Glamping

A storm blew through fast and furious. And it was so odd too--the destruction it left. I saw trees that looked like they crumpled. A treetop severed and fell on our power lines--the damage like a giant walked over the county and crushed a tree with each footstep, but leaving others standing as it staggered and stumbled side to side. Our lights flickered at first. Shane came home to say the limbs on the line were on fire. Then a pop of a transformer, and darkness. I called the power company, who said there were no outages in our area. I called to report the damaged line. That was Tuesday. The fix date would be Friday. We hunkered down.

Water bottles, generator, paper plates. Marshall's Mom gave us the friendliest offer to come stay with them, but we have too many pets to be able to afford the luxury of leaving. Erin got dismissed from camp because they were without power too. Most of our street had power. A neighbor checked in with us daily and made offers for service frequently.

And this is my reminder: in the summer, when it's humid and hot and the power is out for days, an offer for air conditioning for sleeping or visiting is such a real kindness. A shower, laundry, a regular meal on regular plates in a home setting feels human. I was thankful for the shower at the gym (possibly ranked as the best shower of my life because of the circumstances!) and thankful for a meal from Chipotle. I was thankful for a fridge full of food (but we couldn't really do dishes unless it was cold water from a jug, so I was limited in what I could prepare--and all those box mixes and pastas did little good w/out an oven, running water, and full use of pans and utensils). 

Sometimes in life you learn to level up because of the excellent examples others provide. And sometimes you learn to level up because of disappointment. My level up takeaway: 

Invite a friend or family over for a meal or take them something easy and homemade. We are thankful to be able to provide for ourselves. We could have gotten a hotel room or eaten at restaurants frequently, but we do have dietary issues and pets, so we stayed home. The thing I missed most was access to running water, and ice. And I kind of missed kicking back and watching a show in the evening.

Offer access to washer/dryer. I am so thankful power came back on within a few days because we were going to head to the laundromat otherwise.

Schedule a hang out visit for friends and their kids.

Drop off bottled water and wipes to country neighbors who don't have access to water.

What could I do in the same boat--I offered another powerless neighbor access to the pool for buckets of water for their toilets. We are all well-and-septic out here, so when the power goes out, so does the water--and the toilets.

I do have a case of wipes now for any future emergencies, but also first-hand experience in knowing what is a blessing and a fresh reminder of how to be a blessing in a power outage. 

Our power is back on. The gratitude for a crew working at 2 am is still fresh on my heart, and I thank God for them. 

And still counting ... (16,941-16,998)

There's a saying, "What you focus on, you get more of." I'm not sure if it's entirely true, but certainly what you focus on, you notice more. 

Erin, her sense of style, the things she loves, how she eats mac-n-cheese with a chopstick, her thoughts about things

a mulched garden, a painted powder room, a cleaned counter, a good night's sleep in bed, a shopping day out with Erin

ice cream in little dishes, her experiences at camp--the time they served up whipped cream (you guys, it's whipped cream) on spoons and created special memories, a book read on the couch and bent pages to mark the funny spots, a book recommendation from someone at co-op, a card in the mail from Brooke

getting to see how she used the images for her son's graduation, blackberries and blueberries in a dish, baguette rounds in olive oil, memories of Linda, an occasional cool morning for a run

a strawberry milkshake with my girl after her foot procedure; how hugs still comfort a kiddo; gluten-free hamburger buns at Trader Joe's; containers of my very favorite organic, whole-milk, plain yogurt (European style); texts with my sister; July

serving at races, Lucy Gray (my favorite chicken) who helps me weed in the garden and stays next to me chatting the whole time, a root touch up, non-existant library fines, a new card

Erin at home, the memories she made, doctors who have same-day appointments, Janice, Kat

Marshall's Mom, bottled water, a fridge and freezer, ice cream on a hot day, the return of fluffy clouds

downed trees, power crews working at 2 am, my pillow, my bed, air conditioning

fresh water for the chickens, a nook for an outside sleep shelter, the showers at Planet Fitness, internet connection at the library, popsicles

his graying hair and white whiskers, laundry spinning, dogs in trucks and windows down, movie night as a family of four, a really good sleep in my bed and full (body) battery

clean floors, a plant in the bathroom, my first run after a week off

Day story

 July 2022

Outside my window, so many bunnies. They aren't even concerned with us. They hang out alongside the driveway as I run. One sometimes hops ahead of me for a while. They play in the back yard, the side yard, behind the pool. I've seen little baby bunnies duck under the leaves of hostas. They're really only munching on the grass, so I don't care that they're around. In fact, for the time being, it's sweet to see them outside.

Giving thanks that God is in control.

In the school room, stacks of books. Blankets to fold. Running shoes. Ladders. And other assortments of mess.

From the kitchen, an applesauce bread for breakfast for Erin, who is home for the weekend. Dinner, a yummy Greek chicken and rice dinner from a favorite cookbook.

I am thinking long about mental toughness. 75 Hard has me wrestling with the process. I basically doubled all the things I was doing: workouts, water, reading. I rarely drank alcohol, so that wasn't a great loss. And as for following a diet, I stuck to calorie counting, but even that can get abused by eating the wrong things. Was this really mental toughness? It is tiring at times. It is annoying at times. It is routine and ridiculous at times. But I thought about mental toughness--and nothing really prepares you for it better than the unexpected. Unexpected: A person who continues an action despite polite requests and reasons for them to stop (this has been showing up in my life lately--and the mental toughness comes in because the actions continue, an intentional trespass of real, defined boundaries. It is definitely a lesson in self-control.). Unexpected: A situation that courts trouble when you thought it was the safest place to be. Unexpected: The realization of the tension and divide between what one wants and what it is. And this--the comparison of my stats along with my running peers. These things all require mental toughness. To stand up and to honor at the same time. To hold onto hope and lean into understanding in tough situations. To learn how to hold disappointment and truth. To keep on with efforts no matter how they measure up to someone else's.

I don't want to forget any of it. All of this time of being a wife and mom. Did anything really matter before it? I love this family we created. I love how we've done life. I love where God has led us and how he's changed us. A blink ago she was chatting me on walks and through the stores, her little hand in mine. And sometimes still, despite periods of silence, she reaches for my hand. Sometimes still, she leans to be held. And I am thankful for this family. And now we have this old hound going blind and deaf, a punky pup always up for a game of ball, two cats and six chickens in the mix. It's a wonderful life.

I am reading Awaking Wonder by Sally Clarkson. About to crack open The Beauty Chasers by Timothy Willard. And I just ordered Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf after a glowing recommendation from a co-op friend. I have a huge stack of books I purchased I want to get to, as well as some that have been gathering dust on my bookshelves.

Around the house, while Erin has been away at camp, we got the garden mulched and I got several gallons of paint to refresh the rooms. It's been ten years since I've painted the kitchen and the powder room. The powder room was a shade called Ponytail that really reminded me of smoker's yellow. I told my neighbor how it felt like the house had a mind of its own and that when we painted some rooms, they looked the same as before we painted them. Now our bedroom does look different (it was once a yellow shade. Cindy's pallet was brown, yellow and green. Mine is gray and white.) Our bedroom is Balboa Mist, and so is the school room. And since Shane got a bit more than we needed, the powder room is too. Funny how the light hits it differently in these rooms, making the color look completely different. I love it in our bedroom and powder room. Not a huge fan of it in the school room, but at least it's unobtrusive. I'm changing the living room to it as well, since it will be lighter and brighter than the current color.

I value motherhood.

On the letterboard: Level up.

A view:

She was so brave!

I got a plant. I forget what it's called. Neon something-or-other.

So long smoker's yellow

Out with the old

Balboa Mist. So light and bright.

Getting it

Camp notes for my girl

Life in progress

At the table, drenched in the golden glow of the chandelier. A plate of baguette rounds sliced. A dish of olive oil with black pepper, red pepper, and a hit of salt. Bowls full with plump blackberries and coin-size blues--brings back memories of picking blueberries at the farm with the girls when they were little. And dipping the bread slices, Shane remembered out loud what I thought in silence, "This reminds me of Linda." We miss her. We remembered her with warmth and smiles. God, I miss her.