Sallie went a'courtin?

Spent the afternoon splashing around in a creek and learning about the railroad in Old Fort today. I was determined to find a salamander, aka Sallie. After some careful looking and sighting of other critters, I had let go of the "Sallie" idea, just soaking up the experience.

Up the creek there was some cool debris from the RR in the water. E and I hung out in this area for a bit, looking at more critters. I found a piece of slate that looked as if the middle had broken out and been washed away in the water. For some reason I picked it up and began prying it apart, just trying to see if it would give. E was making a comment about some female super-hero as the slate cracked open. And there was Sallie! Little greenish/brownish/blackish critter had wedged itself in the crack, and I had just revealed exactly what I had hoped to find! Could it be that sometimes things you hoped to find come to you after you've let go?

I think I learned a lot about myself and about the person I was enjoying the afternoon with. It's refreshing to have fun, engage in intelligent conversation, share personal space, enjoy nature, and learn with someone else. It's been a long lonely single six months. I feel like I have learned more about myself in the last year than in the previous twenty five-ish years. I am loving my life. It's full of discovery and learning and changing and light. How free it is to savor the moment!