Merry Christmas to All…

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angels, Christmas, family, inner peace, Jesus, joy, Love, memories, Nativity, peace, traditions

This is a season filled with happy memories and enjoyable experiences as families gather, special foods are eaten, gifts are exchanged, and songs are sung. It can also be a time of poignant memories, loneliness and sorrow. Sometimes we don’t get to be with the ones we love. But whatever our circumstances, we can reach out to others in kindness.  We can remember the first Christmas — a little baby born in a humble stable, a star shining in the night, the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks, and the angel’s proclamation. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” The joyous news echoes through the ages and still brings us peace. Merry Christmas.

 

Peace in the Garden

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beauty, birds, cool cloudy weather, creation, Garden, gardening, harvest, joy, nature, peace, soil, weeding, working in the garden

When I was little, my grandmother wrote to me.  I was so excited to be the recipient of letters from the most wonderful person in the world.  These were simple, hand-printed letters that described the flowers, trees, grass, and birds in her garden.  At the time I was puzzled by her obsession with gardening, and it wasn’t until I had my own garden that I finally understood.
Yesterday the weather was cool and cloudy, so I got out in my garden and did some much-needed weeding.  Donning hat, gloves, rubber boots, and knee pads, I pulled my handy little wagon (complete with shovel, hoe, trowels, hose, trash can, etc.) out of the garage and into the back yard.  Then I got to work on digging and pulling.  As I worked something interesting happened.  I began to relax.  Tension and loneliness were gradually replaced by peace as my surroundings soaked into me.  I took note of the cool, moisture-laden air, the brilliant green of the trees and grass, the rich smell of the moist, crumbling earth, the sound of the wind rustling the leaves, the chirping of the birds in the trees.  Small spiders and bugs scurried out of my way as I dug, and I let them be.  I looked with satisfaction on the rows of onions and the bushy tomato plants that have already given me a delicious harvest.  I began to envision a planter where I could put acidic soil and where some blueberry bushes and other acid-loving plants would thrive.  I also began to plan an herb garden and annual flowers for next year.  Hours later when I cleaned up and put away my tools, I was sore, but rested and happy.
I love to work in the garden.  The inevitable aching muscles are a small price to pay for the peace I experience and the joy of creating a beautiful, living place.  Thank you, Granny.

Happy Anniversary

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adventure, Alberta, anniversary, California, Canada, happy anniversary, humor, husband, joy, laughter, Love, marriage, MASH, Movies, Scrabble, sense of humor, Star Trek, story, wedding, wedding dress, wife

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband for 32 years of adventure, love, and laughter. One of the most important things we’ve learned is to have a sense of humor. After our wedding in Alberta, Canada, we were driving down to Sam’s parent’s house in California, when we noticed smoke billowing out of the trunk. We pulled over to the side of the road to find out what was going on. It turned out that the wires that connected the trailer to the trunk had come loose and had burned holes in our clothing, including my wedding dress. I looked at my ruined wedding dress and cried. But Sam hugged me and said, It’s our marriage that’s important, not things.” When we got to California, Sam’s mom stayed up all night sewing me a dress that I could wear to the open house the next day. Looking back on these thirty-two years, we’ve had our good times and bad times, but a sense of humor has always come in handy. We’ve moved twelve times, raised five children, and vacationed in Canada, Greece, France, Belgium, Italy, England, and Scotland. We spent a lot of time playing in the ocean, learned Greek, found Sam’s Greek relatives, had many wonderful reunions with our families, watched a lot of MASH and Star Trek together, gone to many movies, read books, and played a lot of board games. (Our wedding present to each other was a Scrabble game, and we still play it regularly.) We’ve both worked with youth for many years and we’ve treasured the experiences. We’ve had our share of heartaches, but we’ve learned to be patient and keep our eyes on the goal. Our love has grown into a tree. It’s been a great adventure, and we look forward to many more.

Farewell to Alberta

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Alberta, Calgary, church, cowboy hat, cowboys, dance, family, fun, guitar, heart, home, joy, Love, music, parents, Pincher Creek, playgorund, prairie, Red Deer, Red Deer River, school, sing, Sunday, Utah, water tower, wedding

This has been a vacation that will be remembered with great fondness. I was able to spend time with each of my dear sisters as well as some of my nieces and nephews. I enjoyed listening to my nephew play the organ. I was thrilled to watch my third oldest sister perform in the Cowboy Poet Festival in Pincher Creek. My youngest sister and I helped out with Children’s Day at the Ukrainian Historical Park out east of Edmonton (which included scooping homemade ice cream to 1400 kids, tug of war, and milking a fake cow). The next day we hiked through five miles of lush countryside and talked. My next-oldest sister and I wandered around Red Deer and saw where we used to live and go to school. The boot racks are still in the entrance to the elementary school. The hill on the playground that was so huge when I was small is only up to my knees now, and the house that holds my earliest memories is empty and for sale. It’s a lot smaller now as well. The playground down the street has been stripped of its playground equipment. We stopped in at the church we attended as children, and I admired the stained-glass windows that I remembered from my youth. The Red Deer River still runs wide and swift through the city, and the water tower still looks like a giant green doorknob.
I was so glad to be at my nephew’s wedding, to see the joy on their faces as they start their lives out together. At the reception, I was happy to visit with more of my family. We all worked hard in the preparation, set up, and clean up as we talked and visited. We took some time out of the kitchen work to get out on the dance floor and have some fun. I was able to spend Sunday with my foster parents who are so dear to me, whose example will always be a shining light in my life.
Last night my sisters and I got together for a last party, which was attended by most of my nieces and nephews, along with a few friends. We ate, played games, laughed, and talked. Everyone had a turn on the guitars as we sang along to favorites, old and new. I looked around the room at these people whom I love so much, and my heart was full. I am so glad I was able to go to Alberta and spend time with my family again, as well as see the wide, rolling prairie that will always have a special place in my heart no matter where else I live.
Today I donned my new cowboy hat, picked up my suitcase, and got on the plane to head back to Utah. Goodbye, Alberta. I will be back again.

Oh, Canada!

Tags

Alberta, Bach, Breaking Dawn, bride, cowboy Poetry Festival, fiancee, Imagine Dragons, joy, Kelly Clarkson, music, music conservancy, organ music, Pincher Creek, rehearsal, shopping, Sleepers Awake, weather, wedding, wedding cake

I’m in Alberta, Canada for my nephew’s wedding on Saturday. So far I’ve managed to pack a couple of month’s activities into four days. I’ve cleaned house, gone shopping (have you ever put 8 huge cans of tropical fruit salad in your shopping cart?), created an outdoor patio garden in blue glazed pots and transplanted bright cadmium red geraniums, helped cooked 100 pounds of roast beef, and just generally helped my sisters. On top of that I’ve talked, laughed, and cried with my sisters and their children, watched my nephew and his fiance make and decorate their wedding cake, and I’ve tried to stay warm. It has been chilly and rainy here, but very green and beautiful. Last night we picked up my niece from work and went shopping, searching for the perfect dress for the mother of the groom. Thanks to the talents of my youngest sister, we found a beautiful dress, shoes, handbag, and necklace for my second oldest sister, and managed to have dinner, laugh and talk together, all in the space of a few hours. Speed shopping! I love it. Woven through the lives of my family is music. My third oldest sister will be performing today in Pincher Creek at the Cowboy Poetry Festival, and I look forward to hearing her original songs. While I scrubbed, cleaned, and did mountains of dishes, I listened to Imagine Dragons, Kelly Clarkson, Hits from the 70’s, Breaking Dawn, and other CD’s. I accompanied this same sister to a rehearsal where they practiced their music. One of the highlights of the trip was yesterday, when my nephew took me over to the university to the music conservancy where he had reserved a room to practice. There I saw a beautifully carved, towering organ that is reserved just for practice. He spread his music out on the floor, and then gave me a mini-concert, explaining who the composer was, what era they wrote in, and something about each of the pieces. There is a big difference between a digital organ and a real one, where you are hearing each pipe play its notes. All I can say is, WOW. It was incredible. My favorite piece was Sleepers Awake by Bach. As the rain drummed on the skylights above us, his incredible music poured around me and through me. Tears filled my eyes as I thought about this boy who has overcome some major obstacles in his life, who has a sweet and gentle soul. By day he is a mechanic in a shop in the city, but in the evenings he is an accomplished cook and talented musician. Late one night he made crepes with sliced apples and homemade caramel sauce. Delicious! He taught himself to play first guitar, then piano, and then the organ. He began taking organ lessons with a professor at the university, and finds great solace and peace in the great music of the past. He is composing his own piece as well. On Saturday he will be setting out on a new adventure with his beautiful bride. I am so happy to be here sharing this joyous time with him and the rest of my family.

A Special Place

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A Circle of Quiet, Books, creativity, Crosswicks, Happiness, joy, Madeleine L'Engle, nature, Ontology, philosophy of life, writing

Do you have a special place?  Madeleine L’Engle’s is a spot by a brook, out past the lawn, trees, stone wall, and apple trees on her Crosswicks property.  “Ontology:  the word about the essence of things; the word about being.  I go to the brook because I get out of being, out of the essential.  So I’m not like the bush, then.  I put all my prickliness, selfishness, in-turnedness, onto my isness; we all tend to, and when we burn, this part of us is consumed.  When I go past the tallest blueberry bush, where my twine is tied to one of the branches, I think that the part of us that has to be burned away is something like the deadwood on the bush; it has to go, to be burned in the terrible fire of reality, until there is nothing left but our ontilogical selves; what we are meant to be.  I go to the brook and my tensions and frustrations are lost as I spend a happy hour sitting right in the water and trying to clear it of the clogging debris left by a fallen tree.”

The Joy of Creating

Tags

art, baby steps, Books, Creating, encouragement, expression, joy, learning to walk, learning to write, music, need to create, negative voices, process of creation, writing

People have an inborn need to create. It’s not about how much money you can make from it or how good at it you are, you just HAVE to do it. You have a driving NEED to paint that painting, or play that song, or write that story, or decorate that cake, or grow beautiful flowers, or whatever it is.
You can compare this creative need to a child learning to walk. He isn’t good at walking. In fact, he can’t walk at all. He wiggles all over, stretches himself, and finally figures out how to roll. He gradually progresses to scooting, then crawling. He pulls himself up using low tables and legs and learns how to balance himself. At last he takes a few tentative steps and promptly falls down. But he gets back up and tries again, until finally he is really walking and then running. And then there’s no stopping him.
He didn’t do any of this to please you. He didn’t learn to walk because he was going to be paid for it. He wasn’t relying on your approval or condemnation (although most parents are wise enough to encourage their child). He certainly wasn’t telling himself, “I’m not very good at this, so I guess I won’t do it anymore.” He just had to move. And so he did. And during the whole process, he experienced joy.
We don’t condemn a child just because he is still holding onto the furniture and falling down a lot. We keep on encouraging him and giving him the opportunity to try. There may be a few people that we pay because they are exceptionally good at running or dancing, but should that stop us from enjoying our own process of learning to walk? I think that we need to be patient and kind with ourselves, and keep on trying to do those things that brings us joy. I may be at the toddler stage of music or art, but does that mean I should quit? When little children draw, they do it for the joy it brings them. They are not worried about how good they are. They just need to express themselves. Later they begin to believe in the adults around them who tell them they can’t draw, and so they stop trying.
We listen to the negative voices all around us far too much. We need to stop believing them. We need to listen to the inner voice that drives us to do and try and grow. We may never be “good enough” in the eyes of the world, and our audience may only be those who love us, but we will experience the joy that comes from the process of creating.