Episode 4: Lori and Jolene: Returning Home And To Each Other
It was an instant connection during the Kindergarten roundup in the early 80's in rural Iowa that set the stage for a laughter-filled, adventurous friendship between Lori and Jolene. Romps through the woods that bordered Lori's land, visits to the principal's office (and coordinating stories), trips to the lake in bright-colored life vests, and high school dances dotted with poofy sleeves, were fertile ground for these two curly-haired friends to anchor a feeling of belonging, trust, and genuine acceptance.
In time and around the age of 18, their adventures and desire to experience new parts of the world took them from rural Iowa to two different big cities out west, where they lived much of adulthood - with only spotty moments of reconnection.
In the past couple of years, however, as they've reached their mid-forties, they've both returned home to Iowa as they enter what Lori calls their Chiron return era, a time of returning to what matters most.
Along with their desires to return to the land they love, which provides ample space and time for connecting with nature and the simple joys in life, they've also experienced a coming home to each other.
Among all the similarities to yesteryear that they cherish today, there's also beauty in, and appreciation for, who they have become in time. Both have "done the work" as Lori says. They've shed conditioning and come to fully understand, embrace, and live out loud as the people they are here to be. This work has allowed their friendship to radiate at an entirely new frequency - while still anchored by the comfort of "you knew me when…"
What is also new is the next generation. Jolene's 14-year-old daughter opens the door for Lori to share her mothering energy, energy that she holds to this day after her daughter "gained wings, not legs" nearly 17 years ago.
As they journey, it is so clear that they always know how to find home - and each other. As Lori says, that's the magic of this all.
"The fact that we are here at 48, and this is where it went, is so profound. It's so the magic of this experience."
Produced by Carrie Flynn.
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