78 degrees in November

I moved to Denver 8 months and 2 days ago. Sometimes I still feel like it was just yesterday, other days it feels as though I've been here for years. I am slowly acclimating myself that this is my home, and even though I've been here almost a year... it is still strange to me that I live here in this strange city, with this strange weather. I breathe in Denver as I drive home on my commute each day, adjusting to the idea of this being home. It is difficult because I have no previous years of experience to draw from as we head into the winter season now. I have no grid for seeing the people and culture of Denver. This is a difficult concept to explain in a blog, but saying that there is no grid is the only way I can explain it. It just feels foreign, scary, new and adventurous every day. Probably because I think about things too much. ;)

It was summer like a second ago and now it's winter. (I mean not today, because it's a fluke of a day when it's 78 in November), but it's winter. It's brown out and the leaves have fallen from the trees. There is no green or lushness in the parks or as I drive home. I am greeted with the stark trees of winter and the chill in the morning speaks of colder mornings to come that will require slippers, hot coffee, hats, gloves and big down coats in order to survive. :) When did this happen?? It's as if one day my life was sitting by the pool, sunning, running, walking, windows open, sweaty hot, tank tops to everything winter. What happened?? The transition was too fast or perhaps I just missed it in the midst of my busyness. Winter came too early this year, I am not ready for it.

City vs. country:

I have often pondered whether I am a city or a country girl... after growing up in the suberbs of western Michigan, spending a year and a half in the cornfields of Indiana, moving to the 2nd biggest city in Michigan, living at the ranch in a small town and then moving to Denver... I have gone back and forth. Maybe I'm just adaptable and so I do okay in either atmosphere, but after living at camp and in Africa as well, where life is slow and offers much down time, I've decided my personality leans towards the country. And now after living in the busy city of Denver, it is confirmed. As much as I think that this is where I am supposed to be at this time in my life... I don't want to live here forever. The city is so busy and in some ways I feel like I haven't stopped running since I moved here. The city offers no place and time for a soul like mine that requires ample time for reflection and processing. God created me to be someone who carries a journal as her companion as well as a good fiction novel to lose myself in when my days allow. God created me to be someone who needs an hour or two in the morning to prepare, pray and get ready for the day, and then some time at night to unwind. I am most myself when I am outdoors... listening and just being still. Even now as I sit outside at a coffee shop, in the dark, my heart is peaceful and rested. I am a country girl... it is confirmed.