Saturday, March 9, 2013

Slice of Life

I'm a little late in starting the Slice of Life project this March because I spent a few days away from my 'normal' life.  I went to Lannon, Wi. to participate in an accreditation process.  It was a delightful 3 days of hard work away from the daily 'grind'.
  I had the foresight to schedule a field trip on the day of my return, so we headed to Hawthorne Hollow to learn how maple trees are tapped.  It was a beautiful, sunny, crisp day crunching through the sugar snow.  We actually tapped a tree and the children were invited to put their mouth right under the spile and taste the sap.  This was a  moment they probably will never forget.
  On the homefront, everyone is home from their adventures:  Colin was in Tuscon, AZ and Tris was on choir tour in Colorado.  It is good to have them around and get their viewpoints on everything.
  I am struggling with the process of grieving for my parents as they age.  From week to week I see them decline and it is heartbreaking.  I never dreamed I would be grieving for them before they pass on.  It is not something you can ever prepare yourself for...

At the corner of Bitter and Sweet

This summer I participated in a writing program online and also reviewed the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.  I came home from the cottage and set up my old desk in front of the bedroom window which has a scenic view.  But I have not written till now.  Now I feel compelled to write.  As referenced above this has been a time of bitter and sweet intersecting.  Our daughter graduated from college in a wonderful ceremony, with happiness of family around us, but her future is uncertain.  My parents are settled in assisted living, but my mother is lashing out at my father, and telling absurd tales as she sinks into dementia. Our youngest son is doing wonderfully at a school I never dreamed he would attend, but we are being sued for an accident he had in high school.  And so it goes...one step forward, three steps back.
     On Christmas Day I told my brother that if he or my nephew drove my parents to my house after church I would give them cookies.  Little did I know they had no time to make their own, and so by my unknowing action, my niece deemed me 'the aunt that saved Christmas'.  I liked that very much.  Bitter into sweet.
     My other brother and his wife and their family visited and we laughed until we cried about family and their dysfunctional attributes.  The next day my niece sent me a request to be her friend on Facebook.  I feel as if I passed a test of some sort.
     When we went to see the Hobbit, the wizard made some reference to the small things (hobbits) in life mattering more than great power.  I took comfort in that, because all I have right now are small things to help me through these bittersweet days.