Perspective

During this afternoon’s rain squall, a vibrant rainbow arced over the back field and ended right in our drainage. I resisted the urge to run out and look for a literal pot of gold. All day, I had been reveling in the treasure that is our life. The rainbow now offered a visual pointer, a reminder to celebrate what is right in front of us and to notice each moment’s gift.

We have just returned home from a west coast vacation, driving from San Francisco to Puget Sound, Washington. We wandered down trails and beaches all along the way. We were nourished, humbled and inspired by tall trees, vast beaches, whales, otters, birds of all sizes, and ever-shifting skies. Our travels offered perspective and clarity to bring back home, lessons that I have learned before but need the earth to refresh within me from time to time.

In forests with dense understory and towering trees, vegetation limited our view to the trail corridor and we noticed delicate millipedes, mosses, lichen and wildflowers at our feet. When a high forest trail with a dense canopy and a needle-laden forest floor opened into a large vista, we savored the open expanse, looking north to Canada. When whales spouted just off-shore from the beachside cliff where we were eating lunch, we lingered for over an hour, relishing our good fortune at finding such noble company.

When we got home, three boxes of my first book, Without a Map: A Caregiver’s Journey through the Wilderness of Heart and Mind, were waiting. They had arrived the day after we left and I had been stewing on how best to get it into people’s hands. The memoir weaves together my experiences providing care for my Dad during his decline with dementia and lessons learned while traveling in the wilderness and parenting. I am hopeful that Without a Map, like vacation and today’s rainbow, will offer perspective and hope to other families.

Meeting each day as an opportunity during vacation, it became clear that the book would be shared in the same way, one individual and one event at a time. Opportunities are all around us and the pot of gold is at our feet! If you have an organization or independent bookstore that might be interested in hosting a reading or simply having a few books on hand, let me know. I am grateful for the opportunity to share this book and look forward to hearing how it resonates with readers.