved reading this. I sure miss you and yet I know how crazy busy life is. I am a little down in the dumps with having been sick for 2 months and with the Bridget scene.
I wish I could just cuddle at home with Steve and call me when it’s time to get married and live happily ever after.
Sent from my little device to yours
>
July 24, 2015 at 10:51 pm
Glenda-girl, sick for 2 months? I’m going to call you. We’ll find time to talk. XOXO
July 20, 2015 at 3:32 pm
God bless your new home! Looks like you are in the process of enjoying it already. Love it!. Ruth
July 24, 2015 at 10:50 pm
Thank you and thank you, Ruth! There really is something about nesting in new place, isn’t there? More plants and flowers going into the ground tonight!
July 20, 2015 at 2:53 pm
Lowe your new home. It has a welcoming spirit. Look forward to each new post. You have a gift.
A friend from South Dakota, Howard Nilson
July 23, 2015 at 1:08 pm
Howard, I love that you see a welcoming spirit in our home. Thanks so much for this gift. Very grateful to share the journey with you across the miles in South Dakota. Dawn
July 20, 2015 at 2:14 pm
A lovely way to start the day. Thanks for posting this. See you Saturday.AH
Anne Hillerman http://www.annehillerman.com http://www.wordharvest.com Author of Rock with Wings and Spider Woman’s Daughter published by HarperCollins
July 23, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Thanks so much, Anne! Once we lay the floor in the hallway, we’ll have our tribe over. Very much looking forward to Saturday, too. Hugs!
July 20, 2015 at 2:07 pm
Dawn
Our family is preparing for a most wonderful transition and we are working on welcoming in a new member who will become our son in law in October. Your sense of family is so delightful and deep I feel moved to share with my family and new almost-family, Jaron.
So I am taking the overflow of peaceful desert energy from your piece and sharing it with Shane, my husband, Rebecca, our eldest daughter, Popo Agie our youngest and Jaron our son-in-law to be!
Here’s to new family, friends and directions!
Tanja
July 23, 2015 at 1:00 pm
How wonderful, Tanja! Congratulations on Jaron’s joining your family! A new chapter in many ways for your family – a time of new beginnings and possibility. Thank you so very much for sharing this with me.
Here’s to the overflow of peaceful desert energy to us both in these new chapters. Hugs across the miles.
July 20, 2015 at 1:59 pm
Thank you for starting my day/week off with the beauty and joy of this piece, dear Dawn. I’m eager to witness the next chapter… XOXOXO Liz
July 23, 2015 at 12:29 pm
Hello, dear Liz! Thank you for your constant presence – through all chapters. Much love!
July 20, 2015 at 1:49 pm
Dawn,
Our old adobe is falling down
Here is Tularosa town:
So we too are on the move in a rather humble way,
Three blocks to the east to a smaller house to stay
Until we sort and find
A newer peace of mind.
A blind snake had made its way into our daughter’s bedroom,
After eating termites beneath the floor it snuck in by the moon.
Unlike your snake it seemed to say
The foundation’s shot, I’m here to stay.
So blind we go upon the desert’s rising heat and monsoon rain,
Five new owls have fledged and left the nest while we begin to gain,
The courage and impetus to move and grow,
And shift on to different things, as we let go.
So blessings from the south I send this morning
On all the new that comes and will be dawning:
As we move east to meet and greet more closely each day,
Here comes a settling-in bouquet-of-desert-thoughts your way.
May the hummers remind you that small sips of sweet are fine;
And the roiling and boiling that heat, build in a mine,
Before new veins of ore are found and brought out
To the light of day where all see without doubt
That a treasure has been found
Deep beneath family ground.
Like diamonds in the rough
This new ore is very tough
But at first it can be hard to recognize and see
What with process and polish it might begin to be.
And may the smells and sounds of the desert and the rain,
Be your constant and steady refrain,
For a wonderful stay on the patch of earth,
Which Noe’s hands to a home made birth.
Tanja
July 23, 2015 at 12:25 pm
Tanja! What a gorgeous poem! I have tears in my eyes and sat with my fingers over the keyboard not knowing how to respond in a way this deserves. Please know that I am going to print this and this poem will now be a treasured piece in my writing room. I simply love. Thank you and thank you for the heart, insight, hope, and beauty that infuses this entire piece. Such a reflection of your own spirit!
I am grateful to know that we are both in this new chapter of life after a move. In solidarity, we both share our new homes with a snake! I’ve come to think of ours as Henrietta, wherever she may be. It does add an element of awareness to moving about the house in the dark.
I find myself reading each line of the poem again and again. Exquisite. From my heart, thank you.
Sending such wishes for a newer peace of mind to you and hours.
July 20, 2015 at 1:14 pm
Interesting & informative news… Thanks!! I’m glad all is well & Luke got off to Shanghai. What a wonderful learning experience, I wish I could have helped on that .How fun to have “the new to you” house & putting it all together…busy but fun!!! Luv U
July 22, 2015 at 12:43 pm
Dear Micki, I’m so glad to share the photos of our new home with you, so you can visualize our new space and Place. I can only imagine the gorgeous watercolors you’d paint of all. Your painting of the kids’ three pair of shoes already has a prominent place in our home. Oh, how I love that piece. Love you, Dawn
July 20, 2015 at 11:09 am
As usual, Dawn, this is an engaging and inspirational piece!! I love your mix of daily detail and “big picture” thoughts. Your home is a poem all itself! Thank you. Love, Pegy
July 22, 2015 at 12:42 pm
Peggy! So good to hear from you! Oh, thanks so much for this. I love, love, love what you wrote about our home as a poem all itself. What a beautiful and lyric thought that will stay with me and inspire me. Thank you! Love, Dawn
July 20, 2015 at 7:45 am
What a beautiful post. What a beautiful home. Thanks for sharing your story! Sending love, Kristin
Kristin Little Photography http://www.kristinlittle.com http://www.kristinlittle.com/blog info@kristinlittle.com +1.415.617.9070
July 22, 2015 at 12:40 pm
Dear Kristin, I look forward to sharing our home – and these new flowers – with you and yours one day! Much love to you.