Dirigo*

1 Year
12 Months
365 Days

However you say it, December 3rd marks my first full year in Maine. It has been a year of transitions and discoveries, for all of us.

Some transitions were easy.  It was not hard at all to get used to the smell of salt air, walks on the beach and the cry of sea gulls when running errands in town.  It was also not a hardship to discover the wild strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry patches for fresh summer fruit.
Also not difficult....
Waking up to a backyard of pine, birch, and maple trees every morning.
Settling in with people who "get" my New England sense of humor, and who wear Red Sox shirts and Patriots ball caps.
Adding a chicken coop and eight chickens to the chore list.
Living life in our current town...where the library buildings are on the historic registry, a house isn't "old" unless it was built in the 1700s, and the families that aren't "From Away" have cared for and worked for the municipality for generations....and made room for those of us from weird places like "Iowa".

Some transitions were more difficult:
Leaving the #bestsummerjobever....and the people and cookstove that went along with it.
Starting a 3rd (short-lived) career, then restarting a first career...with all of the paperwork, testing, and licensing requirements that entails.
Kiddos making life changes and major decisions while I (mostly?) cheer on instead of nag....maybe....sometimes....
Knowing it was time to say goodbye to our beloved fur baby.

These were not unusual, or unexpected stressors, just all piled into a shorter time span than I would have liked.

*But today I finally looked up the translation for the Maine State Motto,  Dirigo   Latin for "I Direct" or "I Lead".
Which, intended or not, is the best summation of the 23rd Psalm that I have found.
There is an entire back story as to why I shake my head and chuckle every time I think of my plans in college to be hired on at a school in small-town Maine, settle in, and live in the state that has been tucked in a corner of my heart since childhood.  Ask me about it when you have a few minutes or time for coffee. It covers a few years/decades.  The short answer is.... I was led.

And I didn't miss the class on that.