& I have loved every moment of it.

This summer has drawn me in with heat and rain,
and spit me out as a whole new animal.

I have danced drunk around bonfires, done rituals in the damp woods, cried on swing-sets, screamed about the stupidity of boys, and smoked too many American Spirits.

My heart has been opened to others as well as myself.
I have met the most wonderful of people and some of the not so wonderful.
With Nicole I have found a family that has no blood ties to me.
I’ve found a
HOME
not just a room where I’ve created a home for myself.

My feet have found pleasure in the heat of the earth after a hard storm and my lungs the heaviness of summer air.
Love has become a thing I demand rather than crave.

I’ve found my strength in bottles of red (&chocolate;) wine and in the embers of a fire.

I have found myself knowing that I am enough.

I may be confused in the ways of my future, but I have a place to figure it all out. I have a family dwelling in my bear-heart. I carry them in my chest and in my soul.