The Mystique of New Mexico

Hello, tender friends!

Happy belated mother’s Day! I am the luckiest mom around

And I usually feel that way…I apologize for the delay in posting this new Mexico update, but Anthony worked two straight weeks of overtime and we didn’t see him except for in bed a few hours in the middle of the night. As I dodged Cubby’s karate kicks, persuaded him to to drink his bone broth before eating fruit, and read a book called “Cat Ninja” multiple times a day, I started feeling like this:

Thankfully, Anthony didn’t have to work this weekend so I’ve recovered! And I’m in love with New Mexico. It was so much better than I ever could have hoped, and Jacob asked me if we could move there throughout our trip.

I was a little nervous in the airport keeping track of Cubby, but the magic soon overtook me. I LOVE transit. Even after we all woke up at 3:30.

(This was Roanoke airport around 6AM waiting to board. No, I don’t wear “elevated lounge wear” like all the cool influencers. I threw a sweatshirt on top of my pajamas. Maybe I’ll invest in some “elevated lounge wear” when I have my millions.)

Takeoff was spectacular; seeing a city lit up from an airplane just as dawn is breaking is one of my top 10 favorite things. This was also the first time I’d flown since before I got pregnant.

Then I had a moment on the next plane after our layover. A young woman, probably around 23, got on to the plane and stowed her carry-on in the overhead compartment. She was traveling alone.

She looked nothing like me, but emotional resonance hit me like a freight train. The memory of traveling, young and solita, overwhelmed me (in a good , nostalgic way) and I actually started crying. You know when you hear those stories about people paying for stranger’s meals and stuff because they’re moved by their circumstances? I racked my brain for something benevolent I could do to support her in whatever her journey was, but I couldn’t think of anything and lost track of her when we landed.

But I thought of her a few more times and silently wished her well, both on the plane that day and in the life that awaits her-whatever fortunes and misfortunes that will entail.

I wish that I had known, when I was her age, that one day my solo trips would be done. I wasted in an inordinate amount of time wondering if my “life would work out” when I was in my 20s. I so wish that I had enjoyed more and worried less.

That’s what I try to do now. I try to enjoy more and worry less. I try to accept the fact that my life will work out in some of the ways I deeply desire and that it might not in other ways. I try to imagine the wisdom I’ll have in 20 years and transfer it to the current moment, reminding myself from the future to enjoy more and worry less.

On the next flight, they served breakfast. And somebody brewed that black tea so perfectly that it felt like a kiss from God. I wrapped my hand around it and thought This is so good. This moment. The blessing of being able to take Cubby on this trip. Life may not be perfect, but this moment is like hitting the lottery. Live in this moment for as long as possible.

Oh wow, this post has ended up so much longer than I had planned. I didn’t even get into the trip once we actually made it to New Mexico! But I don’t want the post to be too long, so I’ll cut it off here and continue next week.

Thank you for stopping by today, tender friends, and thank you for sharing!

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