Colorado Seasons

Two days ago I raked
Ten bags of leaves and needles
In a tee-shirt and shorts
In the yard.

This morning I shoveled
Two feet of snow
In boots and gloves
From the driveway.

Two seasons
Only days apart.
Who knows what
Tomorrow will bring?

Confirmation Day

My beautiful girl is at church now to support the first "wave" of confirmands joining our church at the 9:00 service. Before I dropped Aden at St. Andrew UMC, she asked me why confirmation was such a big deal, given that she believed in God, tried to put her faith in practice every day, and already feels like a member of the church.  I told her that Confirmation was for the community of faith, for us all to recognize and support our newest members and be enlightened and renewed by their decision to join us.

In the aftermath of the attacks on Paris and gut-wrenching waves of news reports about the events there, it is a relief to celebrate young people who have decided to commit to a life of faith. Pastor Mark says "These students will profess their faith openly and pledge to 'walk in the way that leads to life.'" Though confirmation is but one milestone on the life-long journey of faith, it is a hope-filled and joyous one. I pray to remember my own commitment to live out a life of kindness and service to others; it's hard to renew those credos when fear and hate raise their heads in our world.

Many thanks to grandparents and other family members whose emails, cards, and well-wishes helped to support Aden today. She read her cards with many smiles and thank yous, and we all feel buoyed by the love from afar. We send it right back to you, with gratitude and joy.

Thoughts on Legacy

Our pastor at St. Andrew UMC, Mark Feldmeir, talked about a theme earlier this fall that I can't shake.  He contrasted "resume" achievements with "legacy" achievements. Resume-builders include the usual academic, athletic, and career-related triumphs, while legacy includes charity, generosity, kindness, and altruism.  Focus on the resume in the first half of life, and focus on the legacy in the second half, or so it seems.

Rev. Feldmeir asked the  congregation to think about how we would like to be discussed at our funeral. Will speakers focus on on our job title, income level, long-distant academic successes? Or will they talk about the money and time we gave to others, our random acts of kindness, our loyalty and our dedication to friends and family?  For me, the latter rings true, and not just because I'm mostly a SAHM with little income and no job title to speak of.

The idea of legacy makes me feel better about life decisions that have taken me off the career ladder, moved me into the 'volunteer' category in different areas. I'm also motivated to do more - do better - with the time I have left. Like our oak and maple trees that were planted five years ago and waited all this time to leaf out in brilliant fall colors, our fruits and our offerings can get better over time.

Elk-like

Aden saw my stack of Trader Joe's salads in the fridge and said, "You're going to turn into an elk!"  An elk? The image of a lumbering, plodding, gigantic-antlered beast came to mind.Seeing my confusion, my daughter added, "I was just trying to think of an herbivore."

Fantastic.

So I'm an elk, and I'm also confined to the house for the day as Daniel woke up feverish, with an urgent need to throw up. I'm going to focus on being grateful that he made it to the toilet, and not on all of my canceled plans. It helps that I already ran upstairs to vent to Rob that I will never be able to write a novel - or even a short story - while the kids are still young. No time, no control over the schedule, no available brain cells. Even the blog will be short today.

So now that I've Lysol-wiped the whole downstairs, let me end on a positive note. Our young oak tree actually turned red for the first time this year, our flaming bush is starting to go up in scarlet, and the house is cozy on our first really cold day. Time to curl up with my sick boyo, drink tea while he sips ginger-ale, and look forward to some TJ's salad.

And now . . . November

From celebrating el Dia de los Muertos in Mesa to trick-or-treating in the tiny mountain town of Crested Butte, we've whirled through the past ten days. A few days at home in between trips allowed for laundry, appointments and packing - making sure to include Halloween costumes and trick-or-treat bags in the backpacks. Crested Butte celebrated Halloween with a Friday afternoon parade, and our cowboy, lifeguard, and Robin Hood zig-zagged down Elk Street with other costumed creatures, collecting candy from all of the stores on the main drag. Rob and I sipped hot chocolate and stomped our feet to keep warm while Ninja Turtles, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Michael Jackson and Pink Ladies trotted by in search of sugary bounty.

Our kids were delighted to join the happy throng of kids, reminding us that last year we had no trick-or-treating in the Grand Canyon, and the year before that we had only grocery store candy from Orlando. Rob and I reminded them how lucky they were to have a fall break timed for inexpensive travel, and how grateful they should be to see new places at regular intervals. Our words may have fallen on deaf (or sugar-buzzed ears), but it did make an impression when, on Saturday's trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Aden's phone pulled up the "what you did last year on this day" feature to show pictures of the Grand Canyon.

"How cool is that!" she said, as she scrolled through photos of the kids hiking on the Kaibab trail. We had just finished the Oak and Rim trails at the Black Canyon, and felt a little bit of "deja vu all over again."

So grateful for adventures, so grateful to be home again. Loved seeing pictures of cousins and good friends trick-or-treating in costumes from Ghostbuster to Taco, and thrilled to drop off excess candy at the elementary school, where they are collecting it to send to soldiers overseas. Good times, all round; next up, Thanksgiving!