The greatest adventure of all

 

Dear Blog,

 

I just wanted to stop in and say hi.

How be you?

I hope you are doing well.

Yesterday (Sat) was a strange day, everybody was showing up at my house, Jeana, Sarah, Holly, Rochelle.

And the previous day, my sister Laurie called, right as I was about to go swimming, and asked if I could come up to the Delta Flyers (a gymnastic place) where she’s teaching boxing. She’s very good at it.

And she wanted it to look like more people were in her class, so as to make the people there comfortable. She's starting to teach, and trying to get more students.

I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to go. But I did, and it was about the best time I’ve had with my little sister, in a while. She was so happy to teach me boxing, almost giddy.  I was happy to see her so happy.

I felt a little awkward at it. But I see how it can also be a very zen thing, if you’re looking at it like a dance. Though my knuckles got sore. She’s very tough.

In the inbetween bits, between her teaching me, and the other couple of students. Her son, and I had great fun jumping on the trampolines. There was a really bouncy one that really boinged. Though I did something stupid, and jumped onto a harder surface from the tramp, my knee popped weird, and now it feels a little achy.

So anyhow. There as has been lots of comings and goings. And people, and words.

Last week, I was wanting to take the roof off my greenhouse, and start over, perhaps. The roof was so cooked black by the sun, the plants weren’t getting any light. Part of the wall in the back is falling down, from too much moisture, and age.

It’s been a happy place. I’ve had many good memories inside that greenhouse, with my sister, and nieces and nephews.

I was so happy that Bess found the little hexagonal screw head that I can use to take out the old screws, and I nearly got the old sheets off in a day. Which is odd, because it took a lot longer to get it on.

It’s weird how that is.

But I was very satisfied to take off the old roof, as it was getting so dark inside, it looked like a cave, and my plants were needing light.

What else, on the 28^th…

I was real tired, that day. As I had stayed up real late to finish my last blog post, two nights in a row, which I was very happy to be able to do.  And we had another program at the Bird center. Bess and I usually plan things. But we didn’t too much. We did a little, and then we forgot our CD player, which has some folk music on it. But our brother Nate surprised us, and brought it, right when we needed it. Thank you.

The interesting thing was, there was more people there than ever. We handed out instruments, and shakers, and drums, and I drummed on the djembe while Bessie violined.We sang, and talked, and our harmonica friend did a beautiful solo bit at the mic, and was very happy.  

It was so cute, because everybody really participated. And it was just a real positive, beautiful day. Magic. It was so good, Bess and I feel it was one of the best performance days. Ever.

Everyone treated us so good. It felt wonderful, and if I hadn’t been so tired, from staying up so late, I might have really really enjoyed it. I just felt a little dazed. But good.

But I did feel the love, and so did Bessie.

It was a good, beautiful day. It was just an amazing, miraculous day. So many people were so unusually kind. And they sang with us. And it just felt a bit like a magic fairy had sprinkled dust on everyone.

They invited us to go get ice cream afterward, in their new buss.

We had to get some groceries, so we said we’d probably meet them there.

When we got there, we saw the buss, and we slowly made our way over to the place where you get ice cream. But by the time we got there, I think they’d gone.

So we were like, oh well.

But this older gentleman looks at us, and says something. And we see he has ice cream, and thought he was maybe from the bird center. We just start talking. And he starts talking about ice cream.

Then he just says, can I buy you an ice cream?

I wasn’t sure if he was from the crowd we had just did music for, but either way, we said yes, and he bought us some vanilla ice cream. I’d never had ice cream, at the deli there, so it was a very kind, and thoughtful thing. A random soul, so kind, and giving.

He said he had served a mission in Africa, and liked it very much.

 It was a very good day.

I still am in awe of how nice everyone was to us.

Then a few days later Bessie gets out a card the people at the bird center had handed her. It was a thank you card, with a little clip from the newspaper.

It was so kind. It made me smile, so I’m sharing it here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 We also took a little time to go swimming right before sunset. 

It was calm, and beautiful. These are some pictures I snapped. There were two horse riders that were a little flirty when they saw I was taking pictures of them. And their half blind bulldog nearly took the camera out of my hand. 

Amelia asked Bessie and I if we want to go on adventure tomorrow. Today, I guess, as I'm finishing this post in the wee hours of morning. We told her yes, but we both feel a bit nervous. As this is more of a distance than we've gone in a while. We’re going to some old towns, along the way to Ely. It should be a fun adventure.

Bess and I are very lucky. Lucky to have friends, and people to love. Even though life has been so very intense. And there has been some very difficult bits.

There has also been so many beautiful bits, that outshine all the hard bits, and give a glow to life, that makes it sweet. 

I have been blessed, and loved, and though, at times, I have hard time understanding many things. And life keeps growing me.

Though my heart sometimes aches. I'm glad to be able to feel and love.

I do know that God is good. 

Bessie and I were talking, and she wisely said, "wow, it's it such a gift to know what love feels like." 

Before, both of us had little knowings. But there is a now knowing, far greater than we've known before.

And it is what makes life worth living. 

And she is right. What a gift it is to feel your own heart. 

To feel its warmth, to feel its signal beam out, a steady and ever present pulse of God. 

Everyday I am grateful to know what love feels like. What it feels like to feel at home in your heart. To know this dwelling place, is to know true richness.

To know what the soft ambient hum of peace feels like, and to flow in it, like water.  To have it pour over you, and wash you, and clear away all the clutter.

How beautiful to know this. 

To really and truly know your heart space, and dwell in that. That is my treasure.

No experience, no matter how good, can compare to that. To fall asleep, and feel God, to wake up and feel God. 

And to go out, and know God is always there, watching, and manifests in the people all around me. Rainbows of love.

God's goodness is the most magic thing I know.

 The greatest adventure of all. 

 

Bess found this video, and we both thought it was beautiful.