Thoughts about Charlene and Morning walks in June

My lovely step-mom passed away early this summer. It's been a strange time and a lot of my schedule suddenly had to be adjusted to accommodate the changes in Dad's life. This wasn't really bad, just a shuffling of priorities. It's kinda sad that the times that make us re-evaluate what's really important usually are the tragedies we encounter.



After the funeral there was quite a bit of time thinking, walking and looking. Penny, Charlene's cat found herself lost without her normal lap to sit in. She spent a lot of time hiding under the bed, wandering around



and my personal favorite: sitting in the front window looking out for her Mom to come home.


She has recently found herself on Dad's lap quite a bit and this is good. They both need each other right now.

I take a lot of walks when I go up to Dad's. There's a wonderful exercise path close to his house and I usually make use of it. Early in the day, even in the summer, the air is mountain cool and the view is extraordinary. Jim and I walked down to the little town and found a nice lake nestled in the hills. It was lovely and serene. Calming and refreshing.






I could just swear this little guy was posing for us. He never got off the lawn he was on (if you could call it that) but kept close to us as we walked around the property.

It always amazes me how people react to grief. Everyone does it differently. Dad was immediately overcome by a sense of loss and loneliness. It's been a couple of months now and I think he has healed some. At least he doesn't seem so down. He got the battery charged on his motorized chair and has decided to start moving around the neighborhood. He is seeking to touch the world outside, even when it's hard for him to get there. Where there's a will, there is a way! When the new Senior Citizen Center is built, I think he's going to be one of the first ones going. I'm glad. He needs people and he knows it. The hole created by Charlene's passing is still there, it'll take while to heal, but life goes on.

Who knows what the next chapter in our story will be? Not I.

Sometimes I wonder how life would be like without so many "dramas". Nice and serene like the bovine before us waiting in the field for the cowhand to come and move them her back into the barn for the night. No stress, just eat and get nice and fat. No deadlines, no PTA meetings, no meals to prepare and houses to clean. As serene as it is to just watching her, it's not what life for human beings is. We have been given more to do and a human cannot be fulfilled by sitting in a pasture. Our minds are busy and we feel we need to move and do something. We are happier with the time tables and responsibilities than we realize.

It is good to step back, enjoy the beauty of nature and find some peace in the world around us. But to want it all the time just isn't natural for us. I don't really believe in "retirement". I know I'm going to want to do something until I step up to the Pearly Gates and I'm truly grateful to have plenty to do right now.

Artful breakfast!

We've been watching "Iron Chef, America" and it's rubbing off. I tend to play a little bit with the plating, especially for breakfast. This is an omelet with avocado, bacon, cheese, mushrooms and tomato topped with a garnish of my own homemade sour cream. It was delectable!