Sing!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks in my life...we had a bad scare with my new little great niece who was very ill. She's better now and breathing on her own...should get to go home again soon.

It seems that someone I care about has been in danger ever since August...a nephew in his 2nd tour of Iraq, my brother who had a stroke in September, my sister's trip to Peru (which went very well - she got to assist a dentist on the mission trip), my niece, who had trouble with her pregnancy that resulted in the early arrival of little Aubrey...friends who had accidents or surgeries...Mom, who is always a concern because she doesn't always take good care of herself. Sometimes it seems too much to deal with. What can I do about any of it anyway except to pray and worry?

I'm really, really glad that I do remember to pay attention to the beauty around me. I heard this sparrow singing on my walk to work recently...a reminder that no matter what craziness is going on in my life all is well with the world. This little bird was announcing to everyone that Spring is here. It reminded me that even with all the challenges, life is good.

Never mind the fog that covered the valley that early morning - sing! Sing for all the good things that abound. Sing for joy! God's grace is sufficient for the day. How is it that little birds are smarter than we are? I'm here, I'm happy, and I will sing!

Why I Do What I Do

I've been frustrated by frequent internet outages (upgrade of service, we're told) and have not been able to properly welcome my new great niece, Aubrey Hopper to the world.

She was born early on Feb 2nd and weighed in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces. She's 3 or 4 weeks early, but healthy and at home with her mom and dad in southern Arkansas.

On those days I get frustrated by work and life in general, I remember that what we do here in Western Washington will make a real difference in the lives of kids like Aubrey and her big brother Andrew. What we teach at Wilderness Awareness School will spread across the country and little kids everywhere will benefit.

The second editon of our "Coyote's Guide" just arrived in the office yesterday. It includes a photograph that I took at the end of our Residential Program year (2007)!

Even though I work in the office, I can still have a posititive influence on kids everywhere. It's good to know that my new little great niece will grow up knowing that I helped make a difference.

The Sun Does Shine in the Pacific Northwest

Today I'm thankful for sunshine...and for my cat, Clara, who is being very affectionate right now...and for my friends here, and back in Missouri...and for family in Arkansas, Okalahoma, Missouri, and Wyoming...and that my co-worker's baby girl was born safely on Thursday...OK, so I probably did that backwards, but the sun was beautiful today. I couldn't find my sunglasses, but that's OK, too.

At WAS we started every day of class with some version of the Thanksgiving Address. It's a good way to start any day, and I try to be mindful of my many blessings. Some of my classmates in the Residential Program had a tough time with the generally cloudy weather here. The California folks, in particular, seemed to hate the dreary days and the rain. I like it. One of my biggest migraine triggers is sunlight bouncing off chrome and mirrors. I love being able to drive without worrying about that.

Although it does rain often here, it's usually not raining very hard, and I hardly ever hear thunder or see lightning. I have seen hail a couple of times, and sleet, and snow...but compared to Missouri weather, it's generally pretty mild. I appreciate the sunshine, and know that tomorrow it will probably be overcast and/or raining to some degree. I won't waste time tonight looking for those sunglasses, because it will likely be a few days before I'll need them again. And thats OK with me.

Don't Discount What You Do

I had decided that I wouldn't send my sister any more coupons. For some time I'd been taking the coupons from the Sunday paper that I didn't use and mailing them to Susan every Monday. She lived near Bakersfield, California at the time, and it seemed like a waste of my time and 2 stamps to send them. I doubted she got that much use from them, and it was a pain to mess with them. So, I wasn't going to do it anymore...until I got her phone call.

At first, I couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying...it was the former. Here's the story she told me.

She had been working in the livingroom by the open window. That's how she heard Bryan's conversation with the mailman. My nephew had been sitting by the mailbox so that he would be first to see my envelope. He took it from the mailman's hands and told him what an important letter it was. "It's from my Aunt in Missouri," he explained. "She loves us and sends us coupons so we don't starve."

Now, my sister's kids were not going to starve without the weekly envelope from me. But to this day, even though Bryan is an adult with a family of his own, I still send my sister coupons.

You never know what it is that you do that is the most important thing to someone else. What I saw as unwanted coupons were a love gift to my nephew. Sometimes we never hear the story and so never know what a difference we make in someone else's life. But I'll bet there's some little thing that you do which means the world to someone else. Keep sending out your coupons.

I had a lovely surprise dinner out with Pam today. She's an elder at WAS, and a tracker, too. I shared this story with her today. She's one of the people who have made a difference for me...her gifts are many, and she shares them generously with everyone she meets. Pam, thank you for sharing your "coupons".

A Package From Home

I was a little late getting home from work today. A note stuck on my door greeted me...I had a package waiting in the office at my apartment complex. It was raining big fat, cold drops that bordered on slushy. What could be worth sloshing around the corner for? I wasn't expecting anything and Christmas and by birthday had passed.

Of course I did slosh over to the office. I had not 1 but 2 packages waiting for me. The first was a small green and white box from The Swiss Colony. I remembered that Mom had asked me at Christmas time if I had received one from them, but I had forgotten all about our conversation. The cheese and sausage made a nice accompaniment to my homemade soup.
I called to thank her for it - the 3rd time I've spoken to her in a week.

The 2nd box was from my friend Cheryl in Butler, Mo...the place I'd called home for nearly 30 years. She had stuffed it full of cookies, candy, a pretty tea cup, a calendar, and in a blue bag, I found 3 packages of tea from Whittard of Chelsea! I made another call.

I've had my soup, cheese, sausage and crackers. The dishwasher is running. I have my chores done...I also have a book waiting, and water on for tea...Here's the dilemma...do I have the Cinnamon and Orange Rooibos, the Very, Very Berry Fruit Infusion, or the Blueberry and Yoghurt Fruit Infusion? I'll let you know tomorrow.