Happiness and Clear Days

When I think about the differences I see each day in California, they're minor and include larger tortilla sections in grocery stores, more cars and people and fewer season changes. When I think about the differences I see in myself since moving here, they're more prominent. I'm much happier here than I was most recently in New Hampshire. Family and friends are missed and play no part in the measurement, but there's a life here that I feel I've chosen out of so many options of who I could be or where I could go. I've found a naturalness and joy between a job I love and take pride in, to ocean walks or tacos or coastal road trips with friends. There's energy and opportunity here that I love. The activities I've taken on by myself, like yoga, reading and coastal walks have been a place to breath and think and give myself time. But the new friends have given meaning to living here. There are so many more young people here, ideas, places and groups to join. There's an active lifestyle and diversity of cultures and people that's a breath of fresh air. It feels right.

Pebble Beach, CA

Fall here is just as described after a traditionally foggy and cold summer: clear, sunny and the warmest season. While it seems that shorts don't see much attention any time of year, the fall temperatures reach 75 during the day and clear skies usually stretch from morning to evening. 

My office in Pebble Beach doesn't get a ton of sun, but it seems to be enough for my desk succulents!

Pacific from Pebble Beach

My work recently instituted a weekly "Wellness Hour" where employees can take an hour to practice however they view wellness. Mine usually consists of a walk to the beach.  

I love the green and purple plants along the coast, there's so many and I love the color and texture they add to the landscape.

Carmel beach sunset. 

Overcast in Pacific Grove.

I have many nice neighbors, but this corgi puppy might be my favorite. He was also born the week I arrived in California. We can chart our growth together! :)

Fifteen Years Later

Marking September 11th each year reminds me of seeing and understanding the day as a child and remembering it as an adult. Working at a high school the last few years, there's been a marking or remembrance of the anniversary each year. Last year, a few of the youngest high school students had been born that week. This year, many of the youngest students were born the following year. I remember my own middle and high school marking the anniversaries, particularly the second and third anniversaries and the moments of silence that accompanied them. I remember the tenth at college in Vermont and the eleventh through the eyes of British friends in the U.K. I've written down much of what I remember from that day, knowing that among my generation, if we live long lives, someday we'll be among the few with memories of the day. My memories aren't particularly exciting, I had been learning math that morning, nothing seemed amiss or different, and I learned after school that afternoon. Like most students, I didn't take the school bus home and was unusually picked up instead. I wish I could recall how beautiful of a day it was along the east coast as so many remember it to be. There are blurs in my memory that it was, but I don't recall it being thought of or noticed and I might just be remembering another day that year. I remember the class-wide discussions in the following days and weeks in my fourth grade classroom, how at that age, everyone had a story, a fact, something to share about a friend of a friend their parents knew. I visited New York with my family for the first time two years later in late spring and through the rain, I remember seeing the site and the tall pile of rubble that was still being processed. When I've visited New York in the last few years, the new One World Trade center has been so prominent and beautiful and seemingly at home on the skyline.

Nature & The Feeling of Being At Home

I continue to be amazed by the natural surroundings here. The birds are bigger and their wingspans wider than the birds I grew used to seeing (...and ignoring). Every few days a large bird takes my attention away by soaring low overhead. Hummingbirds are common as well and I seem to be the only person still enthralled by them. :) The ocean views, bright turquoise water and blue sky or sunsets over the Pacific continue to amaze. An abundance of seals and otters and cranes and seagulls (also, hundreds of deer. EVERYWHERE) who call this peninsula home continue to  make this area feel so full of life. Natural beauty is so undefinable as there are endless definitions of what we find beautiful in nature and I have my own list of un-rankable beautiful places I've seen, but when I lived on the east coast of Scotland four years ago and walked along the North Sea most days, I thought it was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen, and perhaps had ever lived. I have the same feeling here and many memories of the Scottish coast have returned. 

I visited my brother over the weekend and we enjoyed an afternoon in San Francisco. It was the clearest I'd ever seen it!

There have been days and moments recently of feeling like I'm still so new to life here. The small challenges seven weeks after arriving are centered around the hassle of not knowing where a particular street or location is that's referenced, how to pronounce a Spanish word, or what new friend might be interested in joining for an activity. But they're small challenges as I've been reminded of the one constant that is nearly everywhere and can bring so much happiness and reassurance of belonging: conversation. When I've moved anywhere new, great conversation seems to be the biggest comfort and familiarity. Maybe I just really like people and expressing and hearing ideas, but having an honest, compassionate, engaging discussion with anyone feels like home. It feels safe and rewarding being able to share experiences and ideas, laugh, trade thoughts and meaningfully discuss anything with another person. It isn't dependent upon length of friendship or how well you know the person, but can be born of any social situation. Recently there have been many conversations that have felt this way, rewarding and happy and interesting. It's one of the new-to-the-area practices I don't want to ever end. Continuing to seek out friendship and ideas and conversation even when settled might be a new goal of mine.