We all begin somewhere.

My story begins when I had “run away” from home.

Well, that’s what I playfully called it. I needed to escape the day-to-day stresses of my life.
Let me start by saying that I couldn’t tell you I was struggling with anything other than first world problems. I recognize that completely. I have a good life. A great life many would say. My family is healthy. I live in a beautiful home. We are not struggling. Things are…stable.
Let me back up.

It’s ironic to live on 10 areas, surrounded by some of the most beautiful sloping hills, where I can hear cows mooing, coyotes crying and owls hooting – and yet need, I mean really NEED to leave it behind for a few days. But every inch of my body urged me to flee. Flee to a place where I would have the luxury of no responsibilities and nothing but time to think and feel.

I found a little hideaway about 45 minutes from my home where the back porch overlooked a field and a few giant evergreen trees that would sway with the wind. And I found space to breath. Not just geographically speaking but emotionally and mentally. Space to ask myself questions. Space to feel the things I’d bottled and blocked and shoved down. Space to find rest.

Up until a short time ago, I didn’t realize that my body held things the way it did. Why I reacted the way I did. Why I felt the need to separate myself from my beautiful life. I only knew that I needed to leave the confines of our property and find a quiet, peaceful place away from it. There was nothing anyone on the outside of my story could’ve pointed to and said, “Wow, no wonder she’s struggling.” I hold things pretty close to the vest. It’s safer that way. No one can reject or misunderstand that way.

It was on one of my escapes that I decided to find the “pearly moments” in my life. Two reasons for the name. The first is that my middle name is Pearl, named after my beautiful grandmother. This was going to be based on parts of my life after all so it should be associated to me somehow.
The second reason is based on how a pearl is formed. Have you ever looked it up? This is what a quick search led me to write down: “A pearl is formed when an irritant becomes trapped.” An “irritant.” Boy, could I name a few irritants. My irritants might seem small to some people but rest assured, my body, mind and spirit only know my irritants, no one else’s. It had been holding on to them for a long time and I was and am ready to release those to become beautiful pearls.

So, I decided to do something just for me. To create a space where I could document and capture those pearly moments. Those times or situations that might seem to stem from irritants or not. Moments that might be as simple as a cold breeze when you’re not wearing a warm coat. Moments that create something beautiful if we only stop to notice them.