The Journey

 

I have walked on this earth but a few seasons

I do not compare to the mighty majestic mountains

Or the powerful waves of the oceans...

Many have lived before me

And many shall exist after me

But while I am here

And the path is clear

I shall continue

on the Journey.

 

copywrite Sandra McEwen July, 2007

 

My morning began as usual...performing the daily routine without thinking...making coffee...sitting on my lanai while I allowed the magic of caffeine to restore my body from the night's sleep.  The phone rang and it was my daughter Debby.  She announced with a hint of excitement to her voice that she and Jordan wanted to come visit me in August and would this be alright with me?  Alright...of course it is alright.  Immediately I felt the excitement that I caught in her voice ....the plans were made.  Debby and Jordan are arriving August 13th and will stay with me through the week.  I cannot wait.  The excitement has stayed with me all day.  They have not seen my condo other than the pictures I have shown them.  I can't wait for them to be here, to see where I live..to explore Florida with me.  Wekiva Springs Park is just down the road...I want to take them for a walk through the park.  It is beautiful and I know that they will both love it as I do.

So now I am in planning stage (laughing)...there will be some baking to do...meals to cook...film for the camera...my mind is a flurry and I am so happy.

Today was a wonderful day!!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I drove to Lowe's Garden Center with a mission.  Since moving to Florida, I have not planted any flowers that I have hand-picked to grow in my little flower garden outside of my Lanai.  It is hot today and as I walked down the rows of flowering plants that were on display, pushing my shopping cart, I wished that I had taken along a bottle of water to drink.  The sun bore down on me as I walked along the rows.  But I was not going to be deterred from my shopping.  I continued, carefully picking out a few pots of Begonias, Assorted colors of Periwinkle, and two large plants of Starry Wind and filling my shopping cart.  I came home from the Garden Center with the trunk of my Subaru loaded with beautiful flowering plants, as well as Sweet Potato Vine.  I planted my hand-picked flowers carefully along the front and side of the outside of my Lanai upon arriving home.  But not before I had poured myself a large glass of ice cold tea and drank all of it.  I felt a bit dehydrated, my head pounding from the heat when I had first arrived home, but the cold ice tea quickly replenished my thirsty body.   Cleo Cat sat lazily in the sun watching my every move as I dug into the soil and gently transplanted each flower from the pot into the earth.  The sun was hot upon my shoulders as I worked steadily in my little garden of Love.  Once the plants were all planted snuggly within the soil, I watered them  with my watering can and smelled the sweet scent of damp earth.  I had also bought two large bags of wild bird and waterfowl seeds, and I filled the hanging bird feeders that hang from the branches of the Magnolia tree.  I poured some of the cracked corn on the ground for the ducks and my Raccoon family that frequent the base of the Magnolia Tree.  I smiled as I saw the various footprints of the woodland deer that come each night and eat their fill of the cracked corn.  I felt content as the sweat beaded upon my brow.   I walked inside my condo, the cool air from the central air cooling my skin, as I  poured myself another tall glass of ice tea, tucking a slice of lemon inside the glass.   Cleo and I settled  into  my favorite chair on the Lanai as the sweet strains of Andre Bocelli played from the stereo...Today has been a beautiful Day...This Day of the Planting.

 

Yesterday I went over to Don and Lisa's house to celebrate the 4th of July.  I have always equated holidays with family and this was no exception.  I told them that I remembered last year at this time.  I had flown from Colorado to Florida for a visit over the 4th. and I had spent it with them watching the neighborhood celebration.  Don and my grandchildren were setting off the fireworks that he had bought ...and we all sat back out on the lawn and watched the festivities.  We grilled hamburgers and drank beer and laughed together.  This 4th was again full of our laughter.  We sipped wine and I looked at the pictures that Don and Lisa had taken while in Italy.  I was amazed at  the beauty...the history of the country that they captured through the lens of the camera.  Italy is an old country with history that dates back long before the birth of Christ.  America, on the other hand,...the United States is young and our history in our country pales in comparison to the old buildings and statues and churches of Italy that I saw in the pictures that they had taken in Italy.

The night wore on and We spoke of how we missed one important element this year in our celebration.  Their children, my grandchildren...Micah, Alec and Katie were not with us here in Florida.  They are staying with their Grandparents in Colorado until the 15th when they fly back to Florida.  We missed them terribly as we talked.  The wine flowed...the conversation was great, and we enjoyed our time together...  as the evening drew to a close,  I kissed my Don and Lisa goodbye. ...and on the drive home I thought about the significance of this day.  It was exactly two months ago on this date that my brother Larry departed this earth.  Two months have flown by...it still seems as tho it was only yesterday.  Infact, one year ago this date, was when Don, Lisa and I first seriously talked about moving to Florida, and shortly thereafter the decision was made to make the move.    I watched the fireworks display all around me as I drove from Don and Lisa's home to my condo.  I sat out on my lanai, sipping ice tea last night and I watched my neighbors celebrate the night with their display of fireworks that lit up the sky and reflected upon the mirror surface of the lake.  I felt peace within.

It is America's Holiday...the 4th of July.  It is a day when families draw near to one another.  Picnics and food abound.  Laughter is heard far into the night over the sound of the deep booming of the roman candles that flash across the heaven decorating the sky with bright splashes of reds and blues and greens and purples and gold.

 And the real history of Independence Day is sometimes lost in our celebrations with our families.  And so I leave you with this bit of history that follows:  Happy Fourth Of July!

 Independence Day in the U.S., is an annual holiday commemorating the formal adoption by the Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia. Although the signing of the Declaration was not completed until August, the Fourth of July holiday has been accepted as the official anniversary of U.S. independence and is celebrated in all states and territories of the U.S.

The holiday was first observed in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776, at which time the Declaration of Independence was read aloud, city bells rang, and bands played. It was not declared a legal holiday, however, until 1941. The Fourth is traditionally celebrated publicly with parades and pageants, patriotic speeches, and organized firing of guns and cannons and displays of fireworks; early in the 20th century public concern for a "safe and sane" holiday resulted in restrictions on general use of fireworks. Family picnics and outings are a feature of private Fourth of July celebrations.

It is Sunday.  I awoke early this morning.  This is Sunday, the "Seventh Day" when God rested and saw that it was good.  I baked Don's favorite dessert...Rhubarb Crunch.  It turned out perfect.  I tidied up the house, changed the bed linens so that when they arrive home tonight, tired from the long flight from Mulan Italy...they can crawl into freshly washed sheets.
I made a fresh pitcher of ice tea, and am leisurely relaxing...waiting till it is time to drive to the airport to pick them up. 
I have missed them so.  I am glad to have them home once again in the United States..  When my children or grandchildren are away, I feel a bit "unbalanced"...I don't mind it when they are still here in the States...it is as tho they "aren't so far away"...it is when they have gone abroad, that I feel the separation more acutely.  I wonder if all creatures feel this "separation" when their chicks have spread their wings and flown from the nest?   I am certain it must be so.
The Patio tomatoes are filling the vines...I cannot wait for Don and Lisa to see their plants.  They will be so excited to have fresh tomatoes with their salads.
These things I talk about...they are mundane to Life...yet they are the tiny moments to savor in one's daily life.
Nestle Dog has bonded with me.  She follows me everywhere, sitting curled at my feet when I stop to rest.  She is truly a good dog and she has been so enjoyable (with the exception of the barking episode the first few nights I was here, when Rocky Balboa the Raccoon would make his nightly visits to her dog food storage bin (sigh).   I am so thankful that Nestle whispered in my ear the solution to the problem...all is well now, and I have rested wonderfully since purchasing the new storage food bin and new dog bowls for Nestle.  Rocky Balboa continues his nightly visits outside of the Lanai patiently unscrewing the dog bowl lid off of the old storage food bin and helping himself to the dog food I left behind for him...it gives me a great sense of satisfaction knowing that each morning when I find the old bin open....that Rocky has feasted well.
The week end will soon end...Fourth of July to be celebrated this coming Wednesday.  I have made no particular plans for the Fourth.  I will see what shall come my way...perhaps an evening on my Lanai to watch the fireworks reflect from the golf course upon my lake with Cleo Cat curled upon my lap...a nice lovely Merlot to sip upon.  We shall see....
I don't make that many plans any more...I take each day as it arrives...I see what happens...and view it through the eyes of a child...with wonderment and awe....
May It Be...