In A Dry And Thirsty Land

We awoke to dead tree branches, mud everywhere, and an overflowing lake. Yay and Hooray!

The morning walk was fascinating in that one's feet had to be very careful when treading on such gooey mud. The SconeLady was attentive to this, and quite circumspect in her steps. A road was closed. Workmen (I saw no ladies) were out in their droves, hacking away at all the detritus of the Storm. 

And everyone was smiling. "Good morning, good morning! Lots of rain, eh? A good day's work!"

But - what's this? A man at the lake was standing there by the pumps, LETTING THE WATER OUT! Just willy-nilly draining off the excess - as if there was more where that came from. It struck us as mildly absurd, does it you? At least they could have kept it to crow over for a day or two, and taken some time to decide.

But be that as it may, we are still basking in the memory of rain splattering on parched lawns. As we drifted off to sleep we could hear it, pounding away just outside our open bedroom window. It was dreamy. Those of you who hail from climates where rain is abundant and therefore annoying, might smile at our quirky response to this phenomenon. But we - we relish it as thoroughly as we can, while it lasts. Almost as we would a Golden Egg that might not lay again.

We think of and believe the words, "Oh God, You are my God, I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1). A living picture of the truth that we live every day. Best to soak it up, live on it, store it away so that you can have it ready when that dry dust drifts by you once again. Because it will, once again. So don't let your Lake run low. Drink up and bask in the abundance which, as we know, never runs dry.




See you along the Way!
the SconeLady

Travel Day 11 (Together Again)

One last long drive - down and away from Cannon Beach, onto boring old Interstate 5, steadily drawing ever nearer to Mother and Dad. Burger King and McDonald's fed us well, one last hotel made us welcome, and then:

Back in the arms. 

We almost couldn't believe it when we saw their mother running outside to meet the van! There was shouting and whoo-hooing to beat the band. There was clapping. Smiling. And then all that endless hugging. Our Great Experiment had worked, praise the Lord!

After the reunion settled down a bit, we switched vehicles and kiddies. Our Volvo was repackaged with our things and their van with theirs. Precious cargo of three darlings were all loaded up, and we went our separate ways. 

"Will you sleep for a week?!" teased the lovely daughter.

"Yes! But there will be withdrawal symptoms.." It had to be admitted, we had enjoyed thoroughly our week and a half of being 'Parents' once more. Then again, the sleeping for a week sounded rather nice..

So we were driving quietly south when we began getting strange flash flood warnings from our cell phones. A hideous squealing noise accompanied by the message that the area we were driving in (the Grapevine) was having flooding. Did this mean ---- could this mean --- RAIN????? Could it be possible? Was thirsty California getting the much needed precipitation it had been lacking? And (perhaps) might the Governor be able to resume showering again? (dared we all hope?)

Yes, yes, and - yes! It WAS rain, and we drove straight through it - rather scarily, but with great fits of excitement as we sloshed along. Traffic jams? Who cared! Scary winds and storms? Who could be afraid? We had rain, and that was what counted.

So we have returned, and I think my sleep-for-a-week is probably just about to start. Any minute now.. and with great thankfulness for all the fun, all the safety, all the tucking-in 
to sweet beds, all the potty stops (!), all the 'I love you!'s, and all the jolly laughter. But..

It's going to be awfully quiet around here.

See you along the Way!

the SconeLady

Travel Day 10 (The Rock)

Haystack Rock was the goal, and all of them ran to it. There was the occasional pause in order to dig something up or rescue a jellyfish. But in general, they ran.

We were told by some person that the Rock is 1 mile down and 2 miles back, and we fully believe this statement. The grownups had to hoof it pretty sharp in order to keep up, but the wind was at our backs and there was a happiness in watching the speeders go by. There were no tears.

The smallest of them stayed with the pack, keeping their gaze toward that humungous Haystack which loomed large and drew them along. Nobody had to tell them what to do or where to go. It is like that with Icons such as this one. Following becomes obvious.

One of the grownups walking quickly by my side was my sister, who had grown up knowing that Rock as a small girl. Having become lost along its beach nearby, she sat down near it, and she prayed - she knew about prayer because Mother and Dad had told her all about the God who answers. Then, she settled in and waited to be found.

And wonderfully, unbelievably, she was! Being found by somebody kind and trustworthy who just happens to know exactly where your parents are is a heady business. A business that impresses you so much that you never forget that early answer to your prayer. And every time she saw Haystack Rock after that day, she remembered. It was epic.

And now we and our grandchildren have spent one epic week in that same place, learning about the Rock that remains the same year after year, eon after eon. They have grown to love it as we do, and see it as a frame of reference that will never change.

And all of us keep learning an important truth. The Rock won't move.

See you along the Way!

the SconeLady

Travel Day 9 (Late Night Talks)

"I need to talk with you Grandma.." said the eldest, soberly. 

He had been quite thoughtful about something this day, but I knew not what. "Will you talk with me?" 

It was time for bed, but.. "Ok, sure", I said. He seemed resolved to have whatever it was off his chest. I wondered what it could be. Would I need to alert his mother? Perhaps there was some spiritual issue that I might be able to help him work through. I was ready for anything.

I looked at him expectantly as we entered the lounge down the hall and chose a couch. "What's up?" I asked.

"Well, I need to talk with you about..."

"Yes?"

"..about.. Legos." 

"Umm, Legos?" I replied. "What about them?" 

It all came out at once. "Well Grandma I have Lego sets that I have put together and then they get broken up and then pieces go missing and then 'other people' like to play with the pieces someplace else and I lose all track of them and all of the Lego sets are all mixed together and I need more storage for them and.." he trailed off.

All of this was so heartfelt that I immediately took the same tack. We discussed the details, with me saying, "Oh?...Tell me more...What happened then?" as I had learned from a very good therapist I know. Throughout this conversation I picked up quite a lot about asset management.

We came up with some solutions, and then both of us were suddenly yawning hugely. It really was was time for bed. Everyone else was already fast asleep. As we walked back down the hallway he suddenly hugged me and said, "Grandma you have solved all of my problems!" 

I smiled, wishing all of life's problems were that easy to solve - a couch and a few well-placed questions. But at least for an 8 year old's Lego problem, we had done a pretty good job. Happy is the person whose grandson wants her advice. And happy is the grandson who is willing to listen to it.

Oh yes, happy, all around.


See you along the way!
the SconeLady

Travel Day 8 (Carnival!)

The look of simple happiness

Carnival Day has been the best day of them all. The children talked about it all week long at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, remembering all of the things their mother had told them about it. They also remembered some of the things for themselves, and thought that they just could not wait another minute for this day to arrive. I know of at least one small girl who was determined to achieve great heights, and 'see forever'.

Carnival Day is pretty amazing by anyone's standards. Every child gets to:

The 5 year old revisits the rock wall!

• climb the rock wall
• speed down the bouncy house obstacle course
• have their faces painted in all sorts of fun designs
• throw balls at the dunk bucket and make some hapless grownup fall in
• dance and sing songs from the 1950s (and watch their grandparents dance along)
• toss pennies in the penny drop
• watch a nice clown making balloons for one and all
• fish in a fish pond where someone, or something, puts a prize on their 'hook'
• eat flavored snow from a snow cone machine
• go bowling for prizes
• fling rings willy-nilly and hope one lands just right
• lob bean bag balls through holes in a piece of wood
• fire the sling shot at angry birds

All of this plus grownups with huge smiles plastered all over their faces.

The eldest came away with a bag full of prizes he had won while throwing, tossing, fishing, bowling, flinging, and lobbing. The little ones did not have such a fascinating bag and so the eldest generously shared his winnings with them, which made them happy. Which made Grandma happy. Which helped keep the peace and protect the sanity of all.

It has been a long, but a profitable day. No one protested their bedtimes (well, almost no one...there was just a teeny-weeny bit of a protest, which was quickly squelched by sleep descending unfairly upon the smallest. He didn't really even have a chance). Everyone else flopped thankfully into their beds and bunks, and so the SconeLady is surrounded once again by regular breathing from all sides. 

It is my most favorite sound of the day.

See you along the way!

the SconeLady

Travel Day 7 (Day of Days)

"There will be no classes on Wednesday morning.." said the daily bulletin at breakfast. At least two of the grandmothers looked askance at this. They had known it was coming but had so far been too distracted by everything else to notice.

"No classes.." said one. "This means - we will have all of the children all of today.." said the other. "What should we do?" said both.

Lots of possibilities presented themselves to these former school teachers, and their sister (also a former school teacher) had some ideas of her own. There was always the Park, but it was starting to drizzle outside. The beach loomed large, but - again, the rain. Then their younger sister whipped out her iPhone and said, "Well, what about a movie?" - this was a brilliant suggestion which was instantly adopted and embraced.

The movie suggestion was "Charlie, The Lonesome Cougar", a 1967 Disney offering the children had not seen before. An iPad was set up and the curtains closed. All seven children trooped into one of the minuscule bedrooms we occupy, and sat down on the bed and floor. Soon the magic that is Disney began, and everyone, all children and all grandmothers, fell under its spell. It was a lovely story, told in the spectacular Disney tradition of back in the 60s. These days you can't be too sure just what you'll get, but Disney himself had it exactly right when he was at the helm.

Charlie, the baby cougar

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8070463@N03/16383229105

And then the sun came out! Therefore, we:

• piled into cars to go to a magnificent park
• ate magnificent food
• flew kites
• played 'What Time Is It Mrs. _________?' (can't remember her name)
• took pictures
• drove back 
• Played pool, ping pong, and golfing
• took naps

Not everybody took naps, but the boy who did take one protested rather a lot. "I will just take a rest, and NOT A NAAAP," he finally conceded sleepily (I think he actually fell asleep in the middle of the word 'NAAAP', but can't be certain).

The day finished with a salmon barbecue on the beach, the evening sessions, and a S'more cookout around a beach campfire. What riches! The day could hardly have had more fun crammed into it. Absolutely nobody protested when it was bedtime. 

The SconeLady is once again in a darkened room typing away while the others sleep peacefully. It is time for her to follow suit so I will leave you with photographs of the things that went into this day of days:

Yay and Hooray!

See you along the way!

the SconeLady

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8070463@N03/16383229105">Mirka posing well</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>

Travel Day 6 (The Park)

The only real fun I had at the park was the few minutes they were on the tire swing. At least they weren't at the tops of any trees (grandma's most vivid dread) - or a climbing frame (which is just about as bad). Watching a tire swing is bliss. Watching small children on large trees constitutes torture.

As I watch and wait, I chat a bit with the mothers who share that space. These mothers have small children who climb trees, leap across the equipment, and swing from great heights like monkeys and yet the mothers are cool, calm, and collected. I finally approached one of them. "Does this tree right here ever worry you?"

The mother, a very pretty and stylish kind of girl, said simply, "No. I just go with my child's sense of what he is able to do. For instance he wants to slide down the fire pole but is still too afraid. Which means he isn't ready. So he won't do it. So I don't worry." 

This is entirely sensible, of course. And admirable. And has been said many times by the lovely daughter herself. 

But somehow I remain - uncertain.

Just look what I have to endure (see the small hand reaching ABOVE THE TREETOP?)

She has now become inseparable from another little inveterate climber who actually BROKE HER ARM falling from a tree back home. The first thing she said afterward was, "Daddy when can I climb the tree again?" 

Oh boy.

I suppose there is some comfort in knowing how happy she is whenever she is climbing. She is, in fact, ecstatic. It reminds me of Eric Liddell, the Scottish runner who in 1924 said that God had made him fast. And that he felt God's pleasure when he ran. I see that in this small one. Absolute joy in the climb. One day she will likely be phoning us from the top of Everest, or something.

"Grandma!" she will say excitedly from her great height. "I made it! I can see the world!"

And I will surely say, "Oh well done you! We are so proud!"

When that day comes, what will that one little tree have mattered in the great scheme of things? Just a drop in the bucket.

(All the same, I'm going to keep the iPhone ready, just in case. In a pinch, I can always call 9-1-1.)


See you along the way!
the SconeLady

Two blondies on their way to Everest