My Mother Earth

I have come away to the mountains to take some time for myself. I need it. Being alone gives me some time to think, pray, and consider what my next step should be.

I grew up in the Catskill Mountains so I need to go back to the high places at least once a year to get grounded again. These are not the Catskills, they are the Blue Ridge. They are part of the Appalachian Mountain Range, as are the Catskills, so when I am here I am connected to home.

There is a deep thread that runs through these mountains. It was not placed there by man, but by the Great Creator. It ties me to the trees, the stones, the plants, and the stories that sail on the wings of the winds in the high places. It takes a quietness of heart to hear the stories.

When I leave, I know all of the living beings of the mountain; the trees, flowers, plants, and yes even the stones, will say to me, "We will miss you while you are gone. Come home again, won't you? Come sit in our lap again, listen as we tell you another story, and please share your adventures with us that we might add more volumes to our collection. Come back again, won't you?" I wave and say, yes, of course... the mountains are truly my mother earth.

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens

The beauty of butterflies; I do enjoy watching them flutter about. Steven, my husband, knows how much I enjoy them and he happened to see that the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont, NC, had a butterfly pavilion exhibit.

We went. It was so much fun!

I could try to describe it but I do believe in this case the photos I took can speak for themselves.

Enjoy.

Celebrations

The further Bryon gets away from chemo, the better he feels. Chemo finished on Friday, April 13 (yes, Friday the 13th). His birthday was on April 17, but he asked that we hold off on sending his birthday package to until he felt better. We just sent that package to him!

We still do not know if the tumor is dead yet. We know that it did shrink by 50%, but he needs a PET scan to determine if it is actually dead. That scan will happen in a month; more chemo needs to leave his body first. We were hoping that the PET scan would happen this week, but we must wait. The doctor had told us that he was literally infusing Bryon with platinum, metal, and that, of course, will show up on the scan.

For now, it is amazing to see Bryon becoming himself again. I talked with him on the phone the other day and said, “You are sounding like my son again”.

His immediate tongue-in-cheek response was: “What, as opposed to your daughter”? 

“No,” I said, “as opposed to chemo and cancer.”

“Oh, ok,” he replied.

Happy and joyous day of your birth, Bryon!!  We are all cheering you on and planning to celebrate the end of cancer soon!!!

A Charmed Life

I went to an estate sale today (think mega yard sale). As I walked through the house looking at everything, I wondered what the story was, so I asked Penny, the girl running the sale. It was a familiar story: The man who lived there needed to go to an assisted living situation. "He took all he could, and this is what's left," I was told. 

The more I walked through the house, the more I imagined his story. Many of the items were from other states and other countries. “They traveled quite a bit,” I thought. I noted the feminine touches throughout the bedrooms: porcelain dolls, ruffled curtains, flowered wall paper. I was sure that the man and his wife had lived in the house for most of their lives—they raised their children there, had family dinners, perhaps some arguments and of course some agreements. The grandchildren came over from time to time. As the years passed the wife eventually left the earth, and the man was left alone in the house. He loved his wife so much, and he found it too daunting to rid himself of her trinkets and decor.

My attention finally landed on the vintage jewelry. There were bracelets and pins, necklaces and some beautiful silver charms, most from other states and countries. They weren't attached to a charm bracelet or necklace, rather just lying about in a box. I collected as many as I could, and I took them to Penny. I also found a monkey puppet and a copper bracelet that needed a bit of repair. "How much?" I asked. 

"How about $12 for all of it?" Penny replied.

"That works for me," I said, already deciding to put the charms on a single bracelet. I will wear it, and I'll think about the stories behind each of the little icons. I might even write a story that's inspired by those charms that were held for years in that box. They stayed there, silent, as life when on around them. Perhaps they were waiting for someone to come along and tell a story about them. Well, I can do that. And if the lady who collected these is watching from above, I want you to know that I will wear these charms knowing that you've added to my charmed life.

Waiting and Typing

So, I bought this new Kindle Fire HD and I got a keyboard so I can type anywhere. It is smaller than a laptop and easier to carry, so I can get work done on the go. As a matter of fact, I am sitting in a doctor's waiting room right now, typing this.

If I were home and in my office, these would be working hours for me, so I should get some work done, right? I could sit here and read, or tat, or write by longhand, or stir up a conversation with someone — but I need to get this blog done, so I  am typing. Which makes me wonder, what do you do when you are in a waiting room? By the way, singing is usually frowned upon. (I may or may not have experience with this.)

They just called my name, so this is the end of my blog for this week.