To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. . . .

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

Everyone has seasons/chapters of their lives – defining them for a certain period of time and influencing their future times.  I look back on my life and loosely define my main chapters as childhood, college, career and marriage.  Now a new chapter is underway.

I spent years living in west Michigan and a friend there wonders why I don’t return for a visit. That life is over; without Rick by my side I simply have no desire to return to the neighborhoods in which we lived or to rehash old memories of happier days.  Those memories are with me here in Florida, too.

It is easier to consider visits to places I knew before Rick, or to travel to new locations.

There is a certain push-pull to this new life.  I am smart and capable, and I can navigate my world just fine on my own, thank you very much!  But I desire connections with others, and sometimes fill up my calendar with too many activities.  Solitude vs. busy-ness.  I still have not found a reasonable rhythm to this new chapter of life.