Category: 2022

Nothing this morning.

Maybe tomorrow.

Have a great day.

Somedays, the stars align and wonderful things happen. I noticed the half-moon driving to work at dark:30 yesterday. It must have spilled moon dust all over my class, because they were on their best behavior yesterday. It was jus that kind of a day.

Told by admin to hold a “community circle” with my class to discuss respect, I wasn’t really feeling it as we all sat around a large carpet ringed with the alphabet. My 20 littles are growing every day. Their behavior is remarkable and exemplary when it needs to be. I’m able to teach without interruption, while they are feeling secure enough to raise their hands for questions.

Teaching 20 first graders isn’t something that is especially easy. By the 3rd grade, my past students knew the ropes. They had the system down. Those that were trouble caused it. Those that were shining stars beamed. It had all been decided in the prior years. Reputations had been formed. In the 12 years of 3rd grade, I just followed the lead of prior teachers and taught them more.

Now, 1st graders are just pure little beams of individuality that are as unique as the colors in the rainbow. Everything is rainbows in my little class. Any coloring project has at least one. That’s refreshing. No politics. No religion. No arguing over points of view. Just beautiful rainbows everywhere. Add a few unicorns for good measure with a watchful T-rex in the back and you can now understand 1st grade a little better. Yes. Unicorns, rainbows, and the occasional T-Rex.

I didn’t have much hope for this assignment. I was to lead a discussion on respect. One by one, each child gave their opinion on the matter. Handing me a blue or white cloth ribbon that I had just handed them minutes earlier, I would add it as a loop to our class chain. The lesson began without any direction other than that. 45 minutes later, we were in the same position, carrying on a really beautiful discussion about respect and what it looks like. I didn’t want the moment to end. Quite possible one of the most beautiful in my career.

That’s interesting, because I almost didn’t do the activity. Feeling overwhelmed and short on time, the ribbons were almost lost under a growing stack of papers needing correcting. I’m so glad that we had that time to discuss something more important than the 30 lesson on beginning and ending sounds.

It’s not especially wise to fall in love with a class of littles, but unavoidable. Their little jokes make me laugh to loudly. Their smiles and quick hugs nourish my soul. Helping them when they skin a knee or elbow comes naturally. I love each one of them as only their teacher can. June 2nd, a little bit of them will stay in my heart with all my former students, as this class marches away towards 2nd Grade. Even now, that thought makes my eyes swell just a little.

This is the REAL retirement year of My own choosing. Yesterday was the last time I’ll hold that lesson with a group of littles. I’m so thankful it made such a beautiful memory for us all.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are some tough hombres that give me a run for my money during the day. Corrections are quick and exact. It’s like Oliver and his new girlfriend when they hit a snag. Lots of growling, a few barks, but no blood when the disagreement is done. Yes. That’s 1st grade.

I found out that a 6 year old knows more than most adults about respect. What must they think as they watch adults behaving badly? Perhaps we should ask them for solutions to many grownup problems? They would surely have ways to solve problems in the most kind ways.

After the lesson was over, we walked in a nearly perfect line to the front of the school to place our chain on the school bulletin board. Ours was the first and only. I thought back to just an hour before when this bullheaded teacher sat on the carpet thinking about the phonics lesson that wouldn’t be taught. What an old poop! School isn’t about how many instructional minutes are in a day. It’s about love and respect. Math and reading are important, of course, but there is so much more to 1st grade.

After all, as any 1st grader already knows, life isn’t worth living without love and respect. They told me so yesterday. All 20 littles, sitting around a lettered carpet in a brick school house at a wide spot in the road in our dusty little town off the interstate. Love and respect. Remember that.

More tomorrow.

One has not lived until you’ve experienced Picture Day in a school of 620+ students. Add the staff on top of that and you have one crazy day. I’m not sure where the picture company found the photographers we met. My class was last and they hadn’t run out of the building screaming, although they looked like they had been through a storm.

Picture Day always starts the same. Children enter the room looking like little people you’ve never met before. They are scrubbed and combed while wearing their best clothing. They walk in with directions from mom that they are not to adjust anything. Breathing is okay. Anything else? Optional. Probably just DON’T.

In the world of things that make sense, a 1st Grade class would be photographed right after Kinder, first thing in the morning. We are talking littles. In an hour, curls are gone. Gel is disturbed. Kids DO things. The look is gone.

Yesterday, that wouldn’t be the case. Everyone was photographed before lunch except my class. They got a full lunch and lunch recess to finish off their look. A group of hot little 1st graders waited in line after lunch, wrinkled and sweaty.

Yesterday, I learned that 1st graders are just learning to button shirts. One little boy could button, just not in the right order. I learned gel works on a 1st grader for about an hour. Many can tie their shoes, but many more cannot. All those things really don’t matter, because my class never loses their smiles. And, that is most precious part of 1st grade.

For my LAST teacher pic, I wore a floral dress and pearls. My hair, quite long at this point, was down for the picture. This caused quite the commotion in class, as the children don’t see me this way during school. 20 littles told me I was beautiful. Littles never lie. I’ll take their compliments any day of the week.

After all the kids were photographed, it was my turn. Because it would be the last school picture of my career, the technician carefully adjusted my hair and took a little extra time with the pose and then, with a click, it was over. She showed me the photo. Not the best, not the worst. Just a snapshot of an attractive senior citizen in a floral dress and pearls. Memories of all the Picture Days from long ago filled me with so many emotions. I was glad the photo didn’t reveal the tiniest of tears welling behind my lids. Saying “Goodbye” to a career is a hard thing to do, especially when it takes a school year to do so.

These days, I do feel like the most beautiful of teachers. My heart is full when I’m watching them learning to read, write, add, and subtract. They are learning how to be respectful and responsible in school in the first year of real school. I’m carefully setting the expectations for the next 12 years of their education. I don’t take that task lightly.

For everything there is a season. A time to learn and a time to teach. A time to work and a time to retire. I needed this last year to end a brilliant career on my own terms. I’m so blessed with this chance to get the last year right.

More tomorrow.

Life on the 1st Grade playground is brutal these days. Tattling, fights, and a bloody nose tell me everyone has settled into life at our little school. We are now a family. I just didn’t expect the bloody nose to belong to the sweetest little girl in my class. Life is different than it was in 1961, when I was in 1st Grade. Even the boys didn’t fight until we were all much older.

How so much drama unfolds on bright and sunny fall days in the middle of the desert is a puzzlement. Working on math after lunch, the class seemed to be attentive and alert. We’d found a few extra balls in the morning and were all looking forward to the fresh air and a few minutes to run off steam. We all love recess. It could be my favorite subject now. 1st Graders are teaching many lessons. one being the value of a brain break.

There’s a most special teacher at school. I’ve named her Louise. She got that name because when we are together, I’m definitely her Thelma. For my young and tender readers that don’t immediately have an image of two women seated in a convertible flying off the road into the airspace above a very deep canyon, please watch the movie. I’m sure my friend and I often trade parts. We drove off that cliff when we came out of retirement to help a desert school district that needed teachers so badly. We are still in free fall. The principal refers to us as the “Laughing Ladies Down The Hall”.

Louise and I were basking in the sunshine rather marmot-like when a frantic child ran up to get our help.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

It seemed a handful of children representing all five classes had collected out of the view of teachers at a place OFF LIMITS to all. One of my most trusted students was there, front and center. Unusual, out of character, and most definitely unacceptable.

There were four girls in a line and backed into a corner. A group of boys were going to fight them. Why? Who knows what lurks in the heads of children. These were all good kids that were not the usual suspects. I doubt they knew the first thing about fighting.

Assessing the actual damage, I asked if anyone was hit.

“No!” They all answered in unison.

Another strange thing about 1st graders is that they often have different perceptions about life and the meaning of English words. A fight usually involves someone striking another. In this case, no contact was made.

“They WERE going to fight us,” offered my little Eaglet (our mascot is the eagle).

All these children looked quite startled and now terrified that Thelma and Louise had arrived on the scene. Everyone denied everything. Ten littles all telling their side of the story while trying to avoid the hot water in which they found themselves.

Louise and I gave them the EYE, told them not to play in the area OFF LIMITS to all, and sent them on their way. We thought it was the end.

Before long, a little and her friend, both my students (again, great kids) came for immediate help. My little had a bloody nose. My little looking so cute in her adorable pink dress and hair bow.

“He hit me. He hit me.”

“Oy vey … What a Curse! Blood and bumps? Off to the nurse.”

I let them in through an exterior door that wasn’t even looked properly as all exterior doors must be at all times. The unlocked door was almost more disturbing than the girl with the bloody nose. Every exterior door in our building is locked at all times while children are present. Sadly, it’s the times in which we live.

With two minutes left in the recess, Louise and I were left to deal with a little boy that was now a solid ball of “I didn’t do it and there’s nothing you can do to make me say I did.” Sad but true, he was turned over to the authorities. He returned to class with a snack and a pat on the head. Oh, the drama of it all.

The rest of the day was full of work. I made it so. The more little minds have to learn, the less time they have to think about upcoming episodes of 1st Grade Fight Club – Part 2. Today is a new morning with new drama, yet to unfold.

I love having Louise on my side. Between us, we’ve seen 57 years of classroom antics. There isn’t anything that we haven’t seen at least one hundred times before. We both agree, this situation was a new one for both of us. Gone are the days of tissue butterflies and watercolor rainbows. Replacing them are one hour a day of computer time and hours of work. Gone are the days when being sent to the office was something to be avoided at all costs. Now, it involves a snack. The 1900’s were a magical place to live, eh?

This weekend, the Mysterious Marine and I will be spending quality time together. Shopping, eating, gardening, and home maintenance. Thank goodness he’s steady on a ladder because my light bulbs need changing. After five weeks, we are settling into the best kind of friendship. An easy one that doesn’t include drama or the need for extra stress. Just neighbors that always have an extra cup of sugar to share. Oliver and his new girlfriend pine for each other when apart. As our new pack forms, the leaves are turning golden. The weekend is primed for fun and happiness. With winter just around the corner, we’re settling in to the best season of all.

With that being said, I need the weekend to sleep in, eat too much, and enjoy life. I will be back on Monday with new stories about my dusty little life at the wide spot in the road off the interstate on the high desert plains of Northwestern Nevada. It just doesn’t get better than that.

Until Monday…

These days, I’m finding the best place to focus is on tiny little miracles that unfold in life every minute of every day. They bloom like the fields in this picture. Subtle little bits of happiness sprinkle over life like confetti. We just need to stop long enough to recognize them for what they are. Miracles.

These days, I’m grateful that in my golden years, I’m able to rise at an early hour, take a nice hot shower, dress in pretty new clothing, get in Barbie’s Jeep, and drive to work. A revised schedule was what I needed. Perhaps a little more difficult adjustment at my advanced age, but certainly what was needed to take a look at myself through a new lens. Living along, one can become complacent and stale. Never a good thing when creating the best life possible.

Today is professional dress day. I plan to look my best and slay the day. It’s so easy to look outward and find fault in every direction. The only controllable thing in my life is my thoughts and actions. There’s the award winning master teacher deep inside. I need to be her for just a few more months. That spiffed up Teacher-Gal is ready for a great week.

Somedays, I think I am really afflicted with some kind of hyper-active disorder of the brain. As the weeks go by, the traits of a master teacher are awakening. There is only one focus from 8:40 – 3:05. Well, actually, 20 focuses. My Littles. Mrs. Hurt is out of retirement until June 2. God brought me these Littles for specific reasons yet to unfold. I need to be at my best for them.

Oliver is not having our new schedule. Only seeing his new girlfriend on the weekends, he’s boycotting food and moping around the house like the lovelorn pup that he has become. Meeting this girlfriend has been the best thing for him although, together, the two are quite a handful. Color coordinated friends, they’re like children that push the limits of their play until one gets a little too rough. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. It’s fun to see him as the dog he is instead of my shadow.

This week, preparations are in full swing for Parent-Teacher Conferences which are right around the corner. I love this time of year. I’m looking forward to sitting down with parents to share the progress we’re making. My kiddos are an amazing group of children that are learning, growing, and changing every day. No one will value this information more than their parents. I have one chance to get each meeting right. 40 parents are depending on me to do just that.

With Halloween looming, we finished our first craft project on Friday. We made “Leaf Men”. The kids loved working with glue sticks, leaves, googly eyes, and construction paper. It made me realize I need to spend a little more time on Pinterest to find some more craft projects for Halloween. (Google — The Leaf Man — Cute story my Littles loved).

The Mysterious Marine and I had a wonderful weekend dining, shopping, and working on household projects. The Biggest Little City just west of here provided the perfect assortment of stores unavailable in our town. It’s nice to go to a big city once in awhile, but it’s even nicer to return home to our dusty little wide spot in the road. Mustangs have long since moved out of the Biggest Little City. I understand why, being a true country girl myself.

Whatever you do today, look for those miracles that shine around you. Something as simple as the perfect breeze on a sunny day should remind us all that life is so precious and beautiful. Whether it’s a child’s smile or a conversation with a dear friend, find the positives on which to focus. Believe there is good in the world. Be the good.

More tomorrow.

Cows are quite possibly one of my favorite animals. Trusting and wise, these animals provide products that are vital in every day life. Along with the ultimate sacrifice for humans, they are gentle and beautiful animals. It is with this love that the 1st Grade Teachers at my school are adopting five little cows for the rest of the school year. Yes. Five. They are arriving sometime this week.

I just informed my principal. I sure hope they don’t make too much of a mess when they arrive in the office. I also hope the other teachers don’t decide to run off with them. Cows are pretty trusting and 3rd grade teachers can talk a good game. It is for that reason I alerted the principal to watch for the arrival of the newest additions to our classroom.

I remember a certain summer night that VST had asked me to join him at a fund raiser at a local dairy. The farmer, quiet and shy as the dairy farmers I know can be, had taken the very old family barn and renovated it into a magnificent party venue. The wooden structure was built by great grandfathers and neighbors. Every board was as perfect as the day it was built. If it didn’t start that way, the farmer had made it new again.

VST never shared the same fascination with animals as me. I was born loving every living creature on our farm. I was always messing with the rabbits, chickens, lambs, dogs, or cats. Wild animals were observed from afar, knowing that some things can’t be tamed. VST was into football, cars, and girls. Animals didn’t make the cut.

Under the brightest full moon while bathed by warm summer air, the evening unfolded with great food and lots of gossip and laughter from our neighbors. Farmers are the salt of the earth. Great men that work hard during the day and seldom get out for frilly parties or fancy events. A night in a barn at the local dairy was an inviting affair in which they could wear their Stetson’s and Levi’s. Throw on a pair of boots and they were dressed for the night.

All of that was really grand, but the real interest for me stood just to the side of the lighted barn. There, the farmer had tubbed and scrubbed six or seven of his prize “Girls” to watch over the partiers. These ladies were the most beautiful cows I’ve seen in my 66 years. Holsteins, they quietly chewing their cud as all cows do. Coming to the fence to check me out, their friendly nature was a bit shocking. Their eye lashes hung heavy as if they were wearing their finest mascara. They looked right through me and decided I was okay. We shared a moment.

I spent awhile just taking in their beauty. These cows were of the finest pedigree and part of the prize winning herd. Solid and huge, the time spent affirmed how much I love cows. They will forever turn my head. Maybe someday, I’ll have one of my own. I love them that much.

VST finally found me by the fence and just shook his head. Taking me by the hand, we walked back to the party while he told me I would not be bidding on the calf to be auctioned off as part of the fund raiser that night. Dang. I’d just met her mother. We’d bonded. His answer remained a solid “NO”. Even living on a farm with lots of space has it’s limitations. Mine was a husband that drew the line on any animal over 200 pounds. Thank goodness the Mastiffs were just under his weight limit.

Well, my calves are on the way now. When they arrive, I hope to instill a love of bovines in my littles. First, our calf will need a name. Then, I’ll need nightly a nightly “Calf-watcher” to care for the little guy. That’s right, the calf will travel home with each child and return the next day. Along with the calf, the child will take it’s journal and record just what the it did that evening. I hope the parents will be onboard. It’s not every day that a teacher sends home a calf for additional care and love. It will be the most fun kind of homework.

In the spring, I’m hoping we can travel to the town just to the East of us (home of the REAL Top Gun program) to visit a dairy there. I want my littles to appreciate just how huge our calf will become. A glass of fresh milk would be pretty nice, too.

That’s the Moo-ving news from Room 56.

Tomorrow my site will be down for improvements, so I’ll return on Wednesday.

Drink Milk. Better yet, Eat Ice Cream. While you do, please pray for our farmers. They need all the prayers we can send.

More on Thursday.

I wake up to a scene like this every morning here on the high desert plains of Northwestern Nevada. To the east, the sun peaks over the barren mountains, causing the sage to be drenched in early morning color. Awe inspiring, evert day I thank God that I live in this quiet and beautiful place. From here I will go to meet Him one day. In the evening the scene repeats itself as the sun sets behind the Sierra Nevada Mountains just to the west of me. And the seasons, they’ve gone round and round.

Either time of day is breathtaking. A day rich with possibilities or a day that has been filled with accomplishments through struggles and perseverance. Two different times to reflect on what the hours of light held for each one of us. Each individual creates their own story during those hours. Depending on what we learn from our waking hours, a personal path is formed. Sometimes there are some pretty scary forks in the road. It is at a life defining juncture I stand now.

I have chosen to resign and retire from teaching.

A sunrise took me to a little school at the wide spot on a very dusty road on a very hot day in July. Hired by a principal that, along with ten teachers, quit the next week, I might have taken a different path had I known the backstory. But, hind sight is 20/20, and we can never make good decisions based on the experiences and actions of others.

God gave me 20 littles to teach with love for the time I had them under my wing. We all learned a lot during the two months I had them in my care, and with pride, I can say they were always my focus. For those weeks, they got it all. Up at dark-thirty, I spent time preparing days that were the best they could be, but extenuating circumstances finally broke me. I refer to this as “Death of a Teacher in 60 Days or Less”.

Some might think their energy level was too much to handle.

Nope. I found it refreshing and delightful.

Some might think it was the computerized lessons that pushed me to my breaking point.

Nope. I learned a lot from the experience.

It was a set of circumstances so broken that they were not to be fixed during my employ.

One very green teacher reminded me that the situation in which we were all teaching was all they knew, therefore, not unusual or wrong. There lies the demise of things as they once were. Accepting insanity as the new normal. I couldn’t participate with the insanity called public school one minute longer.

In my beautiful teaching career, I spent the bulk of my career blessed to teach at an award winning school. People would travel from all over California and Nevada to observe our reading lab and literacy program. All employees were onboard and our students reaped the rewards. Every student’s educational plan was tailor-made just for them and the goal of every employee was student success. Educational minutes were golden and not to be squandered. I know what that looks like in a community and more specifically, in a school district.

When I became Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2010, nothing made me more proud. I earned that award while helping high school students achieve their very real dreams and goals. During those years with my district, I watched the best of the best teachers work their magic while loving every second of our days together. The brilliance of my time teaching will never be tarnished by poor working conditions and even worse educational decisions made by people that should know better.

It was never about the paycheck. It wasn’t about prestige. I wanted to have one more school year with littles. It proved to be too much. My career passed away into memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. For a little time, I will grieve the loss while knowing my resignation was the right decision for me. If I hadn’t taken a chance at a new sunrise, I would have regretted that. I’m very glad I gave this my best and last shot.

Life is a series of sunrises and sunsets. The sun set on a wonderful time in my life in which I was The One and Only Mrs. Hurt. Now, I return to retirement with a new appreciation for all the opportunities that await. A sunrise brightening the mountains and presenting a day ripe with possibilities. How rich and wonderful!

While making this decision, I spoke at length with someone I met a very long time ago on a playground far, far away. Poppy. Although not her real name, she has a very REAL place in my heart. You see, when she was only 8, she declared that she and I were HEART FRIENDS. She went on to say that there aren’t many people that are that lucky to find a HEART FRIEND.

I chose Poppy for her name, because like the California poppies that color the foothills every spring, this girl was a force to be reckoned with. A child strong and brilliant beyond her years. A child that has forged herself into steel as she walked through a fiery childhood. She is a once-in-a-lifetime HEART FRIEND.

Through the years, Nikki and I have found and lost and found each other again. Through her strength and resilience while homeless most of her educational years, Nikki schooled herself, graduating with honors in high school, UCLA, Penn State, and now, finishing her doctoral program at University of North Carolina. I’m blessed that Nikki is my HEART FRIEND. We talked about my decision to resign from my teaching position.

Torn up about leaving my students in the middle of the year, she said the most beautiful thing to me.

“Joy, those kids are so blessed to have you teach them for two months. You didn’t cause their troubles and you can’t fix them either. You came at the right time in their lives and they were so lucky to spend any time at all with you. They were a lucky class to be with you.”

There is a golden crown a teacher gets to wear very few moments in her life. An almost-30-year-old-student looking back to say you were HER teacher. That you made a HUGE difference. That she loved you then, throughout the years, now, and forever more. That is the shimmery bow that ties up my career. Thank you, my HEART FRIEND. I owe you for the council.

As you can imagine, this week has been one of the most intense since the passing of VST. I need to change gears and celebrate a bright new chapter in my life. I promise I will be back on Monday with new stories from this wide spot on a very dusty road running through the high desert plains of Northwestern Nevada. Know I’ll be celebrating all the upcoming sunrises and sunsets my life has left with new appreciation. Don’t worry. I plan to celebrate my REAL and FINAL retirement in rare form. Stay tuned.

More on Monday.

Autumn is my very favorite time of year. A time to be thankful for all the blessings we have, as well as a time to keep up with the leaves. During this last summer, Winterpast was cheated of hours and hours of careful attention given during past summers. I hope I can make it up to her this fall while completing some much needed gardening tasks. I seem to have a bit of extra time on my hands starting today, this being the first day of unemployment after my resignation.

As I think about my return to retirement, calm and comforting thoughts surround me. Yesterday, I returned all school materials and my keys to a room that seemed so foreign at this point. I did the right thing. A wise person needs to know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. Some people and their jobs are not a match. Such was the case with me and my little school.

After a last few months with littles, this week I turn my attention to Winterpast and the gardening chores awaiting me there. The leaves are just starting to change color, floating to the ground to make a carpet of golds, reds, and oranges. Remembering this time of year on the ranch in California, the big difference was the morning dew. In the desert, dew is missing while the leaves remain dry well into the winter. Many just blow away, never to be seen again. Crisp and light, raking and bagging them isn’t the mucky mess it was on the ranch.

If you are lucky enough to have a yard to tend, there are some autumn task that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Autumn is a great time to till the soil. I have a brand new rototiller to try on my flower beds. While tilling the soil, I plan to add some soil amendments. My soil needs a shot of gypsum to loosen it, increasing drainage. Hard as a rock, this desert soil isn’t the fluffy loam of the Central Valley, but desert soil that lacks organic matter. A few bags of mulch will provide a good bed for spring flowers.

Everything in my yard needs a good pruning. Fall is the time to prune back the roses and bushes, as well as unwanted limbs and branches on the trees. I can’t wait to fire up my tiny little chain saw and buzz away. Annual bushes, such as the Russian Sage need their turn with the electric hedge trimmer.

As the yard art goes back into the barn for the winter, there’ll be lots of time to reflect on the past two months while evaluating my summer of miracles. It was a summer I’ll never forget in which I finally remembered and embraced the woman I am at my core.

My Mysterious Marine has shared so many wise and profound thoughts with me. One of the best was one shared by VST, as well. You will be treated the way you expect and accept. Healthy boundaries are essential for healthy relationships. Communication and honesty are key to any strong friendship. All so true. In light of those truisms, the decisions of last week remain the correct course for me. No harm, no foul. Just an unsustainable path on which I couldn’t continue to travel.

I hope Autumn provides you time to enjoy your garden while pondering your own path. There is just something about the smell of newly tilled soil that is intoxicating. The birds will have a thing or two to share as I chase after the dancing leaves of Winterpast.

Whatever you do, enjoy today. There is so much beauty around us that can be missed in such a busy world. Enjoy it.

More tomorrow.

Today is the perfect day for a little drive about to clear my head. There are so many beautiful places located within a two hour radius. Today is a wonderful day to bug out and drive. Autumn in the high desert is a kaleidoscope of color this time of year and a major tourist attraction. Our version of the colors of New York. The Eastern Sierra Nevada’s are the prettiest mountains anywhere around. Just look at the picture taking in Minden, Nevada. It’s even prettier than that.

I have a friend that needs to come along. She’s a New Yorker that I met in early summer. I’ve never met anyone like her before and probably won’t ever meet anyone like her again. She became the first brick in the foundation for our Women’s Bible Study. She would tell you that she isn’t the reason our Bible study continues to grow. We all know differently. This woman could move mountains before breakfast. She’s all the things admirable. Wise, calm, witty, intelligent, a beautiful woman inside and out. A real no-nonsense kind of woman. The kind you want for a sister.

She needs our love and support in a big way. She’s loosing her sight. Suffering from a progressive disease, this isn’t improving by the day.

Macular degeneration is a horrific disease. It attacked both my parents. It has blinded my God Mother. It can happen to anyone. It’s genetic and final. The outcome is blindness. It can happen overnight. How scary is that? My Gal-Pal is slowly going blind from this disease.

She would love to see the colors of the changing trees of her hometown New York. Well, we have some pretty amazing trees around here. It’s not New York, but, the Cottonwoods and Aspens are also pretty spectacular.

Thinking back to last Thursday, I realized I haven’t shared about the most perfect day with women that have come to mean the world to me. She was there, running the show.

Early in the summer, my life wasn’t all roses and lollipops. There were many truths that had come to light as I forged a new path in my life. Taking a mountain walk in the early summer can be treacherous. With unexpected rainstorms, one often needs to take shelter and wait for them to pass. Life is a lot like that, too. If you’ve created the storm, you need to wait out the rain of your own making. Such was the situation in which I found myself on a certain Thursday that now seems so long ago. Some days it seems I’m just a master at raining on my own parade. Oy Vey.

On that early summer day, God had given me three reasons to leave the church I’d attended for over one year. Three “in my face reasons” that couldn’t be denied. On that certain Thursday morning, I’d woken to a sadness so deep it brought me to tears. My heart longed for friends. Not just a random friend here or there, but a network of true friends. The kind that don’t blow away with the first little disagreement. Friends in Christ.

The first idea that came to mind was to find yet another Bible Study to join. One in another part of time with different participants. I’d just start looking around town and see what was available. I knew where I’d start. A little church on Farm District Road. A real street name in a town that also has In-Town Park and Out-of-Town Park.

With that decision made and with great haste, I jumped in the Barbie-Mobile and drove there. If there were a building more tightly closed and locked, I’ve never been to one. The barren parking lot of the little church sat empty telling me to leave. I felt abandoned and alone.

I decided I’d go buy some flowers at Lowe’s and return home to tend the gardens at Winterpast.

Feeling pretty low as I drove, a vision of the warm and welcoming people of another church across town flashed through my mind. I had met them my right before my first Thanksgiving as a widow in my new town. They were collecting food for hungry families. I’d go there. They wouldn’t be closed. They couldn’t be. Although they might be, my heart said “Drive there, Woman!”

In that moment, Jesus truly took the wheel.

At 9:58, I walked into the very room where my group of friends sat. About 14 of the sweetest women of faith. Welcoming. Smiling. Ready to study the Bible. Waiting on ME, the woman they had yet to meet.

At each place, there was a paper that said the following…..

friend

/frend/ noun

someone who gives you freedom to be yourself;

one of the nicest things you can have;

the best thing you can be.

Last Thursday, we celebrated the 1-Year-Anniversary of our Bible study group. They listened as I shared all the details of my resignation after celebrating my happiness at returning to work only two months earlier. I hadn’t realized the disappointment and feelings of failure that were there for a true friend to see. They prayed for my broken heart while I cried, surrounded by true and complete love. The room was full of angels that morning. Both earth angels and the Holy Spirit. What a morning. What a beautiful group of friends God gave me on a morning I cried out to ask him for nothing more.

Yes.

I think I need to call my sweet friend. She mentioned she’d love to see fall colors again. Me too. We both need to seize this moment in time when the leaves are a brilliant orange, red, yellow, and bronze. In life you never know when our eyesight might fail or be gone all together. Storms can come at any time in life. We need to be ready for them.

Whatever you do today, be ready for Jesus to take the wheel. It just might be that you find treasures more wonderful than gold. The first step is getting in the car to go looking.

More tomorrow.

There is nothing better than a Small Town Candidates Night on which to base political decisions. So much is said through body language and voice. Random questions reveal a candidates true colors. That’s something one never sees on the hundreds of staged political commercials polluting the airwaves at this time of year.

I don’t know what is worse. Wasting life by the 1/2 minutes while watching people tell political lies through perfect teeth and tightened skin, or being convinced to take drugs that might cure your condition, but could also kill you while doing so. Think how good you’ll feel on the way out!

Oy Vey.

OFF. On many days, the best television setting is OFF.

The Mysterious Marine invited me to join him in support of his brother who happens to be running for THE Mayor of our little town. Having the entire day to think about meeting a portion of his very large family, I decided to get dolled up for the occasion. Black on black with a wool blazer. Hair blown and curled just enough. Eye shadow, lipstick, a faint hint of perfume. It was nice to prepare for an evening out to support a mayoral candidate I actually know and like.

I’d protested against attending the meeting just a little bit. I used to be a voting member of the political group hosting the event. Many of the members are not the most genuine people. If they were, I’d still be a card carrying member, right? But, for the Mysterious Marine, there aren’t many things I wouldn’t do to support him and his family. Going with him was an easy “YES”.

There were many, many nephews, nieces, and even a Great-niece to meet. His brother and his wife have been married almost 50 years and have 25 Grandchildren and 3 Great-grandchildren. They have lived in the town I now call home for 62 years. MM’s nephew was also on the panel, running for a position on the School Board. It was fun sitting with the movers and shakers of our town.

At the table, I met two VIP’s about which I want to know more. MM introduced me to his high school track coach and his wife. Now, not to give out too much information, MM is 68. This fit, funny, and great man sitting at the table was his track coach. You do the math. His lovely wife was there with him. Both were energetic and alive, coming out into the desert night to support our candidate. This man had coached MM to award winning records that have stood for decades. The two are still great friends. What a feel good story!

Through the night, youngers came over to say Hello to this rock star couple. Just two elders enjoying a date night while listening to candidates talk about their positions on important issues. What careers these two people had! How nice that I had a chance to meet them. I’m so proud to live in a town small enough that our vote will make a difference in the quality of our lives. Even more so that the locals know the importance of a single vote.

The two sheriff candidates sat across the room from each other like buffalo bulls. Not signaling that anything was amiss, but ready for a sparring match if the need arose. I noticed residual tension from their long day at work. I can’t imagine the days our police officers experience. I pray for them often. These two men stomp out crimes in an area covering over 24,000 square miles. A lot of territory to keep safe.

With a new sheriff and a new Mayor, our town will be ready for 2022 and beyond. It’s time. We have water, school, and policing issues. Our roads are in dismal shape and getting worse with each passing season. The “Good Ole Boy” system that worked so well for so long isn’t working anymore. The housing bubble has again burst. With gas at almost $6 a gallon, the 30 minute commute makes our town just a little too far away. Skyrocketing rent has priced us out competition with bigger cities. All these situations spell tough times for a little town and the residents. Last night, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.

Mr. Mayoral Candidate looked dapper in his suit and tie. He’d prepared for the evening of questions and had meaty answers. At one point, the current mayor (hopeful Past Mayor) threw out a big lie. After careful consideration, Mr. Mayoral Candidate didn’t pick up the rope. Tug of war is a nasty game in which someone gets muddy. It was refreshing to see a candidate that preferred to take the high road. Mr. Past Mayor (hopefully) had sent a letter to the entire community that held a big lie, (quite provable), about Mr. Mayoral Candidate. It was wonderful to see Mr. Mayoral Candidate take the high road. Way to GO!!

Many old women were there, older but not wiser. I was glad MM’s family was so big and welcoming. A little baby with the sweetest curl was the icing on the cake. I can’t wait to know everyone better. Blending into a gigantic sea of supporters, it was easy to focus on the debate. A night I will not soon forget and issues that will steer me to vote my conscience at the polls.

Today, Oliver is coming home from October puppy camp. I must say the house is very quiet without him. These days, we are a working team. Although he doesn’t understand why I’m again home and tending to Winterpast, he loves it and is at my side at all times. After almost four years, when I make a request, he complies. Sit? He sits. Down? He’s down. Bed? Off he goes. When alone, we’re a team. Add his new girlfriend to the mix, it’s twice the crazy all over again. There’s always more a dog can learn, right?

Have a wonderful day today. Take time to look at the political candidates before you vote. Make sure you are voting for a person and not just a party. If you get the chance to meet candidates, I highly recommend it. You might find some new friends in the process.

More tomorrow.