Amid tangled pillows

A single soft infant soundly sleeps.

From half-buried face peak fluttering lids -

Oh to know those thoughts!

Oh to know those dreams!

To see sparkling fresh images of an innocent world unstained;

Pristine vistas of good assumed painless...

Blessed little one - Eve's remorse.

But with Montana, it is love...

"Three friends married women from different parts of the country. 

The first man married a woman from California. He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.

The second man married a woman from New Jersey. He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. The first day he didn't see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done, and there was a huge dinner on the table.

The third man married a girl from Montana. He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything, but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye. And his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher. He still has some difficulty when he pees. "

They say, "You don't mess with Texas." But I've got news for you Texas - 

you've got NOTHING on Montana ;)  

For some people, where they're from isn't a part of who they are... I've met Washingtonians who could care less about being from the Emerald City and Floridians with no special connection to oranges.  Yes, New Yorkers love their Big Apple and if you diss the Red Sox in Boston, BEWARE.  But being a native (or token native) Montanan means something special.  Montanans have a unity that goes beyond values and livestock.  Montanans share a connection with each other and the natural world around them that is binding.  

In studying political science, one of the most significant areas of work is determining what it is it that motivates people to form groups.  Especially in the America of today where patriotism is too meek to compete with individualism to inspire national unity, figuring out what it is that triggers people's "Come Together" impulse is more open to doubt than ever before.  Some say it's race.  Others say religion.  Still others cite sexual orientation, age, gender, financial interests, etc..  But I believe what makes MT unique is that, despite differing lifestyles, political opinions, and religious preferences, Montanans share their surroundings!  Montanans are unified but a foundational sense of place wonderfully described in the preamble of the State Constitution...

"We the people of Montana grateful to God for the quiet beauty of our state, the grandeur of our mountains, the vastness of our rolling plains, and desiring to improve the quality of life, equality of opportunity and to secure the blessings of liberty for this and future generations..."

Montanans are visually reminded every day of the annoying amount of snow awesomeness of where we live.  And whether you're a fan or not, one can't help but participate in the communal realities of Montana's environment.  This is what I believe unifies Montanans, what brings us together: a unique, strong, mutual experience of place Montanans can't help but share.

God Bless Montana!  And bless all those lucky enough to call this great State home :)

I wondered as I wandered...

By our house, there is a park. And in that park, there's a path, a path that my son Will and I try to meander down daily so Mommy doesn't have one of those bikini-fail kind of summers...ugh. This morning was a particularly awe-inspiring, spring in Montana, sunny day; the type one endures the seemingly-endless winters here just to catch a whiff of. As William snoozed snugly in his Ergo pouch, I walked and "mused" over the winding path supporting my feet.

One of my younger sister's favorite sayings wouldn't stay out of my head - "Not all those who wander are lost." Although semi-cliche these days, for her, it is a reassurance; a reminder that although some life decisions are made on faith, it does not mean that a misstep or tangent journey is fruitless or lacks purpose.

As we wandered over our trail this morning, I couldn't help but ruminate on the idea that America is surprisingly anti-wander. Whether that wandering be mental, emotional, or physical changes in locale, the sentiment remains: for all the high and mighty talk about purpose-seeking, non-traditional career/ life choices, and mobile citizenry, the American bias still rests with those who pretend to know exactly what they want and how they are going to get it. As any recent college graduate knows, our parents, mentors, potential loan-lenders, grad schools, or would-be employers don't value wandering. Why take the risk on someone society tells us is "unstable," "unreliable," or "un_____ (please insert any other valuable-trait-adjective here)?" They believe it's just not worth it to invest in someone without a track record of anti-wandering impulses. Now for some endeavors, this bias makes sense - why offer wander-prone "X" a job, spend the time and money training them, only to have them leave for a new kick a month later?

HOWEVER, what this "go for stable" attitude fails to recognize is the distinction between those wanderers who abuse society's trust and act out of selfish, premeditated, vagrant-dom, versus those for whom wandering is more of a "wriggling in to that new pair of jeans that don't quite fit right yet" phase. I know, I know, I'm sounding much more postmodern than usual today (... maybe it's because I watched my first episode of Glee last night and all I can say is, "Holy Nietzsche Batman!"... ANY WAY... ironic that this post is on wandering eh?), but I feel there is something to be said for responsible wandering. For example:

Exhibit A/ Enlightening Metaphor...

Outside of Deer Lodge, MT, there's a tributary of the Clark Fork that I swear is the most twisty-turning river I've ever seen! Every time I'm there, I always marvel at it's switch-backing roundabouts and man-made looping rolls. Why would anyone force a river in to such an unlikely path you ask? TO CLEAN IT! By allowing a river to wind instead of forcing it to be linear, the rivers sediment/pollutant/bad things in general, scrubbers kick in and naturally keep the flowing water clean! Because of this, wandering rivers are cleaner, healthier, and more stable than their "straight and narrow" counterparts.  With rivers, wandering is a good thing.

Just as the twists and turns in a river help remove unwanted babble, human wandering also has the potential to refine; to force self-reflection and growth that would never otherwise be inspired. Wandering by definition admits a lack of will concerning one's direction; a giving over of control; a surrendering to our inability to predict or mandate our futures. Wandering admits the truth that we are not the ones in charge of our destinies.

So to all you anti-wanderers out there, today I encourage you to explore. To let go and give wandering a try.

You might be surprised where you end up...