Sunday, July 14, 2019

Looking Back!

This morning as I was taking my puppy out, I looked up at our big giant Cottonwood tree and there he was again, our great horned owl! This is the third time this summer he has been perched up there looking majestic with his big yellow eyes. I am in awe of this creature. I am also afraid that one day he will take our little six pound dog, Luke. Yikes.


I go in and tell my husband that the owl is back. We go out together and stare at him again. Then my husband said the most curious thing. "Did you ever think in a million years when you were a little girl in Brooklyn, that you would have an owl in your backyard?" Um no, I thought.

This question left me contemplating my life and all the changes that has transpire since I was a young girl.

The words that come to mind are amazing, grateful and inspiring. So, how did I get here?

You see, I should have been a statistic. A typical Puerto Rican (english as a second language) girl from the streets of Bushwick, New York. A girl with daddy issues because dad was never around. A girl who in her teens should have been pregnant and/or a high school drop out like all her friends. A girl, who should have been hooked on drugs or part of a gang. But none of those things happened.

Thankfully, I had a great mother who cared for me and what I did. I had an older sister who showed me the importance of working and making money. I had my aunt and uncle who showed me what it was to be married and to go on adventures. My upstairs neighbor and friend Dee, who through her experiences opened me up to a new world. I remember her summer at Cornell University, she came back and told me the most wonderful stories about college and boys! I wanted that. I wanted to get out of New York. I wanted a life where I was successful and had a real house. Not an apartment. Not concrete around me, but a place where you didn't have to..."keep of grass". So I studied, I went to college, got a great design job at Macy's and looked for God... but in all the wrong places. One day I found a religion that gently nudged me to move to Utah. Although I no longer participate in this religion, I am very grateful to it and what it has done for my life. I met my husband and have three beautiful girls because of it. I live in a wonderful state full of mountains, desserts and lakes.

My home for the past 13 years has been a dream come true for so many reasons. One of them are the animals that come to visit me. We have had peacocks, quail, all types of birds like hawks, woodpeckers and finches. We have deer, bucks, ducks, mountain lions, skunks, moles, snakes, and coyotes. It has been amazing to have so much animal medicine in my life. I can clearly see the role each has played in my journey.



I have come a long way from that little girl from the big city. I cherish every moment with these creatures. I truly have an amazing life!

*note: I have taken all these photos from my camera in my backyard. 

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