Now face west.

I am still here. Haven’t had much desire to write. I still remember when I used to write so much or think of so much to write about. These days, I don’t think of writing. I think more of gardens. And projects. And walking. And travel. I didn’t travel much for at least a year as I prepared for this return to California. Jobs, a home, moving-it was a big project.

Think about direction, wonder why you haven’t before.

We traded in our travel for being in one place. I thought it would be good to be close to the kids in these challenging times. Their adult lives are so very different from mine. I don’t know if I have any wisdom for these parts of their lives, other than I am here if you need me. The economy looks grim for young people. There is a lot of worry about finding and keeping jobs. 2 of them have already experienced layoffs previously. So I think it weighs more on their mind. Thankfully, they each have one for now. I was quite lucky to raise them with so much job security. But now we are only a few hours away from them instead of two states, and somehow that feels better.

If you are confused, check with the sun. Carry a compass to help you along.

So I work on my garden and try to plan what to grow and how to optimize water and sun. We recently got solar, which I am very happy with despite the expense. Next, I want to plan other energy and water-saving strategies. Things like using the washer water for the front yard. Drying clothes on a line in the summer. Changing our stove to electric. Window treatments that reduce direct summer sun. These things help me imagine that I am in control of aspects of our lives. But I realize that the last 6 years have taught us that some things are really out of our control.

Your feet are going to be on the ground.