Day 2 May 4

Another beautiful sunny day to travel.  The fields of Illinois are beginning to sprout green which gives them a strange almost impressionistic appearance. As soon as we crossed into Indiana the land became hilly, gentle curves to the earth and a fresh greenness everywhere.

Traveling I-70 in Ohio, flanked on either side by suburban homes, I wondered about "average" daily life. Each family is unique in its coming and goings, dreams yet to be realized, and fantasies fallen away. Do they ever look up from playing in the yard, or weeding the garden and wonder where everyone is going at such a speed. Do other drivers on the highway look at these homes and send up a brief prayer (as I did) for the inhabitants, or wonder if they are making it in this fragile economy? How small our personal worlds are? What a narrow focus we have! What is happening in the lives of the millions of human beings who share our universe? How do my decisions, actions and choices impact their lives?

We stopped at a truck stop for gas and were tempted by an old fashioned hot dog bar, we did not resist and thoroughly enjoyed a hot dog with mustard, onion and relish - the first in probably ten years! I trust it didn't wreck my diet!

Traveling through the treelined hills of Ohio I was dive bombed by my first butterfly of summer, a yellow swallow tail, I think, it wasn't hurt and flew off oblivious.

Making our way through Wheeling West Virginia we arrived in Pennsylvania where we stopped for the night. It was a great travel day and blessedly uneventful. Tomorrow we head to Maryland where we will reacquaint ourselves with our grand-daughter (and of course our kids) we are looking forward to our  visit!

Day One Vacation

Leaving for vacation on a bright sunny cool morning. Our first stop, sort of a travel ritual is at Casey’s for gas, coffee and a doughnut which we share. It signals for us a different pace, We say our traveler’s prayer and we are off to commune with one another, our Creator and the creation,

The fields along I-80 lie prepared, rich brown soil awaiting the sun and rain to burst the seed, send down roots and push sprouts to the surface. Contented cattle graze on rich green grass while others bask in the warmth of the sun. The traffic whizzes by, our 70 mph speed not being sufficient for their journey, but ample for us.

The Thomas Merton quote from Terry Hershey’s blog today was perfect:“Everything has already been given. What we need is to live into it.” It is certainly what I believe, and in my best moments try to live. This mirrors for me the whole concept of vacation. It is a time to rest on the journey; to store up memories and experiences that will refresh the spirit so that one can return to the normal routine renewed. To this end I usually try to plan a vacation that reconnects me with friends and family and includes opportunities that stretch my mind and imagination.

For lunch we stop at the Jubilee Café, Kickapoo, IL. One of Illinois’ best kept secrets. The food is always good, the same waitresses we had on our first visit seven years ago and continues to be “cash only”. We were introduced to it by Fr. Gabriel a monk from St. Bede Abbey in Peru, IL. The main attraction for him, beside it’s good mid-western fare, is the homemade gooseberry pie served with vanilla ice cream. Sound strange? It is amazing! The tartness of the gooseberry, mouthwatering short pastry crust offset by the creamy sweet vanilla flavor has to be savored to be believed. The blue cheese dressing on their salad is another must!

Fully satisfied by a good meal, good memories and of course pie, we set off along Interstate 74 with its unremarkable scenery. Unremarkable that is until we stopped briefly and encountered a display of photographs by artist Larry Kanfer. His work lifts up the IL country side from “unremarkable” to significant as he reveals the magnificence of prairie and farmland. His words and images changed immediately my view of the the panorama along the highway. Where before it was flat and ordinary now I saw it’s depth and uniqueness. I saw the way in which earth and sky met on the distant horizon in creative union. As a storm brewed I no longer saw flat boring strips of land but unencumbered skyscapes, roiling clouds, rippling furrows, and resting cattle.

Following the storm the sky burst forth with ascension images, pockets of light reaching down to earth - only the figure of Christ absent.

Preparing for the Journey

I woke this morning early and reminded myself that I didn’t need to rush, I don’t have a Sunday School Class and can therefore take my time, I turned over and didn’t get up until 6:45, I felt quite guilty. I lay in bed listening to the small waterfall that splashes into the koi ponds, felt the cool fresh dry air from the window gently blowing across the bed and gave thanks to God for a beautiful new day.


As I write I wait for the coffee to brew and already feel like my vacation has begun. Today will involve a last visit for 17 days to the Health Center to check on residents. Next the packing will have to be accomplished and then the mini panic as I go through the unnecessary ritual of worry might/could go wrong on the trip. After stated that here maybe I can skip that this trip!

I am very excited about the trip it has taken the usual planning and includes a variety of places that cover the interests of both Bill and myself. Not only will there be visits with family in Silver Springs and sightseeing in DC but on our return trip we visit West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana. We will explore history, glass making, bonsai, Appalachian crafts and education, utopian communities, railroads and rivers. We will drive through country we have not experienced before and relax and renew ourselves spiritually. Each time I prepare a trip I anticipate the adventure and the wonder that within the borders of the United States there is such variety of landmass, culture and people. I trust we will explore with open eyes, minds and hearts all that is offered us in the coming days. I believe every well planned journey is a pilgrimage, where we encounter the sacred spaces of life and land. I am ready for this adventure.

Easter Transformation Cheer

Is there such a thing as “blogblock” if so I think I must have been going through it! I have been busy, but not really so busy that I could not have put my thoughts on paper. During the last few weeks I have avoided both my paper journal and my blog, not for any conscious reason, simply because when I have been before them I have gone blank. I’m not going to over think this, but find it curious!

One thing I was challenged to do for an upcoming event was a “Cheer”; the theme "Transformation." Since this is Easter weekend it seemed fitting to share it here.
Easter is indeed about the hope of transformation. We are reminded that at any moment in any day the circumstances and conversations can be a catalyst for change. To allow transformation to occur we must willingly open up to the moment. Resurrection reminds us that even the most tragic events can become powerful agents for change in us and the world. May this Easter event bring hopeful change to our world.

Transformation

At any age transformation begins in us and spreads to others.

            Turns life around

          Renews the spirit

          Awakens the heart

          Names truth

          Seeks options

          Forgives freely

          Opens community

          Respects others

          Maintains hope

          Advances peace

          Trusts God

          Inspires action

          One in Christ

          Now we begin!

May we have the courage to allow transformation in ourselves, our planet and the universe that we may see a new day of peace and sustainability.

Caught

It's been awhile since I found time to blog. My resolve to record some of my thoughts on my journey to 70 (October 2010) gets railroaded quite often. I have been doing some daily journal writing, weather, diet, "busy notes" but nothing substantial.

Memoir has been on my mind and I have been reading Natalie Goldberg, Peter Gilmour and William Zinsser, they have been helpful in providing focus. I am becoming clearer about what is needed to begin to answer the questions my son posed for me. I don't think I realized however, that I would be delving so deeply into relationship. I think I viewed the task more as recording stories from the past and vignettes of relatives. I now see that answering the question "Why did you leave home?" demands revelation of me and my relationship with my mother - do I want to go there? Caught! Caught in a story that spans my life and one I have not been willing to explore. Is this the year? Certainly it is no easy assignment.

Time to change the subject; January was a beautiful month, if harsh. The Wolf Moon and three days of amazing hoar-frost clothed the landscape exquisitely. I penned a couple more Haikus, and am really interested in finding time to learn more about this form.

Time seems to be the issue at the core of my life…I must make it my friend!

Wolf Moon
Wolf moon setting
In morning’s wakening sky
Makes way for sunlight

Hoar-Frost

Bent barren branches
radiant with hoar frost thorns
beneath leaden skies

Procrastination

Today I finally took needle and thread and sewed on two buttons that have begged to be returned to their rightful spot for almost a year.  They mocked me as they revealed once again that "procrastination" is a flaw in my tightly knit life that I am not only accustomed to, but with which I seem to be very comfortable. In a strange way I thrive on this trait energized by deadlines and near misses.  On the other hand I love to pursue silence and seek to live in the "moment". Mystery......

I have been invited by my son to take a closer look at my life's journey, explore the mystery, separate the threads, and share my story. It will take time, but as an introduction I bumped up against an image that has been with me for about fifty years. I do not remember the circumstances under which I was first introduced to the "white stone" of Revelation, but it immediately captured my imagination and continues to do so.  Mystery.........  

Inspired by - Revelation 2:17

On the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.

White stone secret

White stone rests in hand

Smooth, tumbled, lined, water’s gift

A secret revealed

Journey stone

A promise hidden

Journey stone humbly received

White, smooth, gently held

UNRAVEL

Unravel, according to Webster's dictionary means to: "separate threads, or solve a mystery",both apt descriptions for today's blog.

Early in the New Year my son invited me to share with him (and in turn my grandchildren) what I thought I had inherited from my parents. This is a challenging, complicated and curious question. I have probably spent most of my life, in one way or another trying not to be my parents. A casual glance at my life would illustrate more differences than similarities, a deeper look...we shall see!


A couple of years ago I knit my husband a sweater. It was one of those projects that began simply and developed a life of its own. My husband chose the yarn, a deep teal (the photo doesn't reflect its true color) 100% mercerized cotton made in Greece, he had a vision for the kind of sweater he wanted and I searched for a pattern. The first pattern I tried didn't do the yarn justice, the second created a "hand" like iron; the third using half-linen stitch seemed perfect. At one point in the knitting, it lay by the side of my chair approximately half finished when in answering the phone I dumped onto it a full bowl of mushroom soup. The washing and drying was not satisfactory, I "unraveled" and began again! In time I finished the sweater and my husband tried it on, he decided the neckline wasn't comfortable, I "unraveled" and refashioned it. At times when I left the knitting for a period, because work took precedence, I came back and found errors and redoes were required. From the beginning I was not happy with the sweater, but my husband loved it and wore it with affection. Every time he put it on I could see all the places I stopped and started, small flaws became magnified until a few days ago I decided to unravel the sweater and start again.

As I began to unravel the sweater I discovered new problems. The sweater was very well constructed and with knitted seams connecting front to back, and along the sleeve seams, it is proving to be a challenge. On reflection this unraveling project dovetails with the questions my son raised in relation to what I inherited from my parents. It has become a metaphor for the task ahead of me. Over the years I have knit a life for myself, I have worn it like my husband wore his sweater,  with love and affection. Aware of its imperfection and flaws I have at times made corrections, removed the spills, and stitched it tightly together. Now I have been invited to look at it more closely and I see that in order to answer my son's questions I must "unravel" ; separate the threads solve the mystery...it will take time.