©IBKimage2010

In 2010 the Denver Botanic Garden featured the works of British sculptor Henry Moore. As I left the garden on a partially cloudy day, having photographed many of the enormous pieces in their stunning placement in the gardens, I turned around for one final look and captured this image.  Until I pulled the image up for another look this evening, I hadn’t realized that a partial rainbow was present.

I identify with this ponderer having spent the last 10 months pondering (and agonizing) , along with my husband, as to where we might live as our circumstances have changed, especially his increasing blindness, as well as age-related re-evaluations. Do we stay in Denver but move to a place more amenable to current needs or do we move back to Lincoln, NE, a place where we lived for 40 years before moving to Denver 6 years ago, as empty nesters . Both have their draw; friends in each place, some new, others known a long time, but both there through major transitions; wonderful health care providers; faith communities; service opportunities; performing art centers; and so on. It’s agonizing when there’s family in both places, and family far away; the contrasts in scale and weather and public transportation are significant; can we really go “home” again?  Home ,according to our grand-nephew , then 4, when we moved away, “is where the people are”.

So in the end, we couldn’t leave either place now, so our decision became “both/and.”  This week we rented an apartment in a high rise building in the city; next week we put our house up for sale in the same city; today we unpacked a rented van full of meaningful memories in a place we used to call home (albeit a different dwelling ) starting a journey into a very new season.

The rainbow in today’s image reminds me that the Light is always my source of strength and love; what a tremendous blessing that we have this both/and option .  By the way, did I mention that the apartment balcony on the 9th floor overlooks the Denver Botanic Garden  with mountain and city views in the background … ? Be still my beating heart!!!!

Joy,

IBK