A frosty winter morning walk along the Columbia yielded some pretty magical sparkly light.
She watches over our valley like a proud mother and Saddlerock was one of the reasons I moved here. I distinctly remember driving up Cherry/Orondo on a warm, Spring morning, seeing Saddlerock standing guard, and knew this was where I wanted to raise my kids. I'm not a Wenatchee native, but I have been here more than 17 years and moved here after visiting for only one weekend. Drove back to Seattle after a weekend visit and walked into my job with a company I loved and gave my two weeks notice. Moved here with two young daughters and no job. If anyone I knew said they were going to do that now, I would tell them they were crazy. It must've been destiny because it was the best decision I ever made. I must have a hundred photos, drawings or paintings of Saddlerock, yet I still keep making them. They might all be of the same subject, but each one I look at takes me back to that exact moment. I don't think I'll ever have enough.
After a couple sleepless nights, due in part to raising a teenager, it occurred to me it's hard to find a card that really captures the exact sentiment you may be thinking. I got out my pens and started putting thoughts to paper. These are available several ways, but cards are probably the most logical way to send them. Clicking the images below will take you to my Society 6 shop.
Have you heard of the Secret Message Society? Maybe you should! I've been a secret message maker, leaver, finder and lover for probably my whole life. I just never had a name to call it. But after watching my friend, Mandy Steward, thrash about and grow her art message, I found a group of like-minded people who see the hidden magic in finding the silver lining and secret messages in life's moments. As much as I love finding them, I love leaving them even more. Thinking someone could find just the right message at just the time they are needing/wanting to receive it gives me the greatest thrill. So keep your eyes open, Wenatchee, you never know what you may find.
I'm not one for making resolutions. I think when the moment arises that you sense an urgency to better yourself, you should jump at the opportunity, be it the start if a new year, 3:29 in the afternoon or any ordinary Tuesday. But I can admit to loving the blank canvas that is January 1st. I use it more as a starting point, a measuring stick that lets me see how far I go. Last year my "goal" was to do pull-up, learn all the lyrics to Salt 'n Peppa's "Push It" and to spend time each day studying Spanish. I actively studied Spanish until my husband got sick and nursing him back to health became my number one goal. I will most likely pick it up again sometime this year, despite realizing that French is really much easier for me (because of taking it 7 years in school). Maybe I'd go that direction if I lived closer to Quebec, but In Wenatchee, Spanish is the most useful. I never did a pull-up (I didn't even try) but I did learn the lyrics to the song, and rap it quite happily in the privacy of my car, but you won't see me at karaoke night anytime soon. I may know the lyrics, but I still can't carry a tune. A few other goals I intend to continue are to "Make Something Cool Everyday" (art/craft), leave positive messages for people to find (guerilla art), move my body, on purpose, in the guise of exercise, and try, t-r-y, to drink some water. I say 'some' because I am not a drinker of much of anything, let alone water. And I know that leaves me room for improvement.
Whether you make resolutions or not, the beginning of a new year holds the promise of possibility. And that is where the magic lies. Maybe enough magic to do a pull-up.