I'm starting over. My life has changes so much in the last 3 years, I cannot begin to inventory it all. I've divorced, dated, changed jobs three times, met a wonderful man, sold my house, moved on, moved in, stepped up, and jumped head first into a new world. And that only begins to cover it.
The people I have met along the way have changed me in deep and profound ways. Parents, children, advocates, champions, warriors, fearless messes of lives. For every person who has touched me I am grateful. Their stories inform me and inspire me and have made me a better person. So today, I start over.
I'm living in Pittsfield, MA now. I'm just 28 miles from where I used to live and 44 miles from where I used to work. Yet it seems like a world away sometimes. It's amazing to work in the city where I live, knowing that I am making a direct impact on my own community. I have a true partner in this life. Ted has shown me how to live my life again when it took so long for me to break away from my suffering and pain of the loss of my marriage and love and the loss of the work that used to bring me passion. Because of him and his support, I am more like myself than I ever was before.
Ted has three teenage children who bring all sorts of new challenges on a part time basis. I never thought I would have this in my life.While it was not my plan, it is with humble gratitude that I get to be a part of their lives. I'm not saying it isn't one of the hardest things I've done, being a co-parent for teenagers who don't always want me there. I know I complicate their lives and I'm not the easiest person to live with. But dammit I care and I am drinking them in as they grow and change and complicate my life in ways that I never could have imagined. I love it even when I hate it.
Today, I am a passionate voice for social justice once again. Today, I am a leader in my community. It has been seven years since I had a job I love. It has been seven years since I woke up excited to get to work, not dreading anything, knowing I am in the right place. Berkshire Bridges Working Cities is the perfect combination of community organizing and public policy that I am really good at. I'm stretching and learning and giving in ways I never thought I would again. I'm amazed at the people in this city who are so resilient and powerful. I love showing them their strength and lifting them up. This is what I have been waiting for,
This is where I belong now. I found the soil in which my roots can thrive. I am digging in deep and calling this place home. It is with pure joy that I spread my leaves to the sky, drink in the sun, the rain, and the Berkshire air. This is my new life.
