The Spirit of Nature

I believe that the Spirit of God dwells in nature in greater abundance than anywhere else. Colorado offers more plentiful exposures to nature's wonders than just about anywhere else, for me. The surrounding countryside calls me to join it. I am lucky enough to have found a walking companion in the form of a red-head named Elaine. She is about my age and a good friend of mom's. She and I walk along a local creek most weekday mornings. We walk through bunches of trees to the sound of rushing water. It is quite magical. In addition, mom's land is filled with nature's wonders. Her mulberry tree is filled with birds happily munching the ripe berries. A noisy little squirrel often joins them. Her pasture is filled with cattle. There is life everywhere. Feeling the life pulse is a joyful thing that fills me with such peace and happiness.

Mom and I sat on her front porch this afternoon to the sound of thunder as a storm moved in. Lightening, thunder and rain filled the next few hours. We took it all in through her porch and kitchen windows. Layne rescued her deck upholstery, as you see in the accompanying photo. It was exciting to stand inside a comfortable home, dry and happy, looking out on a summer storm. How I wish our California home had summer rains! I couldn't resist taking some photos, some of which you see here. Summer rain. What a treat.

Mom seems to be less eager to exert herself. Her hip and leg have been hurting since a crooked sleep several nights ago. I am beginning to feel that she will now make little progress. I am still hoping for more but not counting on it. Some days she is bright and eager to do things but so much of the time she just wants to rest. She says little. I miss her insightful chatter. We are working on finishing up her life story, which she seems to enjoy. She seems to have so many thoughts inside of her, as she always has, but is less inclined to express them. She is frustrated that her body no longer works as she'd like. I think she is beginning to feel that it is a condition that she will have to put up with from now on. I think she is a little discouraged. She doesn't say so, but I think she is feeling it. I don't blame her. It would be hard to not be able to run and move at will. Here she is with friend Barbara Petersen.

Life here is basically relaxed. We serve mom and there is time in between to do what pleases us. Afternoon naps are a habit. The pace is slow. I like it.

Top picture is Layne after dinner.

A Colorful Move

Sometimes a month's worth of activity can compact into a week. It makes for exciting times. I hurried to do my Visiting Teaching at the beginning of this past week so that we would be ready to travel to Colorado at the end of the week to take our turn caring for Mom. One of my ladies, Ellen, is a non-member. Every time I visit her and present a spiritual message an amazing spirit invades us. It happened again this past Wednesday. As we talked, there was magic between us as the Spirit opened our hearts and minds and bound us together in perfect understanding. My experience with her makes me feel reassured that I can be inspired under the right circumstances.

My foster daughter, Michelle, told us that her son, Chris, was performing in a play at the local college (Ohlone). I pressured Layne to attend the only performance open to us, on Thursday evening. The play was Sweet Charity. I didn't know a thing about it. As the story progressed it quickly became apparent that Charity was a lovable prostitute. We sat through the first half. I know I'm picky but if the story isn't uplifting I really don't care how well done it is. The music and performers were great but the story line bugged me. So we left at intermission. Besides, we had to get up at 4 AM to try for a flight to Denver, the first leg of our trip to Cedaredge.

Audrey was sweet enough to get up early to take us to the airport on Friday. What do you know, we caught that early flight to Denver. Remember we go stand-by (for free) so every attempt to catch a flight is "ify". We arrived in Denver early and rushed to catch a flight into Montrose, a small airport close to Cedaredge. Amazing! We caught it and arrived at 1130 AM, a record for early arrivals to Colorado.

What a beautiful place Cedaredge is. We spent the weekend with my sister, Maryanne, and her hub, Bob. Oh, Mom was here too. And two of Maryanne's grandsons. Mom's little home was stuffed. But we had fun. The boys got hooked on Majong, my favorite computer game. We laughed and cheered our way into multiple victories and losses. On Sunday a storm moved in. Colorado summers have lots of those; one of the things I love about this place. Anyhow, the evening became quite blustery. I talked the boys into coming outside and feeling the wind run through their hair. I gave them quite an enthusiastic sales job on the joys of running in the wind and they bought into it completely. We spent the rest of the evening on Mom's deck, playing in the wind. Even Maryanne and Mom joined us. It was pure joy.

Bob, Maryanne and the boys left Monday morning, after a doctor's appointment for Mom. So we have taken up the reins of Mom's care for a month. She seems a little diminished to me. I am beginning to feel that she is sliding, slowly, downhill. I have a hard time admitting that as I dream of her being restored, if we can just give her the proper care. I suppose I am a helpless idealist. Mom is so lovely and full of life. Well, not as full as she was before the stroke. I miss her enthusiasm and regular comments and philosophizing. She is getting regular therapy and is making some progress but she doesn't seem quite as motivated as she was. But she still loves lemon fluff pie! Here she is licking the beater during the construction of this luscious pie. At least to us girls it is luscious; the guys prefer ice cream. So we girls ate the whole thing!

The good news is that Mom has a clean bill of health. Her hip is healed and, according to the local doctor, she is now free to use it in a normal manner. I'm excited about that. We plan to get her a bone scan so as to see the condition of her bones. It would be helpful to know if we need to take some precautions against further damage to her bones.

There are many local people here who love Mom. We visited some on Sunday. The Hovde's live in a lovely country home with extensive flower gardens. You can see a view in this photo. I'd love a garden like this one! At the top you can see Maryanne's hub Bob, at the Hovde's, sporting part of a set of armor that a local artist made.

And so our Colorado month begins. I feel happy to be here.

Lots of stuff

This morning I rode to Church with my son-in-law, Cliff, and my three grandchildren. I sat between Allegra and Isaiah in the back seat. On the way Isaiah pulled out a piece of gum and very carefully opened the stick and divided it into as close to three perfect pieces as he could do. Then he carefully refolded the foil wrapping to look like brand new. Would you call his exactness overkill? Would you say he is a bit over the top in the structured department? Perhaps I would agree. But I am so much like him! Yesterday, as I worked in the kitchen, I took open joy in having everything there organized just the way I want it to be. Almost the whole house is organized to meet my internal need for structure and order. Am I becoming an extremist do you think?

This week has been all about stuff as I pursued my non-people goals. I sewed, washed, worked in the yard and on the computer. I relished not calling or visiting anyone (with one very pleasant exception). I pushed my people goals out of this week and into the next. It was a nice change. As I grow older I find that my normally social preferences are being modified by a growing enjoyment of solitude. Now if I could just clear my head and use my meditating time to thoroughly ponder the deeper things of life without allowing it to become distracted by my tendency for multi-tasking and multi-thinking!

Saturday was the main exception to my week of stuff. We celebrated grandson Chase's actual birthday with a dinner of ribs with our Adams-Hart family. Chase turned 18. Today he was ordained an Elder by his father, Cliff. So now he is Elder Adams-Hart. He is a good-sized Elder, standing at least 6 feet 3 inches and growing! To his delight, he towers over his father and can look his grandfather in the eye. He has become a young man of integrity with the purest of hearts. I'm thankful for him. You can see him here opening his gifts from his other grandmother, who specializes in giving gifts of snacks. In the background, you can see our front yard, with some plants attempting to grow. With luck, if they take hold, we can plant more and, at last, have a yard of growing things. Life of all sorts enriches the soul!

Connections

In the people versus stuff war I often choose poorly. What I mean is, I am so very goal oriented that I let my various projects and assignments take over my life and thus miss opportunities for more important people bonding. But this past week was all about people.

I may have mentioned earlier that we have 5 family birthdays in close proximity in June and July. Most of those 5 took me up on my offer to shop with them rather than accept a gift of my choice. Monday was Audrey's shopping day. We hit gold with our efforts to find things that pleased her. It was a very satisfying shopping effort. And I didn't even buy a thing for myself, which I am often tempted to do when exposed to the array of things to purchase. I remember once again what a joy to my heart it is to please someone else. Especially someone I love a lot.

My son Gerald, the son who lives in Taiwan with his family, is coming to the States next week. He is bringing his own family and some exchange students from their English classes for a month's tour of the West. This time they are beginning their tour in Seattle. The problem is, his car is parked at our place. Getting it to Seattle in time for their arrival became the errand of Audrey and myself. We decided to drive it north on Wednesday afternoon, after my service in the Temple. Audrey loves to drive, so she drove the whole way. We had a lovely time together. We stayed in a motel Wednesday night, in Grant's Pass. Then comfortably on to Seattle, via a short stop at Salem, Oregon, where we visited a special couple named Max and Carol Chancellor. As we drove I marveled once again at the magic of it. It is amazing to be able to move through space at a speed we choose and a temperature quite apart from what nature offers. It was a hot trip, but, for us, in the comfort of a new car, the perfect climate control. The views and the company were lovely and our temporary stay in the motel was comfortable and pleasant. Isn't it an amazing time to live when we can move through our lives in such luxury and comfort?

The Chancellors lost two grown sons in death, within a month of each other. It happened shortly before we lost our own Carmen. Their deaths were a shock that will take some time to get over, as you may imagine. Audrey and I stopped to visit them in Salem on our way to Seattle. It was such a pleasure to spend time with them. You can see Max and Carol here, standing with their daughter, Becky, on their front porch. We talked our way into two hours and toured their beautiful home and yard. They are surrounded by green. I compared it in my mind to our own brown hills and must agree that I prefer green.

We spent what remained of Thursday and Friday with my daughter Jessica and her family in Seattle. Their little daughter, Peyton, turned 5 on Friday. I was happy to be there to celebrate with her. You can see her here opening one of her gifts. Family bonding is such a joy to me. We had a pleasant time living in their world for a day. I am grateful for sweet feelings with family. I appreciate each person and, especially on this Friday, the personalities of Chris and Jessica and their three children.

Audrey and I were blessed to catch an early United flight into San Francisco on Saturday morning. We even rode First Class. That is always a special blessing since we fly stand-by and are lucky to find a seat at all. Lucky we were. We spent most of the week together and it was such a pleasure. I find the company of my children pleasant, to the last one.

Independence Day is important to me. We spent most of Saturday morning preparing for the arrival of the local family and a celebration of our freedom. We ate, played, talked about our Independence and raised a brand new flag in our yard. At the top you can see our littlest granddaughter, Abigail, sporting a patriotic hat. We also celebrated those 5 birthdays I mentioned earlier. It was a joyful time. I hope our grandchildren, and the rest of the rising generation, will catch the importance of our country's system of government. At least the system that was put in place by our inspired Founding Fathers. There is much change on the horizon and it worries me a great deal. We have been so blessed as a nation. Will it continue?

The Best Laid Plans

Layne and I returned home from delivering Mom to Colorado late Monday night. Tuesday I spent the day lounging about and feasting upon the notion that I didn't HAVE to do anything. Wednesday we served in the temple and did catch-up errands in the afternoon.

Early in the week I felt euphoric about the time that loomed before me. It looked like several weeks of delicious openness. So I planned what to do with this gift of time. I have quite a backlog of activities that need addressing. It was such fun to schedule them into the few weeks that I will be away from Mom. I began working on my list in earnest, but, alas, others in my life had other ideas for the use of my time!

The end of June brings with it 4 birthday celebrations; one daughter (Audrey) and three grandchildren (Allegra-14, Scott-13, Jacqueline-7). In addition, the beginning of July brings two more (Chase-18, Peyton-5). You can imagine the shopping nightmare this represents. I have taken to offering to buy the local grandchildren a gift, or taking them shopping and letting them choose for themselves. This year Scott and Allegra wanted to shop. So I spent Thursday shopping with them. It was lots of fun, I will admit that. Then Isaiah approached me with a vision of a gift he wanted to make for his sister, Allegra. Well, actually, he wanted me to make it. And buy the materials for it. Hum. So, Isaiah and I also went shopping and he stood over me while I made his vision a reality. I will admit, he contributed to the cost and he also did some of the sewing. But Friday was filled with that project. Except for one more activity.

Chase talked Isaiah into letting me cut his hair very short. I am seen as the major hair-cutter in the family at this particular time. So out came the clippers with the correct attachment, and I did the job, quite well if I do say so. As I looked over my work, I noticed a stray hair or two on the top of Isaiah's head that I missed. So I took the clippers back out and, forgetting that I had already removed the attachment for cutting the right length, I roared through the top of his head with the unadorned clippers. Can you picture the result? My perfect job now had a stip of totally bald head, right in the middle of Isaiah's head! It happened in an instant! Isaiah was shocked, and so were Chase and I. I colored his head with felt tip pen so it would blend in and cut the rest of his hair as short as I dared. But he has worn his baseball hat ever since. Hum. So much for my expert barbering. I wonder if he'll ask me to cut his hair again. Stay tuned.

Saturday looked good. We helped a friend move in the morning, but the afternoon was looking wide open and full of possibilities. Then Ben called wondering if he could drop off three of his babes while he did some needed things of his own. Who am I to pass up the chance to have my babies with me? "Of course," I said. So on they came. We spent the rest of the day together. I loved it, of course. But another day passed without my goals even being started. "People over stuff" I always tell myself. And I believe that. Perhaps I am lucky after all. There are so many people in my life to love and spend time with. Maybe that really is the best goal to reach for.

At the top you see the Thursday shoppers, Allegra and Scott. Farther down is Isaiah, and, if you look closely at the bottom picture you can see my major hair faux paux.

Colorful Colorado

We spent the last 10 days with my mom in Colorado. What a beautiful place! We arrived on Saturday of last week and entered a clean, cheery little house (hers). In spite of being empty for the past several months, the house and yard never looked better. It is an embracing little house. Perhaps part of its embrace lies in the memories associated with it. But as you see it here, can you deny its charm?

Mom was undeniably happy to be home. But since she broke her hip, her demeanor is noticeably diminished. She is coming to the conclusion, I think, that she will very likely not be able to return to her former life of full activity. I believe she will need us from now on as well. She finds that idea very difficult to swallow. Her home therapy is in place and all seems organized for her comfort and growth while she is there. Maryanne and Bob arrived on the weekend and will take over her care for the next few weeks. I think it will be a good experience for Maryanne and Mom both to be together. It has been Mom and me for the past 7 months. Mom was worried when we left and I think she will miss us, but I also think she will enjoy the coming weeks.

So, for the next little while, I am a free woman. I spent today relaxing and making plans for the time up to our return to Colorado. And I have such plans! I am bubbling over with enthusiasm for all that I hope to accomplish. I'm very good at making plans. Carrying them out is my downfall. But I have my weeks all scheduled out, so we'll see how I do.

Pictured you see the front of Mom's home, Maryanne already on the job in the kitchen and Mom sitting in her chair in the kitchen.

A Graduation!

I almost forgot to mention, with all the recent events, that a very important milestone has been achieved by our grandson, Chase. He graduated from High School! It is official. Here is a picture of him in his post-high school state. No more seminary either! He is busy finishing up his Scout Eagle Project and then he will be ready for whatever future he wants to create. His Eagle Project involved collecting money and goods for the Family House, in San Francisco, where Dorothy and Carmen stayed, for free, during her cancer treatments. It is a wonderful way to pay them back for the service they give to so many families struggling with disease. I am so thrilled with, and grateful for, this bright, good-hearted grandson!