I am stretching.

Every day, in every way I am stretching, being stretched and watching the stretching of of others.

It is quite a process.

Beautiful, gut wrenching, exhilarating, heartbreaking, exciting, terrifying, joyous, frustrating, enlivening; I have been shifted and astonished at every turn. I am learning by experience that sad and difficult, while sad and difficult, are not inherently bad. It amazes me how deeply my heart can ache; and then how quickly that ache can be replaced by an indescribable fullness. I’m learning that no matter which direction that a heart is stretched, the stretch itself is what increases its ability to be full.

The outpouring of love and appreciation that I have experienced since I made known our decision to move across the world has left an indelible mark on my heart. It has utterly transformed the way I will relate to the people I love from this point forward. I guess the old saying rings true: you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. Why do we wait until there is an *event* to express love or offer support? There is a time and a place to express appreciation, to declare love. That time is right now.