Giving Thanks on the Ranch

Staying in the theme of my blog, I'm determined to reconnect with myself -- which means reaching out to my friends, my past, and the things I love and want to do.



So instead of spending the beloved turkey day with my brother (who is an awesome chef), his wife, his kids and his in-laws, I drove 3+ hours to Merced and spent the holiday on a 10,000 acre cattle ranch owned by the lovely Allison & Chris, which included the sister, parents and in-laws of my great old friend Gordo. Yes, I spent it with the Myers family, hiking around, sleeping in my sleeping bag and talking shop and politics with new friends (or, put more appropriately, strangers). It was special, and I was so happy to see Gordo in good spirits with a nice creative woman by his side.

And of course his family was just as I remembered them -- kind, outgoing, warm and great fun. A good conversation with anyone was a chair away. But to me what was even better was the fact that we could all just relax together. I looked up Friday afternoon from my book and realized that all five of us were quietly reading next to the fire, some people had gone for a walk, and the little ones were napping. How sweet is that? It could easily have been a nice afternoon in Tuscany... and sometimes we forget to just slow down and be ... together.

I think so often about how we get derailed, and how many people wake up so far from who they are or where they wanted to be. It's like that song... same as it ever was... beautiful house, beautiful wife, beautiful life, but whose is it? I just keep reminding myself to keep it on the path. Small detours can be exciting and beautiful, but in the end we have to come back to who we are.