a crisp fall sunrise

One of my favorite times of day occurs when I get in the car to head to work. I have a 20 minute highway commute, and it's a time of reflection, a time to start the day. On very special mornings, I am able to see a beautiful sunrise, a sign of God's love for us. And today was one of those days. As I hit the highway heading west, I saw the scarlet sky in my rear view mirror. Just beginning to come over the horizon, I watched as the sunrise colored the trees from top to bottom, like filling in the paint on a water color. As the sunrise hit the tops of the changing trees, it exploded into oranges, and reds, and golds. Just before I turned to head north, I looked up to see the colors reflected in the arms of a windmill. What an amazing picture it was, what a glorious way to start the day.

in retrospect...

This weekend brought bittersweet feelings - the happy of watching my daughter on homecoming court, enjoying her senior year - and burying a very close aunt who passed away at the amazing age of 83. Four days filled with highs and lows, happy and sad.

My uncle and aunt had an amazing life together, married almost 63 years. One of those ridiculously happy - soulmate kind of marriages. While it was very hard to watch him remember, and then to say goodbye, it was obvious in looking at all the pictures that they had such a happy life together.

My favorite picture (if I can get it scanned, I will post) is of them at a dance. I'm guessing somewhere like the Silver Dome Ballroom. They're sitting at a banquet table, a bottle of 50/50 soda on the table next to them. My uncle has his arms around her shoulders, and they are just SO in love. It's one of those moments caught on film. Ageless.

Many people comment on the relationship I have with my DH, stating that we are very compatible, very happy, and just enjoy being with each other. And I can honestly say that is true. I feel closer to him with every year we are together - more in love. These last few months have been trying. For no particular reason. But we've been, should I say, taking each other for granted? The spark has not been there. And I think that seeing my uncle talk about his life with his wife, and seeing those amazing pictures, was all we needed to bring ourselves back to normal.

A lesson to us all. We will argue, we will disagree. But in the end, if our lives are caught on film, it's the happy times we want to capture. It's those times we need to focus on. and live for.

what does this mean?

I just came from a 2 hour meeting that I was facilitating. In my head, throughout the entire meeting, it was being held from 2:30-4:30. I rushed to get people out on time, so they wouldn't have overtime. I marveled that people in the hall were making dinner, staying so late to work they needed to eat dinner at work. I was very impressed that people were gathering to go for walks after work, not rushing home, but rather taking time out for exercise with coworkers. I knew people had carpools to get to, so I didn't want to keep them late. I was so frustrated with myself - why hadn't I turned down the computer before coming? At this late hour, I could have gone straight home, rather to the other building.

Imagine my surprise, when getting in my car, in seeing the clock read 12:09.

Yep. It was a 10-12 meeting.

In all those "clues" I didn't pick up on my mental error.

Good thing I didn't go straight home....

Think it's time to talk to the doctor about some medication? :-)

why I love him.....

Our trips to Sturgis always seem to rejuvenate our marriage, our relationship, and our love. It's a chance to put the responsibilities of home and family aside for a few days and focus on us, on each other, and on our life together.

This year seemed to bring a multitude of options for me to be reminded of reasons why I love Ken. It started in Chamberlain, day two, when the camper battery went dead. He didn't think twice about running into town and changing it. That may not seem like much, but to someone as non-mechanical as I, it means the world to me that he doesn't even worry about things like that, he just takes care of it.

Soon after the battery was changed, he noticed the gas refrigerator wasn't lighting, just continually clicking. While I thought our week was ruined along with our food, he simply took the back off, checked it out, and fixed it. Again, his ability to think through things like that always amazes me, and makes me wonder what I would do without him.

Having changed the batter and fixed the fridge, we headed on our second leg of our journey. Within an hour, he was pulling off the side of the interstate because we had blown a tire on the camper. Interstate traffic, under construction, and a road-side tire gone. I was in full panic mode. But he, predicting any needs he might have, had packed the big floor jack, and honestly, within fifteen minutes he had the spare on and we were back on our way. If it ever phased him that heavy interstate traffic was speeding by his head, he never let it show. I don't know if I've ever admired him quite as much as I did that day.

We all tend to take so much of our partners for granted. Both sides of the fence. It's trips like this that remind me not to do that. Be thankful for all they do, thankful for having them in your life.

grasshopper guts are bright yellow-green...

Just one of my observations from this year's jaunt to Sturgis for the 69th annual rally. We've done the rally four times - and NEVER found the grasshoppers to be such a problem! We take the back way into our campground - through the country - and found when reaching camp that the camper was loaded with grasshoppers. It didn't end there.

I had grasshoppers hit my ear, my forehead, my forearm (left a mark!), and my legs. The bike was so full of grasshopper inards that when sitting at stoplights, or in line, we could smell them baking onto the engine. Every year there is something that sticks out, this year, the bright yellow-green of ill-fated grasshoppers on my shoes, my pants, and everything we owned....

a quiet friday night

I got a chance tonight to enjoy some of the Blessings in my life. After dinner with family, I weeded the garden, enjoyed some fresh peas (is there any better taste?), and ventured inside. The last few days have been off and on with storms, and the sky seemed unpredictable at the least - large black clouds interspersed with beautiful blue.

Being only 8oclock, I brewed a cup of raspberry tea, grabbed my new book, and headed out to the deck to enjoy the evening. The air had cooled down, bringing a strong wind. In my mind, the wind was my mom, letting me know she was there, giving me a hug. I have been thinking about her so much again lately. No particular reason, but I do like to think she was sitting on the deck with me tonight.

Lots of different birds added their songs to my night. The little house wren was out and about, as well as some robins, and some beautiful orioles new to my yard this year. It was good to see the absence of the jays, as they always seem to bully the others out.

I don't know a better way to spend a Friday night. The cool breeze, the clear air, the smell of the no-longer-thirsty lawn and flowers, a wonderful cup of tea, and a great book. All surrounded by my yard noises, the neighborhood noises, and mom.

I stayed out until I could read no longer. The darkness of night turning me in. 70 pages of my wonderful read, and a cup of tea later, I'd had a perfect quiet Friday night.

Independence Day...

Sitting on the hillside watching our town's fireworks on Saturday, it came to me. People all over our amazing country were doing the exact same thing.. Towns big and small, gathered for one night, gazing into the night, watching the explosions of light. I could picture families sitting at lakes, in bleachers, all coming together to celebrate our independence. It's the one thing that ties all of us Americans together. It's part of our identity.