la vie en rose

What happened to me? Something has changed in my brain, in my body: I can feel the roots I am putting down in this place, where I was so unhappy at first. It is the language, it is friendships I've found, it is the rhythm I've finally established, it is a certain comfort, the tint of roses everywhere I walk.

This is a map of my region and state that I drew and my students filled out from memory. It's a perfect mixture of two places I love. I will always be Minneapolitan, Minnesotan, American: I love my city, my state; I am grateful to have been born in my country. But there are strong claims on my heart here, too: the landscape, my students, the language, the way of living, which was so different and so hard at first. I don't understand everything, I don't love everything, but I do love it here now.

Love is what it comes down to, in just about every case, for me. Love, gratitude, and compassion. Larry Levis: "Love is an immigrant: it shows itself in its work. It works for almost nothing." My heart is migrating all over the world, changing me in ways I could not have anticipated. So lucky.

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I'm sewing a ton. Shop update tentatively scheduled for this Saturday afternoon, my time.

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