Here I am, in the Pacific Northwest, on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula, in a little place called Sequim. How did I land here? A little bit of serendipity, a dash of synchronicity, and a bucketful of willingness to head into the uncertainty that comes with taking a chance. Here’s what happened.
It Started Over Lunch
It started with a lunch between friends. In Florida. I wasn’t even invited. Ok, so I wasn’t even there to be invited. I was more than 1,000 miles away, in Champaign, Illinois. But my mom was there, and she was having lunch with a friend of hers. The two were catching up, swapping scoops of stories that create the rich fullness of life, enjoying the sweetness of shared company and conversation after a year of isolation.
And isn’t human contact that much more precious and delicious now? The shared energy between people who are in one another’s presence. Looking into someone’s eyes as you talk. Feeling their laughter as it resonates around and within you. Even the hard stuff is made just a little bit (and sometimes a lot) better when you receive the comfort of a hug from a friend or loved one.
No, we’re not out of this yet, but it sure is great to be able to (responsibly and safely) be in the presence of others. And haven’t we been at this long enough now to treasure those moments? To feel deep gratitude that we have those moments?
If you’re like me and many others, there is some awkwardness that comes with entering into the physical space of others again.
A relearning of how to interact.
Maybe some trepidation.
But also this deep sense of gratitude and yearning for the connection, even as it’s happening.
These interactions have become especially moving and precious now that we once again need to put our guards up to protect others and ourselves.
The Seed Was Planted
In the midst of the conversation and catching up, my mom’s friend shared a story from her social media life. A friend whom my mom’s friend only knows through social media needed a little bit of help. The woman is independent, but also 85 years old and a parent to five four-legged beings of the canine variety. She wanted someone to assist her on occasion and to stay on her property so that if she had an emergency, someone would be there to take care of her dogs in her absence. This woman lived in Washington, my mom’s friend said.
My mom thought of me. Knowing I love the PNW and animals, she asked what I thought of heading out to help this woman for a while. I said sure!
Without even thinking.
It was only afterward that I wondered what it would be like to go help out a person I don’t even know in a small town in Washington. I’ll admit, as much as I love PNW, I felt a bit anxious at the prospect, and fear crept in. It was a long way away, and it would take a lot to get from here to there. I wasn’t sure how I’d do it or what I’d do if it didn’t work out.
Not knowing what would come of it, if anything at all, I let it go. I didn’t hear any more about it right away, so it didn’t take long before I’d pretty much forgotten about it.
But the seed was planted.
My Path Opened Up — Just in Time
Spring arrived in Champaign, and along with it, my parents’ return from Florida. By this time, I was vaxed and thinking about which way the wind was blowing for me. Where should I go next, now that the weather was warming, and the gift of movement was once again within reach?
One afternoon, as my family was enjoying the weather and the renewed freedom of hanging out together after too many months of chatting across the space from the sidewalk to the porch, my mom received a message. It was from her friend in Florida, and the friend had just heard back from her social media friend…I’ll call her Evelyn…who wanted to get in touch with me to talk about going to Washington.
Now, I’m not one to talk on the phone. I don’t like it at all, actually (just ask my brother!). For some reason, it makes me nervous, and I feel trapped. I’ve had some perfectly wonderful conversations on the phone, so I’m not sure why I feel this way. Can any of you relate to that? Or am I just weird? ;) (If it’s the latter, I’ll own it and embrace it!)
Is This Serendipity?
I gathered my energy and my — oh, I don’t know, courage, maybe? — and dialed Evelyn’s number.
And we talked for an hour and a half. She did much of the talking. I mostly listened. But what I found out was fascinating.
Evelyn had just returned from Illinois (What? Really? Why were you visiting Illinois when you live in Washington?)
Evelyn has a daughter, grandkids, and great-grandkids in northern Illinois and Wisconsin.
And she and her husband lived in Champaign many moons ago while he was getting his PhD and doing a post-doc (I was merely a toddler then, my family having just moved to town as they were preparing to leave).
Her husband’s degree was in information systems management, and he did computer stuff (What? Really? My dad did computer stuff a short time after that, but by then computer sciences had been folded into the electrical engineering department).
Evelyn’s husband’s research was on using computers in the classroom, and his post-doc was implementing that program on campus. (What? Really? A few years later, and my fourth-grade class was the first to get computers in our classroom as part of a program with the university!)
After he finished his post-doc, they moved to California, where Evelyn ended up getting her master’s in social work and became an LCSW. (Now this is really just too much…my mom is now retired after a long career as an LCSW!)
They moved to Sequim after he retired, and that was 20 years ago, but he passed nine years ago. I told her I love Washington, and that I’d just been trying to decide where to go next, and I’d be glad to head that way and see what happened.
So, was this serendipity? The universe flashing a neon arrow that pointed to the west? No matter what you believe about how the universe works, this was all at the very least a crazy set of coincidences.
But I think the universe was trying to tell me something.
The Best Laid Plans
My trepidation about helping Evelyn didn’t evaporate with the decision to head west and give it a go, but I felt this pull to do it anyway. I had no idea (and still don’t) what it would mean over the long haul, just that it felt right for now. My best friend, Gail, is still accompanying me on this road journey, and she decided to continue on with me as I headed to Sequim.
We readied ourselves and Knight (thanks to loads of help from my stepdad and brother).
And left on June 21st.
The plan was to drive a short day (around 200 miles) and stay put for a day. It’s easier on me (driving Knight takes a lot of concentration), Gail (who follows me the whole way in her car), and the four cats (who ride on the bed in the back, buried under covers). It would also allow us time to work as we made the journey (as freelance writers, if we don’t work, we don’t get paid). At the rate we planned to travel, it would take about three weeks to get from Champaign to Sequim.
Things didn’t go as planned.
The Road I Traveled
I planned the route ahead of time, making reservations for the first week or so. Turns out, work wasn’t in the cards. There was no cell service and no Wi-Fi for the first half of the trip, except in Omaha.
Rather than fighting it, getting frustrated, or worrying, I chose to enjoy the gift of seeing beauty in hidden, out-of-the-way places I would never have seen otherwise.
A historic town on a lazy river just inside the Iowa border.
Woodshops, artists’ galleries, and chiseled dates embedded in the stones of weathered buildings.
The inside of a historic three-shop space the next town over that a couple I met at the campground had recently purchased and were converting into living quarters, artist’s studio, and metalworking shop.
As the west heated up to record temps, I sat perched at the edge of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The unexpected delay left time for explorations and a chill 4th of July weekend. But it meant that getting the rest of the way to Sequim would require daily travel and luck with timing because the heat dome was moving east.
It also meant no work for the second half of the trip either.
But, we managed, arriving only a day later than originally planned, exhausted and three weeks’ worth of income poorer. But ohhhhh was it worth it.
Slipping Into Something Comfortable
I’d like to say that everything was smooth sailing when I landed on these shores.
It wasn’t. We often like to think that the right path is the easy path, that if it gets hard at all, we must’ve taken a wrong turn.
But that’s not true, especially not at first. The right path can be full of challenges until you hit your stride. It takes time to get your feet solidly underneath you on this new turf, and even when you do, your boot is gonna get caught on a tree root every now and then.
So, how do you know when you’re on the right path, and not struggling on a trail that’s going to dead-end into a sheer granite cliff at the end of a narrow box canyon with nowhere to go but back where you came from?
Good question. I think everyone has their own ways of knowing. You feel more alive; you see signs that tell you you’re right where you’re supposed to be; you can’t imagine going back to what was before; you grow.
And so it is with me: I know I belong right here, in this little corner of the world, for now.
It’s this place. Arriving here was like slipping into silky, smooth, warm waters. The challenges didn’t take away feeling like these mountains, trees, sea, and wildlife fit me like a second skin. Being here is allowing me to become more — me.
So, here I am. Where are you? I’d really like to know. Not just what part of the world you’re in (yes, that too), but where are your heart and mind, just now? Wherever you are in your life, know that, here, you’re welcome. Open heart, open arms. I’d love it if you’d share something of you in the comments!
Peace.
And love.
Des
What great storytelling of this part of your journey. It is so cool how the universe has a way of guiding you to where you should be! The fear of the unknown has kept too many in places they didn't fit or belong. The courage you showed to face that fear and embark on this journey west is sure to give you what you need.
I'm looking forward to more stores from out west!