Mountain Chic

If you are a new reader to the blog, thank you so much for joining this week!  Each Friday, I write a little bit about what I am thankful for over the past seven days.  It’s a series I call Happy Trails (I’m sure the hiking/traveling connotations aren’t lost on you there).

{A little blurry with Finn in his new shark-hood sweatshirt he wears nonstop}

This week, I’m overwhelmingly grateful for community.  For my social media network of friends old and new who support me in this new adventure.  For family, who took me to an amazing dinner and to The Book of Mormon for a birthday celebration.  For friendships that have withstood the test of time – my friend Heather, who I went to dinner with post-blog-shoot on Tuesday, and I have been friends for over 40 years!

{Post-blog-shoot and post-cheeseburgers}

For eating arepas, pizzas and s’mores while drinking ice-cold rosé with some of my closest girlfriends, celebrating the end of summer and making all seem right with the world.

{Too consumed by the arepas and rosé to take photos on Thursday night, but here’s 2/3 of the girls I’m grateful for and laughed with that evening, on our trip to the Bahamas last year.  A little tropical #ThrowbackThursday works for me.}

The images and stories in the news this week from Syrian refugees affected me profoundly.  Not just the horror stories detailing what it is like to try to get out of the country, but also the fate that awaits the people who make it to Europe and seek asylum.  One man said he thought prison would be better than waiting to see if he would receive asylum in Germany, because at least in prison he could know for sure how long his sentence would last.  I just can’t shake the hollow feeling in my heart – while it’s awful to leave everything behind, it’s even worse that families and communities are being destroyed.  That unbearable loss is what breaks people.  Ultimately, your community gives you strength, lifts you up, makes you laugh and keeps your life going – it’s the most valuable treasure of all.

Thank you again for following!