shiny bits

I cannot remember it snowing this much in Tennessee since we moved here 13 years ago. It's hard to believe I have lived here so long. I never expected it. When I had to move here from Montana I was heartbroken. Montana felt like home from the moment I arrived. It was the kind of place I'd always wanted to live. And I still miss it. But Tennessee has it's own charms that have grown on me over the years. I adore the dance of the fireflies over a moonlit summer lawn and the scent of honeysuckle that floats to me on the breeze at the most unexpected moments and the riot of colored leaves that form rainbow drifts in the fall. Tennessee has also seen some of the most difficult moments in my life. And somehow through those rock-hard moments I have discovered surprising strength in myself. Coming out the other side, I've become more of who I am supposed to be. Or maybe I have just uncovered and washed away some of the things that weren't necessary and unearthed the shiny bits of me that were buried underneath.