Yule Ramblings #18: The Useful One

Boulder was my home for eight years... my weird, wild, wondrous home. And I made great use of my time there.

It's where I turned off my television and amplified my imagination. It's where I would suffer through my first juice cleanse, design professionally on my first Mac, embrace my first yoga session, and purchase my first new vehicle (my beloved, and still well loved, Tiggy.)

It's where I discovered that art could be of more use to this world than just aesthetic value. It's where I would enroll in my first creative writing class, Lighthouse Writers Workshop... finding myself delighted by possibility, seeing the world in technicolor, penning my observations constantly. It's where I would commit neighborhood houses to memory, sketch them in colored ink, and then label every architectural detail. It's where I set an intention to part ways with objective journalism, and devote myself fully to authentic journalism.

It's where I stepped outside... outside my apartment and outside myself. It's where I met some of the most interesting characters; people that challenged my perspective: genius buskers with PhDs, eternal optimists with fatal disease diagnoses, 40-year-olds bravely taking their first ballet class (en pointe, nonetheless!) - all defying the norm just because they effing could, because they wanted to, because who were we to tell them otherwise!? It's where I would meet people with esoteric hobbies, that would, at times, be moved to turn a tiny curiosity into a passion.

It's where I would go through a major identity shift. It's where I would learn how to make a statement peacefully. It's where I would learn that everything travels in circles. It's where I would learn that I am responsible for the ripples I create. It's where the universe led me to my husband. It's where I would meet my son.

It's where I would let go of my adolescence and step into my adult form.

It's where I learned to breathe... truly breathe.

Boulder didn't just touch my heart, it stirred my soul.

So, sure, I realize I am projecting my experience onto a single place. But I vehemently believe that had I have never made the move to Boulder, I would not be the person I am today. Surely we can agree on this?

This ornament was gifted to us by Little Tank's Auntie Alex. Ale a beautiful free spirit, a fiery red head, and a natural overachiever. She has a lot on her mind and plenty to say. She's one of my favorite people to shoot the breeze with. (Plus, we have intense conversations about Harry Potter houses, marketing a small business and Legos construction.)

This ornament is a functional bottle opener. It's quite useful, as well as handsome. It is made of beech wood, lightweight yet solid. Symbolically, beech is the Tree of Learning, and is believed enhance creativity. This ornament is branded with the Colorado state flag. Though void of the flag's well-known color scheme - white for snow, red for earth, blue for sky and gold for sunshine - one can fully appreciate the shape and illustration, specially how the sans serif "C" for Colorado embraces the full circle of the sun. The letter's shape is of receptiveness; inviting us to open up so that we may be fulfilled. A circle is the center, the self, completion.

Makes sense to me. I found myself in Colorado.

This bottle opener was displayed on our refrigerator for quite sometime, but we knew it had more meaning than a mere fridge magnet to us - it's sole purpose in life couldn't be limited to displaying an Ardolino's menu and cracking open the occasional Sam Adams. Due to its ethereal nature, it was granted permanent ornament status this year. Welcome to the festive family, big guy.

Colorado: Will we ever return? Will we ever live there again?

Who can truly say... But my time in Colorado seemed... useful. Very useful indeed.