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Tuesday
May042010
Thoughts
May 4, 2010
The open road. In a way, this is where it all started.
*
On the freeway through the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, I was shocked by the deciduous-ness of the trees. They throw these leaves out, so quickly, all by themselves. Symmetrical, photo-synthesizing, green sheets burst out of old branches and fill mountaintops like many small, welcoming hands. They are so green! So new! And then they only last for a season. They wither and fall, and all of them wait until the next year to burst forth again.
It seems so extravagant. So prodigious. Prodigal trees, shedding themselves and then growing back new again and again. It is organic waste, the best kind of waste, the kind that regenerates, that brings life. Amazing.
It's crazy how something like being away from deciduous trees can make you see something in such a new way.
*
I am on the drug trip of the North American road. I need nothing but the grey ribbon of asphault, spooling out behind me. This is where it all started.
*
In Kelowna, I met with lovely people. Sweet, encouraging, inspiring people. We stayed with friends and ate together. We reminisced. There were clouds racing across the sky. A lake that pulls all the clouds into itself. One cloud looked like a paper airplane that God was throwing.
*
In Victoria, I cocooned with family. My mom and I drank coffee in the morning and I influenced her in bad ways, getting her to pour cream into her coffee when she'd been able to drink it without adding that dollop of fatty goodness. We talked and talked.
*
Now we are in a new stage of travel. We move towards California slowly, like we're in a dream, stopping to chat along the way. We choose connection over convenience, luxuriating in the warmth of the homes we stop in. I look for people to talk with, in coffee shops, in grocery stores, in parking lots under skies filled with swiftly moving clouds.
*
On the freeway through the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, I was shocked by the deciduous-ness of the trees. They throw these leaves out, so quickly, all by themselves. Symmetrical, photo-synthesizing, green sheets burst out of old branches and fill mountaintops like many small, welcoming hands. They are so green! So new! And then they only last for a season. They wither and fall, and all of them wait until the next year to burst forth again.
It seems so extravagant. So prodigious. Prodigal trees, shedding themselves and then growing back new again and again. It is organic waste, the best kind of waste, the kind that regenerates, that brings life. Amazing.
It's crazy how something like being away from deciduous trees can make you see something in such a new way.
*
I am on the drug trip of the North American road. I need nothing but the grey ribbon of asphault, spooling out behind me. This is where it all started.
*
In Kelowna, I met with lovely people. Sweet, encouraging, inspiring people. We stayed with friends and ate together. We reminisced. There were clouds racing across the sky. A lake that pulls all the clouds into itself. One cloud looked like a paper airplane that God was throwing.
*
In Victoria, I cocooned with family. My mom and I drank coffee in the morning and I influenced her in bad ways, getting her to pour cream into her coffee when she'd been able to drink it without adding that dollop of fatty goodness. We talked and talked.
*
Now we are in a new stage of travel. We move towards California slowly, like we're in a dream, stopping to chat along the way. We choose connection over convenience, luxuriating in the warmth of the homes we stop in. I look for people to talk with, in coffee shops, in grocery stores, in parking lots under skies filled with swiftly moving clouds.
in Traveling
Traveling 
Reader Comments (11)
so.... when can we expect your arrival into town? We're getting antsy!
" We choose connection over convenience..." Love that phrase!
Yes, anxious as Julie is to know when we may be able to sit with a cup of tea and a scone. The roses are blooming on the deck, adding a touch of tea-time atmosphere.
Extravagant - I never thought of spring that way - and yet - it is so fitting!
you are such a brilliant writer
.-= flutter´s last blog ..http://byflutter.com/?p=1016" rel="nofollow">Choosing to love =-.
you have such a lovely way with words, and i thoroughly enjoy coming along on your journey in reading your blog. enjoy the drive south.
what a beautiful place you're in. a place of soulful connection. a place of hope.
Enjoy the connections. You may not pass that way again. Love.
Having been away from your beautiful writing for too long while adjusting to major changes in my life- let me say that this has been one exceptionally lovely morning of seeing life again through your word pictures while catching up on old posts and learning where you are and where you've been. (Wow! I've missed so much!) So thank you. Now I shall hurry to go and add you as a friend on facebook even though you may not remember me (it has been quite a while!) and you most definitely couldn't pick me out of a lineup. If I ever had the misfortune of being found in one of those. :)
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..http://longingforlillie.blogspot.com/2010/04/beach-pics.html" rel="nofollow">Beach Pics =-.
I am in Stanwood , WA which is about 2 hours from Vancouver. If you haven't already passed me, you could stop for lunch or rest or to pee. There is a great natural food store in Mount Vernon, WA, which is close to me. Anyhoo, we have never met, but I love your blog and your sweet honesty. Oh, and I have 4 kids, too!
I know I have only been gone for 9 months, but I find myself a little jealous of your trip home.................so very very very very happy for you, but still, just a itty jealous! Enjoy all those moments of coffee and connections and deciduous trees for me as well please!