It was 27 degrees and raw. The wipers were on, even though it wasn't raining. The air was just soaking wet.
I saw the sign. Welcome to Austin! But I didn't believe it. This place was supposed to be sunny and happy and filled with the cutest little bungalows in the whole wide world. My windshield started to freeze.
The kids asked why I was driving so slow. I told them it was the weather, but honestly, I was searching. Like someone trying to find the street that their GPS is telling them to turn onto, except I was looking for something else. Something without a pin on a map.
When we arrived at our camping spot, I still hadn't found it. It wouldn't come into focus for another two weeks, actually. Sometimes, finding Joy is a process, I've learned.
I knew pulling into Austin that something was around the corner. You can check out a blog post about that here.
Something in me understood that a huge change was afoot and the River rapids were about to get pretty crazy. So I did what anyone anticipating a wild ride does, I cried.
I'll admit it! I cried and cried. I wished. I wished some more. Like a girl who just had her heartbroken by her prom date, there I was flipping through pictures of our journey, sobbing and wanting it all back. And then, little by little, I began to awaken to the beauty of the new adventure. I stopped fighting just long enough to receive the gifts the Universe was delivering to my doorstep.
The first half of River Story was me traveling around the country in a little Airstream with my beautiful little family. The second half, is me finishing the journey, on my own.
I Promise
I promise to stay wild.
I promise to camp and travel and explore and photograph the most incredible women in the most miraculous waters.
I promise to create a gorgeous and grounded space here, in Austin. To take the desert soil and make it rich and fertile so that the creative harvest, months from now, will be bountiful and feed many.
I promise to listen. Not only to what I want to hear, but to what I need to hear. When we first settled here I swore this wasn't what the Rivers wanted. And then Thomas got an offer letter from his new job with blue "River Recruiting" across the top. On Lily's first day of Earth Native school, a little girl came over and held her hand. "Hi, my name is River," she said. And when I sat across from a spirit healer here, ready to unknot a few tangles in my heart, she took a deep breath and shared, "My Mother is a Pueblo women, from New Mexico. Her name is River." I could go on. I am surrounded. I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
What Now
While I was on the road, there were so many women who were called to the Rivers but couldn't make it work. Because I was constantly on the move, it was impossible for them to plan a trip, or book a flight, or figure out where to meet. Now that I am living right next to the most beautiful River I have ever seen in my life, I am blessed to welcome women here. To bring them to the same sacred waters where natives laid down their troubles over 10,000 years ago. The songs of the Austin Rivers are mighty and I am so honored to hold the space for other women to experience the music for themselves. Are you called? I invite you to listen.
Another huge part of this next chapter is my surrender to the ever-powerful written word. Though I was resistant for a long time, I now wear my "I'm a writer" crown with pride. I am a writer. And in addition to using these linguistic powers to spin my own stories, I am also answering the call to elevate others. The official launch isn't until tomorrow morning, but I'll give you a sneak peek, HERE. If you are ready to bring your creative business to new heights, I'm your girl.
(Stay tuned for a radiant new class offering, too!)
These next few weeks are dedicated to getting my family acclimated in our new surroundings. Dentist appointments and playgroups and mowing the lawn. Gorgeous everyday things like that to help our roots find good footing. At the same time, I am assembling my travel schedule, and will let you know first where I'm going to be, and when. The time for me to answer the call of this divine feminine pilgrimage is undeniable. Backpack in hand, I am ready.
Am I afraid of what lies ahead? Totally. And that's how I know this is exactly the path I am meant to walk.
