For Balmy Sunshine and Rich Blessings

Saguaro National Park, Tucson, AZ

Day three of the longest Thanksgiving Break I've ever had--one whole week.  What a luxury!  Normally I'd be in school until noon today but this year, our school decided to take the entire week off.  For that, I am thankful.  But that's the least of the things I am thankful for this year.  I'm mindful of the prayer-song that we used to sing when I was a girl--about being thankful for the basics that surround us along with the bountiful blessings.

Hartwell Tavern, Concord, MA

Five years ago, when I blogged about it (here), I had no idea that I'd one day be living in the Valley of the Sun enjoying serious balmy sunshine (but very little nourishing rain) year-round.  In many ways, that's one of the rich blessings, even though I miss New England so much sometimes that it aches.  Times like this week, I'd give a lot to be able to take the quick drive to Lexington and Concord to start my Christmas shopping, or take a stroll through the woods to Hartwell Tavern, or walk the path to the Old North Bridge or take the tour through Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House for the umpteenth time . . . never mind enjoy the bounty of a table laden with favorite food alongside family and long-time friends.  I'd even give something to watch the snow swirl crazily outside my window, piling up on the car and working its magic in the dusky sky at sundown.

Old North Bridge, Concord, MA

Instead, I am spending the early morning hours of this day at my laptop, watching out my window at hummingbirds, woodpeckers, Western juncos, and finches taking their fill at the feeder on the other side of my window and anticipating a delicious meal tomorrow with new (relatively) friends.  And while this isn't the Thanksgiving I have long loved, it is a Thanksgiving I will enjoy all the same.  I cannot complain...

Saguaro National Park, Tucson, AZ

For balmy sunshine
For nourishing rain
Dear Lord and our Father
We thank Thee.

Monarch Butterflies

For food and Thy care
Rich blessings we share
Dear Lord and our Father
We thank Thee.

We thank Thee, oh Lord.

Photos taken in Concord 5 years ago, Saguaro National Park near Tucson two weeks ago, and the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix one week ago.

The Way Life Should Be

My road trip continued north after a brief respit with a friend in Laurel, Maryland (briefer than expected as I thought my plane left at 5 p.m. and instead it left at 6 a.m!).  After a quick plane trip that would have taken another 8 hours to drive, I landed in Boston and spent a few hours with my sister before she drove me north to our parents' home in Maine where I will remain for several weeks.

The slogan for this lovely far-northeastern state currently states that Maine is "Worth a Visit, Worth a Lifetime."  I prefer the older slogan that used to greet us when we crossed the border on route 95 from New Hampshire into Maine:  "The Way Life Should Be."  My blogging plan is to share the many reasons I agree with this slogan.  I'll start with my parents' back yard.  It is as beautiful as ever:

In the Land of the Delta Blues

View of Memphis from the Arkansas side of the
Mississippi River

"Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues In the middle of the pouring rain." ~ Marc Cohen, Walking in Memphis

Kellogg's sign just outside of
Fort Smith--where the Kellogg side
of my family lived 70 years ago!

We are spending the night on the east side of Memphis, having driven a more productive number of miles today, thanks mostly to the rain and all the trees.  The rain because we didn't want to get out in it, the trees because we cannot see all the interesting things there might possibly could be just waiting for us off the interstate!  It's beautiful, and we are loving the lush velvety grass and leafed-out trees...except for the limited effect they have on our side-tripping experience :)  Perhaps it's just as well.  We certainly do have miles to go before this trip is finished.  Some 912 miles to be exact, more or less, perhaps, if we don't get lost.  Or side-tracked.

Welcome sign as we went into the historic part
of Fort Smith

Today did have its moments, though.  Our first slight detour took us into the town of Fort Smith, just over the border of Oklahoma into Arkansas.  My mother and at least some of her family lived there some 70 years ago.  I remember hearing stories of how they road their horse Jubilee bare-footed and bare-backed (the horse, not the girls).  Mama taught school here for a time.  We spent some time exploring the Catholic Church in the historica part of town.  It was quite beautiful.  [We have discovered at least three Adventist Churches along the way, too, lest you think we are only interested in Catholic ones!]  And open, so we went in for some pictures and discovered one of the priests training some children to help with Communion Service.  We enjoyed watching for awhile.

The Swiss restaurant we ate in was originally the
hand-dug underground home the family lived in when
they first came to this country.  They then built a
cabin on top of this dugout, which then became
a restaurant.

Our next major stop was for lunch in a town of 46 people, many of them related.  It was a restaurant at a winery and we thought we might find some tasty food, but ended up with just a baked potato and tossed salad.  Everything else we could not eat.  The atmosphere was kind of cool, but the food a little disappointing. 

Road-sign for the Trail of Tears,
route 70 in Arkansas, not far from the
Tennessee border.

The rest of the time we were driving and driving, mostly keeping ahead of the rain (once we got out of it this morning).  When we stopped for supper at about 8, after having crossed the very full Mississippi River and gone around and out of Memphis, rain and thunder and lightening were in the air.  Linda talked the hotel clerk into giving us one of their last rooms to us at a much-reduced rate.  It's a suit, but we just one bed, so I'm on the pull-out couch.  Feels just fine.  We're tired enough to not care. 

We whiled the time away by researching some of the places we drove through (or by) and talking about books and other oh-so-fascinating things about our lives and our interests.  And once we got off the interstate and took a parallel "red" road in the hopes of finding something interesting...and found the historic Trail of Tears, which we followed until we got to Memphis.  Such a sad page in our history that is :(...

Here are a few more favorite shots from our trip today:

  

Historic part of Fort Smith with the Immaculate
Conception Catholic Church at the center.

Linda at lunch.

Rondi at lunch.

Blessings

"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."  --Charles Dickens

This is the second writing prompt of the day for my sophomores.  What are your present blessings?  List and reflect them.  Well, one of my blessings, for sure, is my students.  I feel a great happiness when I think of them and see them learning and growing.  This writing year that we spend together is not easy.  And there's not a lot of "fun" literature because it's more about them as writers than others.  But they have worked hard.  I've not had to struggle to keep them focused.  I've not had to beg or bribe them.  I know they wish it could be more "interesting" at times, but it is always practical.  Even now.  And they get that.  What a blessing!

Another blessing is my family.  I spent almost all of Christmas vacation with them.  This was a longer break than usual, too, so I made the most of it.  I miss my family a great deal.  It's a real challenge to be without them, so any opportunity to be with them is a blessing.

My friends are a blessing, too.  I have many...too many to count, but not too many to appreciate.  Here, at Thunderbird, each one is very different from the other.  There are not many overlaps in interests--or time together.  That's been interesting to me, to virtually have a different friend for many of the interests in my life.  Last night I went and watched Downton Abby with one of those friends and had a great time laughing and enjoying the life of 1920s Britishers.  I look forward to next week's episode and the time to share again.

Gratitude Unlocked...

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

The day after Thanksgiving has dawned bright and beautiful.  For the third time in my life I did not spend Thanksgiving Day with family and even though I did pass a delightful afternoon with the families of two colleagues, I still felt a little bit empty.  For so many years Thanksgiving Day has meant lots of family--upwards of 30 people from four very connected families have gathered together to ask the Lord's continued blessing.  And of course they still gathered...but without so many this year.  The two oldest members of the group and one other are no longer with us, having passed away within the past year (one most recently a week ago). My youngest sister and her family, my oldest niece and her new husband, and a nephew were not there, nor were several others.  I missed them all.  And I imagine those who were there realized the absences keenly, too.

And yet.  There is much to be grateful for. My aforementioned close-knit family.  My colleagues and friends who make each work day a pleasure.  My students--past and present--who keep me going day after day.  My church family that is loving and nurturing.  My cats, faithful companions for the past decade.  My friends--near and far.  The list could go on an on.  I am truly blessed.  And for the actual Day of Thanks, even though I was not home with family, it was enough to be with my work family, with people who love me enough to count me family, and with the promise of being home soon for Christmas.  

Wonder-full Wedding

My niece got married on Sunday.  It was a mist-filled, wonder-full day.  The wedding took place in a garden on the North Shore of Massachusetts, so the weather was a concern.  With temperatures 20 degrees lower than normal and intermittent rain throughout the weekend, the outdoor ceremony was in doubt.  But the father of the bride said "No.  My daughter wanted a garden wedding, and that's what she's going to have."  And so she did.  It was beautiful.  Just beautiful.

I put together the readings for the ceremony.  A pastor-relative and I read the selections from literature and the Bible.  We've done readings together before and do well together.  I chose selections from Robert Louis Stevenson, Maya Angelou, Thomas a Kempis, George Eliot, the Bible, and Pablo Neruda. His Sonnet LXIX was my favorite of all:

Maybe nothingness is to be without your presence, 

without you moving, slicing the noon
like a blue flower, without you walking
later through the fog and the cobbles,
without the light you carry in your hand,
golden, which maybe others will not see,

which maybe no one knew was growing 

like the red beginnings of a rose.

In short, without your presence:  without your coming

suddenly, incitingly, to know my life,

gust of a rosebush wheat of wind:

since then I am because you are,

since then you are, I am, we are,

and through love I will be, you will be, we'll be.

 

 

Happy New Year 2012! · 365 Project

Happy New Year 2012! by Rondi Aastrup · 365 Project

I've decided to try the 365 Project of posting one photo each day of the year 2012 that captures the essence of the day.  My friend Christy succeeded in doing it every day of 2011 and she has inspired me to try.  Not only will it keep my eyes open for the little details that make up my life, it will get me writing on a daily basis again.  Both good things!

This photo was actually taken a couple of days ago when all but one of our family was together up at Second Wind (family cabin) in western Maine.  This cabin is the site of many, many family gatherings as well as other groups, large and small.  It's a place that brings peace just at the thought, and it's a place that brought us all together again after a year and a half of separation.  Last year and this year we were missing one of the brother-in-laws for one reason or another.  Last year, Martha photo-shopped the missing person in.  She has not had the chance to do that yet, so I will change this picture when she does.  Still, I thought it a fitting way to begin this project by reminding me of the thing most important to me:  family.  This time next year, we will have an additional face to add as there will be a wedding in the spring.  So...the group expands...as does the love.

Happy New Year to each and all!

I Will Go

In our staff worship on Monday, our registrar shared a Steve Green song with us that had powerful meaning for her, but also for the rest of us gathered around the table.  Every day the principal and I meet to talk and pray together about the day and for our students and staff.  It's always nice when others come, but it's not often.  This week, the registrar has joined us.  The song she brought touched each of our hearts as each of us have left something or someone important to us to come where God has led us.  The principal's wife still lives in Texas because she is taking care of her elderly father there.  The registrar and her family left a stable situation in northern California and came to a very challenging situation here in Arizona.  I left all of my family on the east coast and came here where I knew no one and nothing about what I was getting into.  We all three believe God brought us here to Thunderbird, but it has not been easy.  The words to the song gave us all hope and courage for the journey:

Give me ears to hear Your Spirit
Give me feet to follow through
Give me hands to touch the hurting
And the faith to follow You.


Give me grace to be a servant
Give me mercy for the lost
Give me passion for your glory
Give me passion for the cross.


And I will go where there are no easy roads
Leave the comforts that I know
I will go and let this journey be my home.
I will go.
I will go.


I'll let go of my ambition
cut the roost that run too deep
I will learn to give away
What I cannot really keep.


Help me see with eyes of faith
Give me strength to run this race.


I will go, Lord, where Your glory is unknown.
I will live for You alone.
I will go because my life is not my own.
I will go.
I will go.
I will go.

~ Steve Green

A Thankful Heart

Today is Thanksgiving Day.  I'm supposed to be on my way to a friend's house for dinner.  Well, in every other year of my life save one, I would be on my way to a family member's house for dinner.  Instead, I am home with two cats and 3 dozen birds...counting my blessings all the same.  I'm in Arizona instead of Massachusetts because I went home in September and October and am going again in December.  I'm not a millionaire and you almost need to be if you are going to fly across the country once a month.  So, I stayed put in the Valley of the Sun this year.  I'm in my own home instead of a friend's because I succumbed at the beginning of the week to a barrage of germs that came forth from my hacking and sneezing students.  I was hoping to escape this year, but now I'll have to hope it's just this one time...and that it is short-lived.

So, as I said, it's just me and the cats...and the 3 dozen birds swarming my bird feeders.  Nothing exotic, just house finches and sparrows and juncos.  Oh, and the doves.  Three varieties of doves....  Still, there is much to be thankful for.  I don't need any Facebook statuses, text messages, TV commercials, or days off from school to remind me that I have more than my share of things to be grateful for.  Tuesday in my last class, one of my students asked me to share with the class one of the most exciting things I've done in my life.  She was jut trying to make conversation, and thus avoid having class, but she caught me up short.  I really didn't know what to tell her.  I couldn't think of anything...not because there's nothing, but because there are so many things...literally.  I ended up saying that I've been very lucky, that my life has been very exciting, at least by my definition.  She just looked at me, thinking, I'm sure, that I was just trying to avoid her question...which I kind of was...my definition of exciting probably wouldn't match that of a 17 year old girl's.

Still...I come back to being grateful...grateful for all the things that have gone on in my life to make me who I am, imperfect as that being is.  I have an amazing family that's full of beautiful, smart, funny, vibrant people spanning several generations and two continents.  I have scores of lovely friends spanning decades in age and length of friendship.  I have a job I love, I work with people I like and respect.  I belong to a church that feeds my spirit and soul.  I live in a place that, while not my beloved New England, is at least tolerable most of the time.   I can't complain.  I am, in fact, most grateful...

Curious Conincidence

It was rather cool in my bedroom this morning when I woke up:  50 degrees on the "out" side of the window and 70 degrees on the "in" side of it.  My cats' noses were literally cold to the touch!  I actually had to get out a blanket to take the chill off while I watched CBS This Morning's tribute to Andy Rooney, who passed away Friday night.

As usual, I was multi-tasking while watching TV later and it occurred to me to check the weather where the rest of my family was this morning.  What I discovered was rather surprising.  Even though we are scattered to four corners of the continent, almost literally, we were mostly all within 9 degrees of each other, and all in the 50s!  My parents in Maine were at 53.1; my nephew just outside of Boston was at 53.4; my sister, niece, and brother-in-law in Charlotte, NC were at 58; my other niece in Loma Linda, CA was the coldest at 50; and I was the warmest at 59.

My nephew in TN, however, broke the 50s barrier, coming in at 64.  My other sister, along with her husband and in-laws, is in Florence, Italy today.  And guess what?  The temperature there was 59!!!  I thought that was such a curious coincidence.  I can't imagine that there will be too many times when we'll all be at roughly the same temperature at the same time.

Houses and Gardens

I'm back in MA/ME for 5 weeks and am quite happy to be here. Today, my sister and I visited two public homes and gardens for the sheer enjoyment of the sight and smell. In the morning (fairly early), we went to the Glen Magna Farm in Danvers, MA to walk through the gardens. The place smelled amazing, and was so peaceful with the dew still on the flowers. There was just one small act of violation: a female snapping turtle was tearing up one side of the gardens presumably looking for a place to lay her eggs. We steered clear of her!

In the afternoon, we joined an open house/tour of the Willowdale Estate in the Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, MA. Mr. Palmer founded the company that eventually became Gillette and was very well to do, to put it mildly. This estate was his "country cottage" that he left to the state of MA when he died. His instructions were that it was to be maintained for the enjoyment of all, free of charge. Built in 1901, it comes out of the "craft" era of design and is quite charming with its field stone facade and open-beamed ceilings. The gardens' designer took us through the gardens which consisted of mostly native, non-invasive butterfly-and-bee-attracting plants. Yet another sweet-smelling visual feast!