This morning … October 4, 2023 … I was remembering something that a friend said to me on our most recent weekly conversation. This soul-sister is an extraordinarily talented artist. She told me that when it is time for her to start a new project, she knows that somewhere there is a timeline where the project is finished. So her first step is to connect with her future self and that “somewhere” and then follow the steps backward from there.
Matt and I have been on the road together, doing our flavor of RV-life, since April 28th of this year. But that information barely scratches the surface of how my life has changed (and then changed again) since my last post here on September 4, 2014 … 9 years and 1 month ago.
I did end up going back to visit Mabel’s and Taos with my friend, Frances, back in October 2014. Without any clue that the opportunity was coming, I was compelled to apply for the position of General Manager at Mabel’s when it became available. In April 2015, I moved to Taos and began a life-altering 8-year-long journey serving as steward for this incredible place.
Oh my goodness, there were losses. Dan and I divorced in 2016, months before our daughter graduated from Ohio University. Our house on Heatherglen was sold. Jakk’s Magic Beans Workshop, LLC was dissolved. My mother died of lung cancer in 2017. Phoebe, our greyhound, Garrett and Tansy, our cats, all crossed the rainbow bridge.
But there were so many gifts and blessings to follow. In 2018, I met Matt (my Mateo) … only because he practically showed up at my door at Mabel’s. I was living on-site in the caretaker’s cottage at that time with my two dogs, Ruby and Enzo, and two cats, Mabel and Tony. (Sadly, they’ve since crossed the rainbow bridge as well.) Matt and I had both divorced after 20+ years of marriage, so were moving into our new relationship with awkward edges that somehow helped us to fit together beautifully. Now here we are on this adventure of a lifetime!
This morning, when I was journaling, I decided to apply my artist friend’s technique and try to tap into the timeline where future me is creatively thriving at, in and with what’s next. Well, I should’ve fastened my seatbelt and put on helmet first, because, wow, what a ride. I was nudged to do a Google search for “Magic Beans Workshop.” That is when this blog popped up in the search results. I had forgotten about it over the years. I will be going through the posts in detail to refresh myself, but so far it feels like finding buried treasure. I don’t think I would’ve been ready to revisit these memories before now.
I have new website (http://www.thisjuliekeefe.com) where I post daily travel logs. There is real estate there for a new blog and more. But it feels right to post this update here (after tracking down my log-in credentials) in case anyone who once followed this blog way back when is glad to receive this update. I am here. All is well. Please feel free to contact me … I’d love to hear from you!
I’m in awe that future me pointed present me back in time so that I could realize that I am the future me for the me I was back then. Maybe I need my Magic Beans Workshop back in my life but this time in mobile form. Time will tell. In the meantime, I am so deeply grateful …
