Last updated: August 11, 2023

I posted about this threshold/transition of mine back in December, when everything was still pending and I was impatient to get moving. You can read about it here.  One thing I wrote is, “This letting go of the life I have built in Houston for the past 32 years will surely be challenging, but I trust that it will make room for new friends and experiences.” And indeed, this is coming to pass, perhaps a little more slowly than I would like, but still.  There are so many things to be grateful for here, and Andy and I are really loving Denver!  I have also been trying to live up to my quest to be sure that I don’t miss the shimmering liminal parts of the move. And that is also coming to pass.  Here is a sort of log of what I’ve been up to in the past six months.

March 1 threshold update:  I have finally and definitely moved into the middle phase of my liminal threshold now.  Mostly it is ok, but I am starting to become a little more emotional about leaving.  We have downsized and then downsized even more, and we have a real estate person set to come look at our house this afternoon.  I have been trying hard to be ruthless in what I jettison.  We only have 2 more weeks before we move and we’ve donated some furniture, so the house is seeming a little more empty.

April 1 threshold update:  I may finally be across the threshold – well mostly I think.  My friend Alexis reminded me that thresholds are three dimensional – so no wonder it has been taking so long and isn’t as straightforward as I thought it might be!  We arrived safely just over two weeks ago on Wednesday, ripped out the carpet, and had our new bed delivered on Thursday.  The moving truck unloaded on Friday, and we started to unpack everything and get things where we at least have some order.  On Saturday, we invited our new neighbors over for dessert and champagne – boxes and all.  Yesterday we met with a designer, from a design-build company we plan to use and are looking forward to making some renovations to the house.

May 14 threshold update:  I can’t figure out the weather here yet, but it seems we are having a mild spring. I am joyfully watching all of the plants and flowers coming up in the neighborhood.  We have an Aspen tree in our backyard that was looking like pussy willow buds that turned into fluffy caterpillar looking things.  Now it has green leaves.  Andy and I had our bikes refurbished, and today we biked to the farmer’s market over by Cherry Creek. We have joined a gym that is an 8 minute walk from the house.   I’ve been doing intervals on the treadmill to train up to run a 5k at some point.  We are doing an enormous amount of walking, which is great.  Even when we drive, things are very close because we don’t live in the suburbs anymore.  We found an ethnic area on the other side of I-25 and have been shopping at a few of the grocery stores there.  Chinatown here is not as big as the one in Houston, but they still have dim sum, and we can get there in 15 minutes, instead of the 50-60 minute drive we had to do in Houston.

May 17 threshold update:  Time is going by, but it sometimes feels like treading water slowly.  But we are accomplishing many things with the house, but usually just one or two each day.  We replaced three doors that wouldn’t lock, and we finally got our washer and dryer installed.  We have unpacked a zillion boxes, but still have some hanging around.  Andy installed a security system, got the wi-fi working, and we now have an incredible sound system (of course…)  I was really worried about having enough storage space in the new house, but that seems to be a non-issue.  There are plenty of cabinets in the kitchen and we have a big closet downstairs.  I have paint swatches taped to the walls of most of our rooms – it makes a difference looking at them at different times of the day.  It’s weird, but I no longer have to set an alarm clock – how great is that?  And I don’t have to rush when I’m doing chores – that is just so much freedom!  I have been keeping up with working out at our gym that we can walk to.   I’m also up and down the stairs in the house alot and am trying to add stretching to my routine.

July 21 threshold update:   I finally finished with the planning committee for the Sisters of Earth 2022 conference.  The sisters let me open the conference, which was unexpected and very generous.  The conference was held last week, and there was a lot of work at the last minute.  Some slides I made had to be removed and replaced with new slides, when the direction changed somewhat.  BUT – I learned many things from this experience!  I learned how volunteer committees work and I learned more about the revered theologian, Thomas Berry.  I learned about the James Webb Space Telescope and what it took to build it – see NOVA episode here.  I made my first monoprint in about three years to use as the conference opening slide, even though the setup was awkward and not exactly like in Houston.  I was profoundly moved by a song called This Ancient Love by Carolyn McDade that you can view here.  I learned how to present my artwork to an audience for meditation and came to the exciting conclusion that what I am proposing in the book may actually be doing lectio divina and visio divina at the same time.  I created somewhat generic instructions that can be used for visio divina of any kind of image and instructions for an art response to a nature walk or other type of spiritual exercise.  I bought a folding screen and created a somewhat nice backdrop for the zoom video.  I learned about the “powers of the universe.” I also discovered a shaman named Pablo Amaringo who made crazy artwork down in the Peruvian Amazon.   In the end, there was nothing wasted – it was all good learning and a gift!

September 6 threshold update: Well, it’s now six months in, and I agree with my friend Gail that retirement is a good look for me.  Half a year is a good amount of time and I’ve adjusted and accomplished alot, but changes like moving really do take a full year.  We are looking forward to getting the house renovation done – work is set to start at the beginning of October.  I am now re-packing everything we don’t want to get damaged during the work.  I’ve been going to an Episcopal church that is walking distance from our house.  The people there are really nice, but it is a small congregation, unlike the mega Catholic parishes I am used to.  Andy and I now have Colorado driver’s licenses and Colorado license plates for our cars.  We also registered to vote, so it seems like we now can be considered official Denver residents!  I can’t wait to see what happens in the next six months!

 

Image  1: “Thresholds at Home Deopt,” photo credit Julie Henkener, August 2022.

Image 2: “Home Sweet Home,” photo credit Julie Henkener, January 2022.

Image 3: “Sacred Liminal Threshold,” acrylic monoprint by Julie Henkener, 2021.