Greetings from southern Arizona where Bill and I are spending the month of March and half of April, settling into our home away from home. We revisited the Southwest in January with the intention of finding a place to escape to every January– often the coldest winter month in Minnesota. It took only a few days for the Sonoran Desert to cast its spell: blue, blue sky, stunning mountain vistas, higher temperatures, and the heat of the sun on our faces (yes, even in January!); and we were suddenly snow birding converts.

            The warm embrace of this place, coupled with my desire to be more fully retired, has me relaxing on what feels like a cellular level. A sense of peace and well-being is settling in, one I don’t think I’ve felt since childhood. And I’ll not give that up. Already, my husband and I plan to come back for a couple of weeks in June and then again late September through early November and then again for the first 5 moths of 2025. We are, as they say, hooked on a feeling.

            You know, deciding to be more fully retired was not an easy decision for someone who’s been as driven by (and as passionate about) work as I have been. But it was the right decision, maybe even the brave one. And now that I’ve made it–now that I’ve let these beautiful, restorative things into my life–there’s no going back. For me, now, there is only the leaning in.

            I don’t know yet all the changes these decisions will entail for Danielle Dufy Literary; but they will not be insignificant ones. More on all that soon. For now, there are various cactus “pups” to pot up and homemade corn tortillas to bake or fry for tostada lunch. I’ll keep in good touch, here on the blog and on the DDL Facebook page. Peace, Deborah