I found myself standing on shaky legs during this first full quarter. Learning to live in a world where my worth and identity were no longer anchored to hard work has been harder than I expected. I’ve let myself get a little bored—dipping my toes into that void, then beginning to find my way back.

One month of this quarter was spent escaping the Phoenix heat in a small apartment on the Kennebec River in Maine—near a place that called to me years ago and where I hope I’ll always be able to return.

Experiences:

Swam in a crystal-clear, spring-fed pond; hiked through the cool alpine forest on Tucson’s Mount Lemmon; ran the Phoenix Boardwalk; watched a caterpillar become a butterfly at Butterfly Wonderland—and their magic film on monarch migration; kayaked in Hilton Head; persevered on a tricky hike to a beautiful pebble beach with my sister; saw the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, my beloved Kennebec River on a foggy morning, and the Sonoran Desert many times.

Creating:

Hosted two karaoke parties; learned to make homemade yogurt, kimchi, and flatbread; grew peppers, sunflowers, and basil; failed to grow okra; launched my first-ever blog.

Wildlife:

Saw sturgeon jumping in the Kennebec; dolphin jumping in the Atlantic; a juvenile bald eagle up close; a puffin bobbing on the waves; sea otters; a groundhog; and a bobcat—in my own back yard!

Reading:

Read The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts (1960s-era philosopher whose view of the human condition most closely matches mine); We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (a mystery with a backdrop of kindness and possibility); Botany for Gardeners (phenomenal); Mexico Reborn (firsthand history published in 1939); Studs Terkel’s Coming of Age (a signed copy was 50 cents at Goodwill!); We Set the Night on Fire by Martha Shelley (about the liberation movements of the 1970s – may we find our way back to that spirit). Also re-read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a formative book for me. So many of my life choices and aesthetic preferences can be traced to the first 30 pages or so.

Food: Ate ice cream every day for a week; the most delicious bread, sold by the kindest people, at Stone Broke in Gardiner, Maine; chocolate. bleeping. croissants; delicious Indian food with Tucson friends; delicious New Mexican food with Phoenix friends; lobster and oysters for the first time in my life.

Celebrations: Celebrated the extraordinary accomplishments of my niece and nephew with family meals in Hilton Head; and twenty years of marriage to my good man.