Father and Daughter

On Sunday the Steelers were playing, and my two biggest fans plopped and watched the action unfold.

As a fifth grader, Kiahra attended her first game at the Pittsburgh stadium with her dad, and she has been a fiercely loyal fan ever since.

A teenage daughter and her dad sharing their team spirit in their matching jerseys!

Right outside my window this morning, a little hummingbird flitted to and fro.

As I stood and watched, I couldn't help but dream of my children flitting out of bed and heading off to school as quickly.

Well, I would be pleased at even just an eighth of that speed.

Alas, no hummingbird speed here...but everyone did make it school!

TGIF

"Take Me Home, Country Roads"

When I was very young, I loved riding in my grandfather's ol' pickup truck.  It had a great seat--with 'real' coiled springs that always guaranteed a fun ride across the bumpy fields and country roads.  My brother and I would bounce along in sheer delight!

A layer of South Dakota prairie dust coated everything in this old farm truck with the big steering wheel.  With the windows rolled down, the scent of the farm drifted in...though I was always partial to freshly cut alfalfa.  And my grandfather had his ol' radio carefully tuned into the nearest AM station...KBFS.  Of course, old country tunes came through those speakers.

And it was on the freeway in 6 lanes of rush hour traffic, that this memory so vividly flooded over me.  I was listening to Sirius, and I had tuned into old country music (primarily to try to slow down my emotional pace to avoid the inevitable frustration), and the songs were as old as that old truck.

And instead of sitting on the California freeway, I was nestled between my grandparents in that ol' truck driving down the dirt roads of the family farm listening to my grandfather talk about the crops as his elbow rested on the open window.  He would point out the occasional jack rabbit all while I was patiently waiting for the next bump to catch a good bounce.

A Rather Blustery Day

Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily
And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it's rather safe to say
That it seems that it may turn out to be
It feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today
It sounds that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
Looks like a rather blustery day today

~Winnie-the-Pooh

Far far away...where I grew up, it is a blustery day.  I remember blustery days--and I didn't always embrace it as Pooh does.  

But today I would exchange my calm, sunshiny, 85 degree day for the blustery day.  

Because today my sister is getting married, and like any good country girl she wanted to embrace the outdoors for her wedding--like a farmer gambling on the weather.  It is in her blood.  

But what she doesn't know as her frustration mounts this morning is that is will all be okay--even if she gets married in the old farmhouse that has been in the family for almost a century.  

In life very few things go as planned, and like Winnie-the-Pooh just rolling along with it is often the best.  

From far far away I sit here wishing I could share her blustery day...wishing I could see her beautiful face...wishing I could hear my nephew strumming on his guitar

...wishing my sister the best on her wedding the day.

End of an era

Thirty years ago my father brought home the lumber to build a bunk bed.  I remember my anticipation as I watched him measuring and sawing.  Slowly (in my child's mind) the bed was finished, and soon I was an excited twelve year old girl sleeping in my new bed with a younger sister below.  I think we may have even been snuggled under Smurf bedspreads!

Eventually, I traded the bunk bed for a dorm bed when I went off to college, but the dorm never compared to my cozy bed at home.

As the years rolled by I found myself with two beautiful little girls whose brother would be arriving soon.  I asked about the old bunk bed, and soon it was delivered to my Montana door!

We have carried that bed around the country for years.

Now the two girls are big.  My littlest girl is growing fast, and I decided it was time to update the ol' bunk bed to a twin bed.

The bunk bed that solidly and proudly bore its scars of love came down for the last time.  We carried it into the garage.

Within a day, a young couple with two little girls came to pick up the bed.

And I wonder if it once again will become a fortress of adventures.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers remind me of my rural roots...of a little farm girl curious how sunflowers could follow the sun throughout the day.  Then at the end of the day the giant heads would bow as if in prayer.

Sunflowers and the vibrant leaves of autumn mark my favorite time of year.

Except it really doesn't arrive here in California, so I sulk throughout the fall waiting for the world to change color....waiting in my kitchen to warm the crisp air with a simmering pot of soup...waiting to curl up in a blanket with a good book.

Nostalgic, I snatch up fresh cut sunflowers at the farmer's market instead.

Keenly aware that Sunday afternoon drives in the Black Hills are irreplaceable.

Keenly aware that yesterday on my Sunday afternoon we were only several minutes behind the freeway shooting.

Keenly aware I am homesick.