Saturday's Scribbles

 

Good Saturday to you from a rainy and cool day in northern Iowa.  Fall is showing up periodically to remind us summer is leaving us.  The animals have been more quiet, fewer bunnies or deer around right now.  It is getting time to put on long pants and I have to say, I am not ready for it!  I like the comforts of summer capri's.  Alas, we know what will be ahead, so in this moment we savor what Autumn brings. 

Speaking of weather, one of our girls asked me once why I always start with the weather on my Saturday's Scribbles.....I think it is because I am not only married to a retired pastor but to a retired Air Force meteorologist and farm kid!  Weather has always been a part of the day's observations.  

Joel gets up most mornings and takes his morning coffee out onto our front porch.  He enjoys nature, watches the animals, and takes in the fresh air....even at 32 degrees he is outside bundled up and communing with God through nature. Not too long ago someone asked the question of how we connect with God.  For me it is in the sunrise and sunsets, in music and in praise.  For Joel is in every facet of nature. Even while biking or driving he seeks it out.

Speaking of nature, on Labor Day we headed north to Pilot Knob State Park about 35 minutes away.  It is a heavily wooded 700 acre place of beauty.  Let me get out of the way that going into such a wooded area that is a home for thousands of ticks is a step of faith for me....We had a good time walking around, having a picnic, and Joel hiked up to the stone tower.  I was going to try, but the first section of the trail was too steep for me so I waited in the car while he ventured off into the "wilderness".  ( a careful tick check resulted when we arrived home).  After leaving Pilot Knob we drove down to our favorite lake and sat watching boats and of course the people.  It was a nice day.  

Pilot Knob pond

Picnic time

Path to the stone tower

"Over the river and through the woods to the

stone tower we go.........."

Stone Tower

Our grands are back in school and college now.  Such adventures they will experience, so much learning they will absorb.  And fun too!  Transitions are hard, and the journey is not always straight but this is what we raise our children to do.....become independent adults who go out into the world to forge their own path with, hopefully God's guidance.  Some stay close to home, others are out of our reach, like all of our kids.  When loneliness seeps in I try to tell myself that we raised our kids to become independent and blossom in their corners of the world and in our circumstances they are out of our reach! 

Thank heavens for texting and phone calls!

Last Saturday Joel and I watched a ridiculously fast paced, sometimes violent, and funny movie called "The Lost City" with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum.  It was silly, far fetched and made us laugh until our sides hurt!  My favorite movies with Sandra B. are The Proposal with Ryan Reynolds, and Miss Congeniality.  Laughter is such good medicine and that would be the "redeeming value" of "The Lost City.  

Tomorrow is the 21st anniversary of 9-11.  It is not a date we can easily forget.  I expect just like when JFK was assassinated, we who are older know where we were and what we were doing when we first heard.  WIth JFK, our president gunned down on TV, it was a shock that resonated around the world.  I was in 10th grade history class and I can remember our teacher was called out of class.  When he came back in he told us with tears in his eyes what had just happened.  The whole school of a couple thousand kids was dismissed and sent home.  Everyone was home on the day of the funeral to watch on TV.  With 9-11, I was sitting in front of the TV watching Good Morning America when it began to unfold.  I remember shaking from head to toe when everyone realized what was going on.  Our country was under attack.  Our oldest called and we talked a bit about what was happening, and was her hubby safe because at the time he worked in a downtown Chicago industrial area. Where would they strike next?!  And where was our son, a police officer, and were our other kids all safe? Joel was at work, focused on the church, and really did not grasp what I was trying to relay to him.  Or maybe he was in denial?  He finally came home and we watched together, stunned at what was happening.  Joel and I prayed about him going into the Air Force again as a chaplain once our military was involved.  He was too old.  IF he was a Catholic priest, they needed them, but a Protestant Chaplain in his 50's was a no go.  Of which, looking back, I am grateful for.  Today gives us pause while we remember......  

And speaking of remembering, Queen Elizabeth II died this week and it has been fascinating to learn all the information about the longest reigning monarch in history.  She was certainly dedicated to serve her country and did a fine job doing so.  I loved reading one of her quotes that spoke of her faith in God helping her through all her years as Queen. 

So today I am grateful for the good times we had at Pilot Knob State Park and Clear Lake Antiques in the Square plus lake sitting.  Grateful for a picnic outside.....a first in a long while.  Grateful for the rain that is still coming down.  Grateful for all the biking Joel got in this week and all the walking for me.  Grateful for memories and moving forward through those memories, grateful for movies that make us belly laugh, grands who are moving forward in their lives, and grateful we miss our family for wouldn't be awful if we didn't!  Grateful for the reign of a Queen dedicated to her people.  Grateful for all this and so much more..........

Enjoy your weekend!