This time of my life feels like true Technicolor.

Dorothy left Kansas and stepped into colorful, vibrant OZ.  That is the best description I have that describes how rich, flavorful and vibrant this season is for me. I have not appreciated this season in the way I appreciate it now.

OZ was a dream for Dorothy and this is my dream too. My dream is real and not in my imagination anymore. The life I am experiencing I knew was possible and it was one of the reasons I decided to pick up and move back home.

I am fully present and I savor each moment like a cozy blanket. Like the awe of a child experiencing moments for the first time, I am having that “newness” experience with each step I have taken since May.

When I first got back into town I decided to wait until I was ready to reach out to my friends out here. After I had time to reflect on all that was Los Angeles and my career and once I felt better rooted here. In November, I felt it was time to reach out to friends in the New Year.

The last week of November, I caught up with one friend who was in the hospital for some neurological tests. She stated in a public post that she would be bugging people since she had to be in the hospital for a week. I read it with a tone that she wanted people to visit her. So I went to see her after school. I have not seen or spoke to her in about three years. Next, I caught up with my best friend from high school “Adam”. (That’s not his real name, but for the first nine months that I knew him, I sincerely thought it was and he even started to answer to that name.)

It warms my heart to see my friends doing well. It also warms my heart to know that I am here to help my friends through any challenge they may have since I am here now, but I will be here beyond this month.

Each friendship has picked up where we have left off. This is true friendship.

The season that is filled with celebration, friends and family for so many; for me it once was filled with work until holiday hiatus (Christmas Vacation). Work required my undivided attention and that did not stop or slow down until the week or Friday before holiday hiatus.

I love to decorate a Christmas tree each year, but I broke that tradition when I lived in Los Angeles because of my work schedule. I wasn’t home to enjoy it. Then I traveled home during hiatus and came back in the new year to put the tree away.

I have not taken any special trips or attended any special events and I do not have any special trips or events planned. I am simply, enjoying this time with my friends and family. I am happy to be able to attend holiday parties, visit pop-up seasonal markets and make a few crafts. I have had time to take craft classes during the week night, it’s so exciting and I am not being sarcastic.

All these basic things I would have preferred to do than sit behind a desk hoping the work day would go by smoothly and quickly. Or hoping that I would get out of work early enough to go Christmas shopping. Or hoping I was able to have a good, true Christmas break with out work reaching out to me.

Christmas never feel like Christmas in LA. Los Angeles in some cases did not fully feel like home (even though I called it home). It felt like one extended “on location” trip that I could never fully settle into because I was away from home.

I am thankful for the simple, “basic” things that we may all take advantage of from time to time. I have a new found appreciation for the small, because it means so much to me. I am thankful for the awareness to see what I was missing and I enjoy it’s presence in my life.

On this Thursday, in your minds eye, say thank you for simple moments or experiences you encounter throughout the day.

Love – Stephanie