Good News!

The past wee while has been pretty emotional for me. It's been personally and professionally topsy-turvy. In stressful times it's helpful to read things like Transitions by William Bridges (thanks, DK) to remind myself that I'm not the only one dealing with the up and down-heavals of life.

Change is afoot again for me and, though I feel some trepidation about it, I am excited and know it's a good thing. I think a combination of conscious decision making and having faith that things will work themselves out will make this a positive transition.

I've fallen off the wagon a bit with this blog-thing, but I have been missing the regular exercise of writing and want to challenge myself to post more often again.

For a while I've had the idea to have a good news newspaper. The Foundation for Public Life took that idea long ago, but I think a saturation of good news isn't a problem at all.

Here's some good news to whet your palate:

-So much publicity has been given to the negative effects of the current economic situation, but a few positives include reduced garbage usage and an increase in public transportation usage.

-Scientists just found well-preserved 1.5 million year old footprints of one of our early human relatives. In addition, there are other well-preserved critter prints that can help us learn more about long ago life.

-President Obama is actually trying to do something about effecting positive change.

-One of my students told me yesterday that before this year she hated coming to school, hated reading and hated writing. Then she informed me that she loves all three now and didn't want to stop for lunch because she was having too much fun in class!

Mach's gut, liebe Happy

Happy Warren. Dirndl-donner. 1936 Berlin Olympics translater. Smith College graduate. German, Latin, Spanish, French, English, teacher. Lifelong learner. Mother. Grandmother. Great-grandmother. Adopted grandmother. Nurturer. Gardener. Laugher. Talker. Inspiration.

I don't know if I appreciated Happy as fully as I do now when I was younger. Some part of me must've known it was pretty special for a 73 year old lady to volunteer her time teaching German at my elementary school. And then to take those rowdy 8th graders to Germany on her own! What a ride it's been knowing Happy. What a positive influence and true member of my family she's become. I am so blessed to have known her.

From picking plums in her yard to singing Edeleiss songs, from searching for cuckoo clocks in Nuernberg to celebrating Oktoberfest in Leavenworth and so much more, Happy has been a wonderful friend, teacher, and adopted grandma to me.

I loved going to her house and signing her tablecloths on special occasions, looking at the newest Christmas cards posted from her friends around the world, seeing her latest photos of family and friends plastered around her eclectic rooms, checking my progress on the height chart in her kitchen. I relished her annual Christmas update and eating her fudge and sipping red zinger tea while practicing German at Stammtisch. And when I couldn't visit in person, I have learned to relish the phone calls that continue even after we've said goodbye. "Isn't she a sweetheart for calling? What a nice surprise! Wait 'til I tell her mother."

It's been hard to see some of the physical changes that have occurred in the last 20 years or so that I've known her--the hunchback, the hearing loss, the macular degeneration and of course the wretched fall--but despite it all and even amidst the full brunt of the storm, Happy's essence has remained. How could anyone remain so cheerful, so calm, so alert during a painful fall in her driveway? She even invited the paramedics to her 90th birthday party!

Riding in the ambulance was so upsetting for me, so frightening. And I fear the day that I have to say goodbye to Happy forever. But she faces everything with ease. Even in the twilight of her years, she continues to teach me, to inspire and enrich my life. Knowing her helps ease my fear of growing older as I see how she's done it with grace and dignity beyond imagination. If I have even a portion of her enthusiasm, her awareness, her knowledge, curiosity, and zest for life at the age of 88--I will be a lucky woman. She will truly shine in the heavens as a life light.

I wrote this 4 years ago. That sad, dreaded day has finally come. Knowing that the end was inevitable, I've been trying to prepare myself for Happy's departure from this world for the last few years. But my first reaction today was, "But I didn't expect it to happen so soon!" I have to laugh at that. She was 92 and two days shy of one month when she passed away this morning. In my mind, the length of her long life and my lifetime combined wouldn't be long enough to keep Happy around.

Though I'm devastated that Happy is no longer with us, her positive thinking and attitude of facing things with ease are comforting and help me draw strength. May her spirit live on in all of us.

Auf Wiedersehen, Happy. Ich werde dich immer lieben.

Louisa Fox "Happy" Warren--December 18, 1916 - January 16, 2009

Holiday Hues and Blues

This past fall has been tremendously different than expected. It seems like every day lately has yielded something entirely different than I'd thought would happen. I suppose the lesson continues to be to go with the flow and not to have any expectations. Change is one of the only things that is a constant in life.

The weather here in the Pacific Northwest has been tremendously different than usual these past couple of weeks. Our entire last week of school before winter break was cancelled due to the conditions. John and I were extremely disappointed that our trip to Wisconsin to see his parents and some good friends had to be cancelled. And then just today, my family had to cancel their trip to see us for the holidays due to yet another storm.

In all of this disappointment, I'm really trying to keep my spirits up. Our tree looks gorgeous, we've made some tasty cookies, I'm getting a lot of knitting done, and we're making the most of the snow by cross-country skiing literally out our garage. Here are some pics. Enjoy the holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving (AKA: Getting in touch with my kid self again)

Though my posts have been sporadic
My thoughts are always there
Today's the day to stop and say
I love you and I care

Every day should be like that
I should express my love more often
But today is set aside for that
A full day for thoughts to soften

So any loyal readers out there
Thanks for sticking by
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving
And enjoy that slice of pie!

Fall Back, Spring Forward

1-Hi-ho and Happy Halloween from Kermit the Frog.

2-John and MK at Deception Pass.

3-The view from our cottage near Freeland, WA.

4-John and MK in the pumpkin patch.

5-Trees ablaze in Boulevard Park, Bellingham.

Don't forget, tonight marks daylight savings... Yay, one more hour to sleep in (except that I can already predict a certain hungry cat will pounce upon me at the crack of dawn).

It's been awhile, and it's been busy around here. Some of it has been fun, some of it has been less so. The fall colors are glorious. I had no idea there were so many deciduous trees around Bellingham. The yellows are especially striking. I'll look up the hillside and see golden streaks interspersed among the greens. They look especially flattering next to the bay blues, too. Finally I stopped today to take some photos at Boulevard Park. The sun wasn't out, but you can see Bellingham in a more typically grey state. I know already I'll miss those fall colors when they're gone. I'm trying to prepare for a long, dark winter. It amazes me how dark it's getting already. Just a little bit further north makes quite a bit of difference.

October was a fun month. I celebrated my 33rd birthday and got to do some of my favorite fall activities--apple and pumpkin picking. John and I also snuck away to Seattle to visit some friends, and we made a short getaway trip to nearby artist and farming meeca, Whidbey Island.

Work has been stressful for both of us and I think we're really looking forward to a bit of a break around the holidays. We're still feeling pretty rootless, and I'm hoping we'll be able to have some more friend and family contact over the next few months.

Lummi at it

Ahh...another necessary relaxing weekend. I spent all of yesterday afternoon reading New Yorkers in bed with a cup of tea, a candle, a folksy cd, and my kitty. Bliss...

Today we strapped the bikes on top of the car and ventured out to Lummi Island. The island is one of the San Juans, and is a mere five minute ferry ride from the mainland. There are some permanent residents and lots of vacation cabins, but it's largely wild and free. It afforded us some amazing views of the water and other islands. It's too bad we didn't have the camera, but here's a link with some nice photos: www.lummi-island.com

We nearly circumnavigated Lummi on our bikes in an hour and a half. We'll have to head back to jaunt off to the southern arm, where some friendly Canadians told us there was a "recreational subdivision". A whoosit? Sorry, I guess I don't speak Canadianese. I'm guessing it's a planned community of some sort.

The island reminded us SOOOOOOOOOO much of New Zealand, especially Stewart Island. At one point I suggested only half-heartedly that we might wind up seeing a kiwi. It made us Aoteoroa-sick.

Hikers and Bikers

1-A sun-misty forest morning in the Chuckanuts.
2-John and MK arrive at Fragrance Lake.
3-Fragrance Lake.
4-So still...
5-Stuck in the motorcycle rally.

John and I had a rare and much-needed weekend of togetherness and relaxation this past weekend. He traded his call away this weekend so we will have more of the same.

Anyhoo, we decided to take advantage of the fantastic weather on Sunday and we went for a short (5 miles roundtrip) nearby hike along Chuckanut Rd. Chuckanut is a stunning, narrow, scenic drive that hugs that bay for miles and miles. It is framed by gorgeous trees, many of which are just on the cusp of losing their leaves for fall. It is breathtaking.

Our hike was to Fragrance Lake, which is a charming mountain lake that was so still it was mirror-like the day we were there. It was refreshingly accessible and we were rewarded with spectacular lookouts along the way. The only drawback was the occasional rumble of motorcycles en route.

Just for the record, I DON'T GET THE MOTORCYCLE THING! I've noticed more and more of 'em creeping into town and the environs. That was bad enough. But on this particular day I opted to show John where I'd gone on a recent bike ride. I drove him through quaint little towns and fields in Skagit County to retrace my steps, er, wheels. We stopped for a picnic and walk along the beach on Samish Island. It was pretty idyllic...UNTIL we came back through the town of Edison and encountered the full-on Oyster Run motorcycle rally. You'll note how we're the ONLY four-wheeled vehicle in sight. I made John take this photo. We were afraid we were about to get pounced upon. Fortunately, we survived.

Other than that, what's new in my newness list. Have I mentioned yet here how I'm pledging to become more kid-like again? The students at school are helping that one along. I'm having a ball with them. The school's a bit of chaotic fun and craziness trying to get everything established, but I'm loving the girls I'm teaching. Their enthusiasm is certainly contagious.