(extracted from my Instagram - @HeartThreadYoga)
This guy. Ragen and I met in May 2017. One month later, my whole entire world was flipped when my precious Vera dog was attacked by two large dogs. She was severely injured, and I was a mess. I told him - you can go, we just started dating, I have no idea what's going to happen, and I'm not sure I can show up for a relationship right now, especially a new one. Without faltering, he stayed. The summer of 2017, the eclipses, the crazy - my world was tossed. Vera was in and out of the hospital, and Ragen was just my rock. When she died in November, my heart was ripped apart - I felt shredded. And there he stood, right by my side, taking it one step at a time. Making sure I ate healthy food, making sure I was sleeping, holding me when the PTSD nightmares of her attack would suddenly and violently come flooding back.
We thought things were getting "back to normal" when we went hiking in March 2018 - Ragen fell and severely broke his wrist/arm. Shattered. As we rushed to the hospital, it started to swell. ER, and all that goes with that - doc said it was the second worse break he had ever seen. We drove together to doctor's appointments, I got to know all of the docs and surgeons, I helped making sure Ragen was fed good food, and taken care of. In August, he was able to go back to work.
Fall of 2018, I wanted to escape winter. It was actually more than a want - it was a need. I felt like if I stayed in Ithaca this winter, something bad was going to happen. And if I left Ithaca in the winter, something amazing a life changing would happen. I've always had great intuition - but how could I leave Ragen? That was really the hardest part of my decision. I left, with tears streaming down my face - when will I see you again?
I was greeted at the retreat center with a need for a kitchen manager - wow! Did I know the guy for that position?! We talked it over, and Ragen came down to Costa Rica - planning to stay with me until April. Maybe you've seen my stories, and how much fun we’ve been having down here! It has really been a gift. This is definitely my new favorite way to winter!
Two weeks ago, Ragen received an amazing job offer from a company in his home town of Louisville, KY that he simply couldn’t refuse. They’ve recruited him, and I am so proud. He’s already there, they flew him back from Costa Rica and he’s already started the job, and I’ll be moving there with him in April. The big shift I felt coming is here!
Ithaca NY - I love you. Thank you for being my home for almost 8 years, thank you for supporting me as a growing yoga teacher. Teaching at Mighty Yoga and Cornell has been dreamy. It’s bittersweet - and time to grow. Time to blossom even more. You’ve been great soil, a place to plant the seeds, to grow, to blossom - and now the seeds blow away! Off into a new land, cradled by love.