Emerging from a Long Winter
        For some reason the winter of 2009-2010 has been unusually long. Here in my little mountain town of Pagosa Springs, Colo., heavy snowfall created snowdrifts 10 feet high around the sides of my house. At least now, at the beginning of April, those white icy hills have melted down into 3-foot heaps and will continue to melt with each passing day. The warm sun is doing its job of transforming our wintry world into driveways of mud.
       Earth, too, has had a long, hard winter. The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti was followed by a devastating quake in Chile, and others keep happening. It is all part of the process of Earth’s cleansing.
Everyone is longing for the warmer weather. When the first robin appeared just three weeks ago (March 10), we were ecstatic because it meant change (for the better) is in the air.
       I’ve had bouts of depression in the past, but unlike what I’ve experienced this year. A lot of changes occurred for me in 2009. I moved to a new community and bought a home without having a job. I left my “comfort zone” and was faced with being really on my own for the first time in my life.
       In September I helped out my son and his family by letting them live with me. The strain of tight quarters and a toddler in the house began to wear thin. After three and a half months, they could not make it in Pagosa Springs (like so many young families who try to live here) and decided to move back to the San Luis Valley. After getting used to having my darling grandson nearby, I was faced with being separated from him again.
       On the brighter side, a new boyfriend came into my life, which stirred things up in a good way. He really made my winter more exciting and productive, and it’s been wonderful to experience the joy of getting to know him. We have many interests and my world has opened up with new perspectives I never dreamed possible.
       Winter is a time to reflect about our lives and change, to integrate ourselves and make plans for the future. It seemed like not much “got done,” but the message I’m receiving is, “It’s okay. Everything is happening right on schedule.”
       Great things are ahead. Spring is here. Buds are appearing on the trees and the birds are coming back. It’s a great time to be alive on Planet Earth ... and once we pass through this period of transition, there will be a glorious New Earth for us all.

You can view my articles on Relationship Transition at the Denver Examiner, http://www.examiner.com. Do a search on site for Ann Ulrich Miller.