Transitions............. I wasn’t sure it would all come together but it has and on Saturday 2/9 we bid farewell to Socorro and start off on our very excellent adventure!
First stop Las Vegas, NM where Erv has been invited to give a program on the California Condor. We will be staying with Jan in her lovely log home and look forward to some downtime on the adjacent refuge; touring the Armand Hammer “castle,” a landmark associated with one of the international high schools he sponsors around the United States; and perhaps soaking in one of the hot springs nearby. After all the stress associated with leaving my job, wrapping up our volunteer activities at the Bosque and Sevilleta wildlife refuges, and attending to the business of income taxes, medical checks, insurance matters, subletting my condo and Erv’s selling his motor home, down time and a good soak would be divine!
Community is important to me and transitions are never easy. It has been especially hard to leave the patients I’ve become close to after a year of home visits. One dear gentleman - still quite spry - will turn 101 in March, and others may succumb to illness before my return. It has been a privilege to share their lives and I shall miss them. I will also miss the fabulous home health/hospice team I’ve been a part of. It was also difficult to leave our fledgling Unitarian Universalist congregation - an innovative “branch” ministry of First Unitarian in Albuqerque utilizing cyberspace technology to facilitate services and ministerial/administrative supports for our development in Socorro over the past 6 months. Our start-up wasn’t easy, and I struggled to gain a small measure of comfort and poise as a lay minister, but it has been a gratifying experience of personal and spiritual growth. And, finally, I shall miss my condo, the little nest I’ve created here with it’s lovely view of Socorro mountain and the subtle beauty of our desert landscape. I have been fortunate in the sub-let, however, and yesterday was delighted to meet the Chilean couple who will be taking it over. They are here to work on an international radio telescope project, an antenae of which will be located in Chile. What culture shock for them transitioning from cosmopolitan Santiago to rural Socorro!
Soooo - more transitions and on the road again. I’ve realized I’m a nomad at heart, however, because it feels terrific to be off on a new adventure of discovery - discovery of our land, new people and places; discovery inherent in Erv and I making the commitment to go on this most excellent adventure together; self discovery. Hope you’ll come along for the ride! Sandra
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