6/1/2024

To My Grandkids,
        Many Moons, States, Friends, Jobs, Opportunities, and Phases have passed since I last wrote here. Let's fast forward 2 years to Today. 

       Currently, I am home in Northern California. I arrived here about a month and a half ago, and my life has once again re-bloomed into a beautiful new 'becoming'. I have found myself landed in the laps of the most loving community here. Moving from West Virginia to California was no easy task- this time the universe made sure I was READY to land here. Elliot and I faced quite a few struggles on our journey to move cross-country (again)... Only to point us straight towards a community of open arms, ready to catch us with patience and grace. 
     To love with such deep devotion.. To lean into love with such truth.. To desire and be granted.. To be entirely celebrated... To find such honest humans.. Is such a blessing. The amount of love, support, understanding, encouragement and patience we have received here is unlike any love I have experienced. 

     This family here roots deeper than a passing love for the summer. This is a soul bond- family found over lives and parallels infinite. Here, we are planning futures, holding hands as dreams giggle across the room. Here, we are crying, laughing, dancing, twerking, experiencing FULLNESS in her highest beauty. Here, we love, honor, and support each other. 

      Years, moons, dreaming of 'The Crew' to share the beautiful burdens of life with. Years of dreams are right HERE. Right NOW. We are planning homesteads, and babies, and retreat spaces. Gardens big enough to literally feed a village. We are SURE.
     While it's not always the smoothest ride, to be able to lean into such a depth of love from this family makes it feel effortless. WE are magic together. Making music not only after dinner in the living room.. But making music loud enough for the whole universe to ripple; dance in our song.

THANK you, for all I have received.
THANK you for all I am creating.
THANK YOU for this delightful life I am blessed with.

Always with LOVE,
Granny J and Her Posse of Powerful Pussy Priestesses.

To My Grandkids,
     
     5 Months, 1900 miles, and many new opportunities later.... 
     Last you heard, I had just moved into a new apartment in Salt Lake City and was settling into a new job at a climbing gym. It was a hard transition for me, and after a few months in the city, I knew I was never meant to live in the midst of higher crime areas, city/air pollution like you wouldn't believe... And where were the trees?
     A new crazy opportunity presented itself so I jumped right on it with no hesitation. A Couple weeks later, I landed in a small town in West Virginia on top of a mountain in my little van. A whole week of driving and passing through familiar grounds to hug some family, and I finally ended up in a new, beautiful, luscious green adventure. It didn't take long for me to love this place. Actually, I loved it before I even parked the van at my home mountain. 
     The first night at our camp, we met our fellow employees, and immediately we all clicked as a family starting this new journey together. I would describe the group as a little bit hillbilly, a dash of crazy, and a whole lotta hippie. Imagine Duck Dynasty meets Woodstock and you've got the right idea.
     After a month of training, we are now on track to being certified as a river raft guide on the New River Gorge. This river is unbelievably beautiful, and even though we've been riding down it twice everyday for the last couple weeks, it never gets old. That's a whole lotta river trips.. I seriously get payed to PLAY on the river and meet new people while doing it! 
       This place has already blessed me with friends I will hold onto for a lifetime, memories, inside jokes, and more laughter and group giggles than ever before. Here's to diving head first into yet another new and uncomfortable thing, chasing excitement and fulfillment in every aspect of  my life, and pushing myself to never settle for anything I am not satisfied with.  
     This is the summer of YES. 
      I am so blessed to live this amazing life.
     I am so blessed to have these opportunities.
     I am so blessed to be as brave as I am to try so many new things.
     I am so blessed.

Oh boy do I have some campfire stories for you kid...
Love,
Your Crazy Granny J who lives in a van down by the river.. Literally.

 To My Grandkids,
 
     Change, although a beautiful thing, is exhausting sometimes.

    This past month in the new home has been filled with love, friends, laughter, and time shared between E and I. It feels so good to be in our own space- a space where the walls are covered in echoes of late night giggles, or soft jazz humming out from behind the shower curtains. A place snuggled within warm lights and held down by a hot cup of cocoa in the corner where the rocking chair sits. This home is art, painted with intentions of love and growth, a clean canvas now covered with a mosaic of the brightest colors. 
     The physical space is a beautiful representation of my inner realm, however, while my physical space is clean and tidy, my inner space has become jumbled and  shaken. 
     One of the most important things I've learned on my growth journey is to honor the seasons we go through. This means listening to your body, being gentle with yourself, feeling all your feelings, and allowing yourself the time and space you need to sort things out again. I preach and preach to people to pay attention to your personal needs and act accordingly, and yet I still find myself feeling guilty when I don't practice upon my own words. 
     Yes, this chapter is filled with much excitement and new changes flowing in and out of my life, and with that comes a lot of energy spent... So I have been resting. Holding my word in my heart, and only giving when I feel full enough. Enjoying moments, and adjusting to this new flow that my life moves with. Things are different, as am I, and I am allowed to rest and recharge as this season calls me to. I am okay, even if I haven't reached my full potential this week or the last. I am okay, even if I am only just now starting to get back into my practices again after days, weeks, even months for some. A break does not mean I have failed, because I am allowed to take breaks. 
        Some days I have to constantly remind myself that I am okay, and that's alright. I hope you know that it's okay for you, too. You're allowed to FEEL all of your feelings, good or bad. You are allowed to take breaks and tone it down a notch when your body tells you it's time.
You are human, and you are ALLOWED to BE exactly as you are. 
​      I love you exactly as you are. I love you exactly as you have been, and I love you exactly as you will be. 

Someday, kid, when you feel like your cup is only half full- allow yourself to REST. 
Maybe with me, and a cup of hot chocolate, and some fresh baked cinnamon rolls :)

 To My Grandkids,

     Change is such a beautiful thing. 

     Lately, a lot has changed in my life. I went from living on a Caribbean island to living in the snow-kissed mountains again. The shift was long, and forced me to be patient and stay in the present moment, a practice I had been slacking on prior to the move. 
     When we flew back to the states, I got on a train back to Montana. I've spent the last 2 years of my life traveling now, and although my heart feels called to hundreds of places all over, Montana never fails to be the one place that feels like home. 'Home' to me isn't Missouri where I spent most of my life.. Not at all. Home to me is the place where I blossomed, learned what I truly wanted, learned who I really am, discovered my souls purpose, and took the first steps to living my dream life. Home is where I became me- fully, truly, and unapologetically ME. (and that did NOT happen in MO)
     A week later, I found myself on the road again, driving states away to a place I'd never been. A place where the red mountains glisten in the hot summer sun, and the snow calls to skis and snowboards country wide. This is a place of new discovery, growth and divine BEING. This new place I arrived at, in the mountains of Utah, truly does feel like home. 
     
     This place is my own. There are no expectations to meet except mine, and so far they have been exceeded. This place I pass through may not be permanent, but for now, my heart fits perfectly in this big city apartment. I am exactly where I am meant to be. The universe never fails to align me through space and time, defying all odds to position me in the place of my best interest, the place of my highest growth, and the place for my highest self to SHINE and THRIVE.  Big things happening here. 

Life. Is. So. Good.       And I am so grateful. 

I cant wait to tell you the secrets these mountains hold, but those stories can wait until we meet in person..
Love always, 
Your ever growing, ever learning, ever LOVING, Nana J :) 

To My Grandkids,
     Puerto Rico has my heart.

     Currently writing this as I sit in a hostel in Puerto Rico, listening to the birds chirp and the people chatting upstairs. Today has been a fantastic day, let me break it down..
     This morning was an early wake up call, finish packing, and head to the ferry. (in a car with a flat tire haha- island cars are something else..) We ended up being a few hours early for the ferry- still not sure how that happened.. Elliot.. But it turned out good because we got to chill at a coffee shop for breakfast :) When we caught the ferry, It was already a beautiful day- sun shining, breeze in our hair, blue waters surrounding us, and happy smiles from us both being excited about the new journey. When we got off the ferry we ended up sharing a taxi with a couple our age- a 2 hour ride that was sooo divinely wonderful. We talked the entire way about everything under the sun, all it takes it to get out of your comfort zone and say hello and you can make friends that last a lifetime!! We'll definitely stay in touch with them.
     When we got to Old San Juan, we ended up walking to a nearby park to take a bench nap. While sitting there, a sweet sweet lady came up and started chatting with me. She was such a sweetheart, and we talked for a while! When she left, she ended up coming back and buying Elliot and I little keychains with our names engraved on them. SOO nice of her!! We walked the last couple blocks to our hostel, and stuff didn't work out and we couldn't stay there. Pretty stressful, but we took a deep breath and  looked around at where we are- standing amongst beautiful old buildings in Puerto Rico, sun shining, people walking about.. It was too perfect of a day and place to let the situation get us down. Thankfully the hostel we booked for the next night had beds available- so it was fine in the end :)

     Today was a day of connection. It was a day to be present in my life. It was a day of great affirmation that I'm exactly where I am supposed to be. The universe showed me signs in numbers, laughter, music, and even people that she divinely crafted and placed in front of me on a park bench.. The energy today was powerful- no doubt that something greater than me is out there, wonderfully and perfectly crafting my adventures- handmade just for me. I am exactly where I am meant to be in my mindset, my growth, my relationships, my adventures, my struggles, my healing, and my physical space. I am here, I am present. 

I love this life I have been blessed with.
And kid, the most I can hope for you is that you feel the same about your life. This is a gift we've been given. 
Some people aren't able to walk, brush their own teeth, control muscles to smile.. So if you are ALIVE on this planet, no matter what the condition or situation.. You are very very blessed to be here.
Take every single breath as a blessing. 

Life is good, life is good. 
Love, 
Your barefoot sun-kissed hitch hikin Granny J :)
​     

To My Grandkids,

     I am so blessed!
 
     This week at the farm has been pretty chill. As we are nearing the end of our stay, we've been spending more time together with our roommates and sharing stories of the times we've had here.. We usually end up sitting down for lunch together and filling the house with laughter, which is always nice! Right now, we have 5 days left on the farm, and then 5 days to spend on the main island of Puerto Rico!
     Which brings me to the next topic of being SOOO EXCITED to go back home.. I absolutely LOVE living on this island, with only a few things I would change.. But I am just as excited to go home as I was to come here.. Because this time, we'll be coming home to our very own home! Now that it's set in stone I can share that we got an apartment in Utah. Neither one of us have been to Utah, and this will be our first apartment together- lots of excitement for new things there! 
     I've been spending my time daydreaming about decorating our new home, shopping for plates, furniture, curtains.. All the mundane stuff that is boring to most people is what I'm most looking forward to. It's the small things that bring me the most joy, and getting to pick our dishes and towel colors to make our place comfortable and exactly how we want it is something I've never gotten to do before.. (except I did get to decorate the van exactly how I want it but that's a little different)
     We are both ecstatic to make this move- and literally counting down the days until move-in (currently 24!!!!!!!!!). We've been applying for jobs, and making calls to get everything lined up- so it's becoming very real now :)

 I am SO BLESSED to have the experiences I have. 
I am SO BLESSED for these opportunities. 
I am SO BLESSED to have Elliot  as my partner, adventure buddy, and best friend. He is my biggest supporter, and I honestly can't thank him enough for the good times we've had and continue to have together. I am SO BLESSED to get to 'do life' with him :)
We are making big moves together, and I'm excited to see where else the future takes us both as individuals and as partners!

Life is so good.
Love always,
Your life-loving-ever-growing Granny J :)

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