On Hazel Way, the entrance to our neighborhood symbolized stepping through the stem of an apple, circling into an oblong-shaped community tucked within LaGrange, GA. Growing up there in the 80s, we roamed the streets and climbed the trees of this civilized pocket that brought together families of diverse backgrounds. Many of those trees bore fruit, plenty enough that the neighborhood kids and the local wildlife kept most of it from ever rotting on the branch or ground. To us, this was sacred territory: a shared orchard of belonging, a rite of passage from innocence to adolescence.

This statement has been mindfully placed on the ledge of my headboard for over a year now, acting as a clear reminder that life is a live action tale starring me, lead role and audience critic. The first step each morning is getting up and out of that bed, no matter how comfortable and how easy it may seem to blow off the day. Remember, we don’t have to get up, we get to!

Every life carries a moment when the ground beneath us shifts, when the path we’ve been following splits, and we’re asked to choose where to place our trust. Nature shows us this truth with startling clarity. On a quiet morning with my dog Copper, I watched a small creek carve a new way through the hillside, exposing roots and reshaping the soil. What looked like destruction was, in fact, transformation.