Dear Petaluma,

Thank you for the time we've spent together.

One year ago I found myself at your door, dumbfounded by the turns in the road my husband and I had been traveling, feeling so overwhelmed by sadness and plagued by a sense of exile.

It took several months, but I found

solace

strength in my solitude

and the desire to reach out for something more in my life.

How fortuitous that you had a yoga studio that moved me heart and soul:

it was to be the place I would give myself the greatest challenge

and succeed, overcoming huge internal obstacles and some very real physical ones, too...

Can you see why I love This Place so?

I want to wear these crystals around my neck!

I will never stay away for too long, Petaluma.

Why?

The yoga

the FOOD:

the fresh fruits and veggies and dairy and wine,

the undulating earth

the warmth of the people

the heat of your summers

....

Do you remember when we were checking you out to see if we wanted to explore life in the North Bay?

We saw a rainbow in the Central Valley on our way to Anthony's interview, and this evening there was one downtown.... I take it for a meaningful

gesture

of completion.

Had I not lived here I would have never 'recovered' from the deep stress of Los Angeles.

I would not have had the opportunity to slow down and breathe

or walk to the post office

grocery store

art and hardware supply stores

...

everything I needed was easy to find on foot and I think that's great.

It reminded me of Astoria Queens, my first home as an adult out of college.

I will miss the view from the bedroom,

the incredible lush and green landscape that greeted us in January,

the wind and the earth and the sea nearby...

I will miss the new friends you've introduced us, but I am so deeply grateful for the introduction: the first 9 months of our time here were so deeply solitary,

peppered with visits and trips to get me through.

My social butterfly wings were sorely in need of exercise and lately it's been a marathon of laughter and support.

Thank you.

Here we found a lovely home and an enriched sense of togetherness: ritual coffee and yoga on Sunday mornings, date nights at Central Market...

trips to Point Reyes for cheese and cookies,

walks through the neighborhood when it wasn't raining,

Maker's Mark and conversation on cold nights by candlelight...

There will certainly by pain in this separation from your green hills and valleys, but it must be said: wherever my Beloved and our two babes are is my home.

It is as simple as that, and as complicated as anyone who has ever said 'goodbye' can attest to.

Know this -

In your soil I have buried a piece of my heart:

may something beautiful grow in that sacred and verdant spot.

Love Always,

Allisunny