11/4/25

The day flew by. I got distracted reviewing my to-do list and then lost myself for quite a while in the endless stream of online posts, thinking… I could have worked at the library and built a career there. I could have learned so much about nonprofit management as a model of social engineering. A flood of similar examples paraded challengingly before me. I couldn’t, I didn’t want to, I lacked vision. Or maybe I did have it…

My husband and I just returned from a trip to the West Coast. He had to go for work, and invited me to join him, taking advantage of the flexibility in my routine. It was hard to readjust to being back home. I disconnected so deeply, so deliberately and completely, that it’s been difficult to return to the present. The sense of wonder and accomplishment wouldn’t let go of me—or perhaps I wouldn’t let go of them—as if their magic might vanish once I stepped back into reality.

But here, the Midwest welcomed us with a spectacular autumn in full bloom. Such a display of leaves in shades of red and orange, yellow, brown, and green, under a sky of deep, clear blue, with a crisp breeze that seems to dance and embrace, made me dream even more than before. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’ve moved into this season, with its gift of release and letting go. And so I think, focused and purposeful, about continuing to build my path and what I can do—with intention and presence—like writing these lines…