by jphilo | Jun 7, 2010 | Out and About
We’re back, my friend Cindy and me, from our mad dash out west. The days were a blur of activity from the minute we left Thursday afternoon until we arrived back shortly after midnight today. Other than the 22 hours spent sleeping and 20 more spent sleeping, we:
- visited my cousin Mary on the way to and back from Harding County.
- attended the Sky Ranch for Boys 50th Anniversary Celebration, where I saw lots of old friends co-workers, and Cindy became acquainted with them.
- went to a ranch auction where I chatted with former students and their parents and introduced them to Cindy.
- bought unexpected treasures at the auction, which I may or may not describe in a later blog post, depending on how much of my sentimental and/or compulsive streak I’m prepared to reveal.
- conducted 1 book signing, 1 book reading and signing, which resulted in a case of books sold.
- stayed with dear friends, Gerald and Becky, and hiked to the top of the butte on their ranch.
- saw wild turkeys, antelope, turkey vultures, and deer dotting the landscape.
- visited a blue streak with Gerald, Becky and their daughter Natalie, played with Natalie’s two little boys, and cuddled her baby daughter. Cindy also made friends with the two dogs and the cats on the ranch.
- stopped in to visit other old friends and introduced them to Cindy.
- made a new author friend.
- went to church in Camp Crook where Cindy played the piano for the service. The congregants threatened to tie her up and keep her there.
- received an arrowhead from an elderly man who wanted me to take home a piece of Harding County.
This morning, though I’m stupid with sleepiness, I am also keenly aware of two undeserved and gracious blessings. The first is the blessing of a good friend who jumped in the middle of my ocean, teaming with my friends and family and old memories, and gave up her weekend to help with the long drive, the book sales and whatever else needed doing. Good friends are treasured gems and Cindy is a jewel among them.
The second is the blessing of the 7 years Hiram and I spent in Harding County after we graduated from college. That cowboy country was a foreign land to us, a place where God tested us through our work and the birth of our son, a place where He engineered relationships that have endured for 25 years and sustain us still.
After a weekend of hugging former students, friends, and colleagues, after hours of sharing old memories and creating new ones, after hearing about the life journeys of the people in the remote northwest corner of South Dakota, I came home with not one, but two pieces of Harding County. One is the perfect, ancient arrowhead displayed in my Iowa living room. The other is a well of memories and precious memories tucked in the center of my heart.
I am a woman truly blessed.
by jphilo | May 25, 2010 | Out and About
I was only gone overnight, but still I missed home – my bed, Hiram, spending a day with the daughter, fussing over my flowerpots after all this wind and heat. Most of all I missed walking down our little gravel road for even one spring morning. This is it’s most beautiful time of year, every day a surprise of new wildflowers in the ditches and the songbirds serenading every step I take.
My overnight hostess pointed me in the direction of a good place to walk this AM. “It’s real pretty down through the cemetery. Just go south on the blacktop a little bit and take the gravel road straight instead of curving along the blacktop. You can’t miss it.”
But I’ll still miss being home on this beautiful May morning. God, help me be grateful where I am.
I took off, certain no walk could be as sweet as our little gravel road on a sunny May morning. My pessimism was rewarded during the brief stretch of blacktop and even on the first stretch of gravel. No cool shade trees. No birdsong. None of the stillness that puts my heart to rights when I walk hidden from the world.
But one step into the cemetery, the birds began to sing. Two steps in, and the trees blessed me with shade. A few more steps and the road noise was gone. My mind quit racing, and my spirit grew quiet as I passed the rows of headstones, many of them already decorated for Memorial Day. I walked further in and spied a road that curved along the cemetery’s western edge and down a hill. Following the path, I descended into a cool, green, shady woods, the view so similar to the one along my little gravel road, my homesickness vanished.
God’s graceful answer to my plea surrounded me. I was grateful for my night away from home, for this reminder that God hears my prayers and answers them in kind and ordinary ways. I took in the view, breathed the fresh greenness of it, and breathed out praise, feeling a bit like the farmer in one of my favorite movies, Babe.
That’ll do, God. That’ll do.
I looked up as God looked down. And I’m pretty sure He winked.
by jphilo | Apr 12, 2010 | Out and About
A few weeks ago, I was asked to speak at our high school’s National Honor Society (NHS) Induction Ceremony. The night was especially sweet for two reasons: the chapter sponsor was a teaching colleague for many years and several of the young men and women being inducted were former fourth students of mine. To see them tall and lovely, on the verge of adulthood was a delight.
These wonderful young people were the stars of the evening, so the number of positive comments about my speech was surprising. Even more surprising was the big story in the local paper the next day. Must have been a slow news day because the reporter, who either tape recorded the event or knows shorthand, quoted most of my speech in the article.
Still, I didn’t think much of it until Easter Sunday, when our pastor completed his year long series on Mark by preaching the last section of the book, 15:42 – 16:8. First, he explained that the oldest manuscripts of Mark end at Chapter 16:8. The rest of the chapter was tacked on later because otherwise Mark ends rather abruptly. Then he explained Mark ended so abruptly because we are the end of the story. We are to take the gospel and do what the early believers did – live the truth and use it to write the stories of our lives of faith.
The similarities between his sermon and my speech were obvious, and once again I was grateful for the opportunity to speak truth to those sweet, young adults who are choosing how to write the stories of their lives. You can compare the NHS speech and the sermon if you like. The speech can be found at the Boone News-Republican website. You can listen to the sermon by going to www.graceccboone.com and clicking on the link to the right that says “04/04/10 – Mark 15:40 – 16:8.”
Be sure to look at the young people in the newspaper article photo. They are the future.
by jphilo | Apr 6, 2010 | Out and About
I’m beginning to doubt my wisdom in accepting an East Coast speaking engagement three days before our son and almost daughter-in-law’s wedding. I wouldn’t have considered it if the venue and topic had been less important. But how could I say no to sharing the truth about early medical trauma with doctors and other medical professionals? I couldn’t say no, which means this week is a busy one . And, oh boy, getting ready for two trips in one is mind boggling.
Things were pretty calm – speech ready, clothes picked out, wedding presents bought, books shipped – until last week when our future daughter-in-law emailed. “Could you bring two coolers,” she asked, “and some board games to put on the tables at the reception so guests have something to do after the ceremony while the photographer takes pictures?”
“Sure,” I said. When the games were cleverly packed in the cooler, I remembered the Christmas lights we bought for the daughter’s wedding later this summer and packed them, too, just in case. Hiram put the coolers in the trunk, and I dusted off my hands. “All packed, except for my suitcase and rolling briefcase.”
Then I remembered the wedding presents – ours and Mom’s – so I wrapped them and put them on the table, so as not to forget them. Next, I thought of the packages that came for Anne this week, the ones she wanted me to give her after the wedding. They went on the table, too. I dusted my hands. “All ready, except for the suitcases and the briefcase.”
On Easter Sunday afternoon, the son called. “Could you bring props for the photo booth?” he asked. “We need things for the guests to wear when their pictures are taken. Just get stuff from our old costume boxes,” he suggested. “Be sure to put in the wrap-around-the-neck gorilla hands.”
By the time I raided the kids’ costume box, my stash of disguises, and the junk drawer in our nightstand, two boxes were filled with hats, clown, pig and elephant noses, scarves, shawls, kazoos, doo-rags, aprons, parasols, old glasses, and who knows what else. I put the boxes on the table beside the other stuff. Monday afternoon, just before the rain started, Hiram and I carried everything to the car. When it was stowed in the car, I dusted my hands. “All packed,” I said, “except for my suitcase and the rolling briefcase.”
Problem is, there’s not much room left for either one. So I guess I’ll be traveling light. Think anyone will notice I’m wearing my swimsuit to the conference and the wedding?
by jphilo | Mar 16, 2010 | Out and About
After a winter of blizzards and icy roads, traveling weather has improved greatly in the last few weeks. The arrival of sunny days and calm winds coincided with a speaking engagement in Minneapolis one week and a spring break trip to Morgantown, West Virginia the next. Though the destinations were widely different, the aftermath of winter’s fierceness left an undeniable, common danger in both places.
Potholes.
Now, I’m not talking about small, avoidable blips in the concrete. I’m talking about across-the-road, swallow-the-front-axle, did-I-miss-the-earthquake gaps. The Minneapolis and Morgantown we traversed make our little gravel road, complete with teeth-rattling ridges and washed out edges, feel like a walk in the park.
Though I’m an Iowan, eager to refute the innumerable jokes Minnesotans tell about my home state, the pothole prize doesn’t go to Minnesota. It goes to West Virginia, a state with potholes so frequent and deep they make a short drive to the grocery store a crash dummy obstacle course.
For those planning a trip to Morgantown in the near future, consider the following options. Either postpone it until the road repair crews have time to do their thing or get a four-wheel drive with monster tires. Or change your plans and go to Minnesota instead.
If you choose option three, give me a call before you head out? I have a bucketload of Minnesota jokes to send with you. Scatter them with abandon, and they’ll turn your trip into an adventure that will leave you yearning for a pothole to swallow you and your car whole. I promise!
by jphilo | Dec 4, 2009 | Out and About
Allen received wonderful news at the guest house last night. The counselor from the Trauma Recovery Institute called and said that based on the intake forms he completed, he is a candidate for their recovery program. Also, because of logistics and the fact that we are already here, they rescheduled things around so his treatment will begin next week.
Our plans are to leave the monastery tomorrow morning and visit Hiram’s stepfamily near Bowling Green, Ohio for the weekend. At some point, Hiram will take the bus back to Ames so he can work next week. I will accompany Allen to Morgantown, and we’ll stay at a hotel for the week as the therapy is outpatient. I get a tour Monday and a short session of Friday so I learn some skills to help Allen. Allen will do seven hours of therapy a day with an hour break for lunch.
Stay tuned for details about what we do after that week. Most likely, Allen will come back to Boone for the holidays and do more planning then. Keep him in your prayers as the unknown seems large for him now. We are so proud of the steps he’s taken and his desire to be wholly healed.
We are comforted by God’s use of Allen’s aunts in this process. His Aunt Susan in Washington, who is a mental health counselor, told us about this treatment facility. His aunt in the Twin Cities, also a mental health therapist, checked out the website and had positive feedback. The step-aunt we’ll visit in Ohio is a school guidance counselor and has given us good advice, also.
Our next steps are to book a hotel room and find bus schedules. So keep praying for good decisions and clear heads. Much love to you all.
