About Me

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Old friends

I haven't written in a while. Don't worry, everything is fine. Not that you were worrying or anything.

I'm on a trip visiting old friends - some of my very best friends!

I'm about halfway through my trip. I'm a little worn out, but am having a wonderful time. We're talking, shopping, riding bikes, playing, cooking, catching-up, doing fun little things - just being together, really.

Right now I'm in a comfy living room, surrounded by lovely dogs (4 of them!), watching TV, and simply enjoying being in the same room. I'll be glad to get home, but tonight, for this week, this catch-up time with friends is perfect!!

A trip worth taking.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Community

I've spent summer evenings on my friend's deck or in her backyard on folding chairs, talking, sharing, laughing, eating dinners filled with summer's most delicious things, while the last hours of the day slip peacefully away, the sun slowly dropping below the mountains, its last hour of light golden and seemingly enveloping us all in that almost fuzzy glow of summer evenings.














A lot of that is going to change now. Our group that has been meeting for over 3 years has come to a place where we need to make a change. Exactly what that change is going to look like, we don't yet know. But something. It might be a small change; it might be quite significant.

The point is that all of us in this group have such strong feelings for one another. We've developed an incredible sense of community, caring, support for one another. This is going to be a hard thing for us to do and then feel like we can enjoy as much as we did the old dynamic.

So spring is on its way, and then summer will come, and along with the changing of the seasons, and especially these seasons of renewed life, we'll be changing, too. I suppose now is as good a time as any. But change is hard.

As I heard someone recently say, "Duh, squared."

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Myself

I was sitting on a couch tonight listening to super-fun music, watching a friend dance and just be silly. Oh, to have that kind of freedom and energy! Both equally missed! Do I remember a time when I wasn't self-conscious about being silly? I still am sometimes with good friends, but I'm pretty self-conscious in other groups. Why has that happened? Can I get back that sense of abandon? What joy and fun she exudes, and what life she adds ... everywhere she goes.

Life - we each live it our own way, don't we? We each walk our own road, sometimes feeling all alone but, hopefully, more often feeling loved and supported, like the whole thing is a hike through the woods. Sometimes those hikes are wonderful, relaxing, lovely. Sometimes they're really hard and you just want them to end. But with either kind, if we'll stop and catch our breath, what we see around us is beautiful.

I'm so thankful for all the people who add to the beauty of my life-hike. I'm thankful for the flowers and trees, the clouds and snow that God provides. I'm thankful for the ups and the downs. I'm thankful for my partner, my hubby. I'm thankful for the little furry body of Egg as he snuggles with me at night.

I go to bed tired, struggling against a cold, a very long list of things to accomplish this week for the LIFE banquet, but happy and content. Even though I'm too shy to dance in front of other people. I'm learning to be just fine with me.

Monday, March 8, 2010

New week

Monday morning, and I have my week mapped out to maximize my efficiency. Sound impressive? :-) I've got a busy week with a big church youth fundraising banquet this Sunday. I need to send out a bunch of e-mails, finalize our huge shopping list, figure out what to buy at the grocery store and what to buy at the big-box discount store, make a final count of chairs and tablecloths, and take care of a hundred of other details. Hope I get it all done!

On top of that, it would be nice to cook a few meals for my hubby, do a little laundry, and maybe even get that laundry put away! Hey, maybe I'll enlist Tim to help me with some housework this week! A novel thought...

Hopes are high, energy is good, head is good, cold is going away - should be a great week!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Simple

The first clear rays of dawn caught the bark of the pine tree outside my window, turning it into burnished copper. Against the foils of evergreen needles and smooth blue sky, the tree's skin shimmered and shone. As the sun crept higher, these wonders faded into ordinary, retaining but a hint of their sunrise glory. How serendipitous that I should be awake at dawn for just that moment!

How closely I should look into nature's wonders if I want to be moved by them. How ordinary they appear as we drive by in our cars, speeding through our lives. Take but a moment to stop and examine the newly budded flower or first blades of spring grass, and your heart will burst with the magnificence of each small thing.

Spring, though still several months distant here in the mountains, is nevertheless on the way with its thousand miracles! And then summer, overflowing with wonders. Ah, this Earth on which we live!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

No, seriously

Our very good friend Vince had a heart attack yesterday. I am very relieved to say it looks like he is going to be just fine. He had angioplasty - so no open heart stuff needed.

What a shock! (The reaction in itself a cliche, but for a reason.) He's not that much older than we are. What a sobering evening and day it has been - first to get the news, to process what needed to be done, then as I drove to the hospital the thought of no longer having him in our own lives, praying as I drove, "God, please spare him. God, please spare him," thinking, of course, not only of us, but primarily of his wife and 3 young kids. Last, as the evening wore on and this morning, to think about what I need to change in my own life.

Is my heart healthy? I know I'm overweight, but am I heading for a heart attack in 10 years?

I don't want to live a reactionary life in which I only make significant changes because of scary and negative input. I want to live a wise, balanced life in which I choose to do the right thing not simply because I'm afraid of the consequences of continuing on the less healthy path.

Wow! A lot to think about. But my overwhelming thought today is thankfulness that Vince made it through the night and all looks good for the future. Yeah, God!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Home

What is it about spending quiet days at home that gives me such a sense of fulfillment, peace and joy. Certainly it isn't the gravity or worldly value of the tasks I perform. Today I'm making loaves of sweet bread for a ladies' get together this coming Saturday, doing laundry, and doing dishes. Yet working in my kitchen, listening to music, the warm, sweet smell of the baking bread filling my house, I feel deeply contented and happy.

I am so thankful for a husband supports me staying home. Who loves how happy I am here. Who joins me in desiring that I get to do my hausfrau thing.

And I am thankful for the ability to do this. Physically able. Financially able. A house of my own. Just so thankful.