A Day in the Life... One Year Ago...

Funny how a date on the calendar can bring a flood of pictures to your mind! Full color movies of events long gone... Also funny how when you wake up in the morning, you can't possibly imagine the events of the next 24 hours - and that fact made that day, one year ago today, all the more amazing!

Pat and I were in Ouray, CO, in the midst of a trip to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary, and also to begin to make a solid plan for our retirement, which we envisioned to be in approximately two years.

It was crazy, but we decided to get up at 5 am on that vacation day to see a lift-off of hot air balloons. It was a short drive to the spot - and amazing to experience the chill of the dawn in the freshnes of the cool mountain air. Our new-found friends were to be married on the side of a mountain later in the day, but I'd be back in plenty of time to lace up the back the bride's gown, help with her flowers, and lift her train up into the 4x4 so she could get to the mountain cathedral where she'd make her vows in the presence of her beloved, their preacher, and a photographer. So that was how I thought the day would go.

The cosmos apparently had other plans. Before falling into bed exhausted that night, we had wrecked a car, killed a deer, crewed a balloon lift-off, flown in a hot-air balloon, had champagne to celebrate the balloon ride, become fast friends and shared a picnic breakfast with fellow novice crew members from Australia (more champagne!), helped with the wedding preparations, and finally shared a first toast with the newlyweds (champagne again!!!).

It was a good lesson in being open to the possibilities of a day, and a sobering realization that not much of life is 'plannable'. In the year since then, Pat has (to his and my surprise!) retired, some friends have died - big changes... and lesser surprises: like learning (sort of) to write a blog.

I guess my point is that we can plan days and even years ahead, and still, what will be will be. It evens out to a pretty good mix of humdrum and amazing, tragedy and joy. Sometimes - OK, all the time - I'm in complete awe of it all! I feel so lucky to be on this rollercoaster of Life. LIG.
(Just wish I could figure out how to comment on the comments on my own posts!)

Soup for the Soul

Ah, such a very busy day - paper work, phone calls, meetings - I wouldn't change a thing. For one thing, I was home a lot, and made soup, which always makes me feel good. It was Pat's favorite, Split Pea. At the end of the day, I took some to a friend who just lost her husband. Soup can't really make much of a difference in the face of wrenching, raw pain, I guess. But then again, maybe it can, and that's why we try. It was the kind of day that leaves you knowing that in spite of everything that points to the contrary, life is good.

Getting Started

Starting out is always the hardest part... Knowing what to say - Even if it doesn't really matter, it does, because all things eventually do. Or they don't matter at all - and that's the weird part about life, that it's a complete paradox. But Life is Good - and if you give me just a minute, I'll figure it out! I think I'm going to like this...