Spring and summer provided me with multiple opportunities to travel, connect with family and friends, and commune with nature. In May I finally took the trip to Oregon that I’d delayed twice before. It was definitely worth the wait! I’d never been to Oregon in the spring, and the wildflowers were just breathtaking!
My daughter Carrie looked beautiful, and more fit than I’d ever seen her. Between her hiking, bicycling, and mountaineering she was determined to become ‘hard core’. Since I was on a health kick myself, she vowed to do the same for me (at least, relative to my age bracket). Carrie had never seen my weight so low, so she planned some ambitious outdoor activities: a twenty mile bike tour (mostly flat, thankfully), rowing, and a couple of moderate hikes, culminating in a strenuous climb up Dog Mountain. I wasn’t sure if I was up to the challenge, but I was ready to give it a try!
Our first forays into nature were quite successful. We both agreed that the hike along the Pacific Ocean, though spectacular, was not all that challenging. Our hike in the Columbia River Gorge, also rated moderate, was definitely tougher. My legs were quite sore at the end of that one, though the pain didn’t last. I was still a bit concerned about our strenuous hike, but as it turned out, Carrie came down with an upper respiratory infection a few days before our climb, so we decided to put it off till my next visit. Guess I’m not hard core just yet!
During the week Carrie went back to work for a few days, so I did some exploring on my own. I hit a couple of museums and urban nature trails, and I especially enjoyed visiting the Grotto of our Sorrowful Mother. The grounds feature a mountain-top botanical garden, statues and paintings that depict of the Stations of the Cross and the seven sorrows of Mary, and a replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta. I spent an entire morning walking and praying in a glorious setting.
Another highlight of my trip was the fulfillment of my one request: dancing. We found a Salsa club downtown, brought along a couple of Carrie’s friends, and had a blast! We also had some awesome dinners, with my favorite being the scallop etoufee from a Cajun restaurant. I did some cooking, too, picking up a few pointers from my health-conscious daughter. The roasted vegetables I prepared turned out so lovely that I took their picture before we devoured them!
At the end of my two-week vacation, I headed back to Michigan to resume my relaxing retiree existence of volunteering, dancing, and working my way through my household To Do List. I had not stopped my daily scripture reflections while I was in Portland, and I continued them back at home. While I did find solace in the meditations, I still hadn’t discerned any new ‘missions’ for myself.
For the most part I was pretty pleased with my range of activities. I even had a part time job now, teaching a relationships workshop for singles at the Marriage Place. Even though I never worked more than four hours a week, it was a paying job, and a lot of fun besides! I learned a lot both from the course materials and from the interesting mix of workshop participants.
One change I did make was to take a break from my media work at the Marriage Place. For various reasons, the press releases and media pitches I wrote were never sent out for publication, and I found this a little disheartening. Besides, I had several commitments coming up in July and August, including a week-long family reunion and two camping trips with friends. Since I was the ‘point person’ for the reunion, I needed to get moving.
I informed the Marriage Place Director that I wouldn’t be coming in during the days anymore, and started planning in earnest for the reunion. I was excited about the upcoming events of the summer, and I looked forward to more changes for the fall. I still wanted to take a college or enrichment class (though I still hadn’t decided what to study), and I planned to explore new volunteer opportunities to replace the media work at the Marriage Place. I continued to pray for guidance, and for the grace to remain patient and be open to whatever the Lord might have in store for me.
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