FRIENDS,
IT’s HOT THIS SUMMER!
Dear
Family and Friends,
I
awake to news on the radio it will be 102 here today, hotter than Redding yet
another day. Harder to sleep at
night, for it doesn’t cool off till way beyond midnight.
Plans that require thinking need to happen while the day is
young. So I’d like to share a bit
of yesterday, for it was a mixture of listening to longings, gentle
friendships, hanging in there when the weather is too darn hot to be outside
very much.
I
awoke with hopes of getting to the outdoor pool for the first time this summer;
it is only open for seniors now on Sunday mornings, 9-11. I’ve had an injured baby toe for
two weeks that throbs if I walk too much, so cool water and sunlight sound so
inviting.
I put on plenty of sunscreen, pack to go, water myself,
prepare my morning tea, and try to walk that balance between courage to get out
there and discretion, given the weather.
After
a light breakfast, I do get to the pool by 10:15, after my warm-up doing feldenkrais exercises in bed with
full-spectum lights-my pineal gland does need light to get going, and I have
windows only to the west, letting in little morning light.
The
pool feels delicious, and the swimmer in me begins her slow laps, so grateful
to finally be here, without the
noisiness and crowdedness of the YMCA pool; there I’ve been patiently building
stamina and balance, but it’s nothing like fresh open air, swimming in the sunshine before the day is too
hot. This may be my “worship” when
I am home in the Sundays ahead, for my body thrives on movement as well as good
company with kindred spirits. I
dry off after 8 laps, in the sunshine my too white body needs right now. Then I drive to church, catching the
coffee hour, missing the service, so I visit a bit, have some herbal tea and a
cookie (nothing healthy today) and drive to the Ashland Food Co-op for some
salad greens, a few cold deli items, and the weekly flyer of specials so I can
plan my grocery list for the week.
Home by 12:30 so I can crank up the fans, work on a hem for a camisole
to wear in this heat. I eat and
rest, then have a short but lovely visit
with my good friend Susan, a shaman spending this summer as park host at
Howard Prairie with her husband.
It’s 89 degrees there, and she is frazzled by the demands of the Sunday
check-out, for the campgrounds are very full Thurs-Sunday, with fewer duties,
less chaos and more quiet time Mon.-Wed.
The job is free rent, but no pay, so she works three caregiving shifts
in Ashland for some income. As a
former back-country park ranger, it’s still a shock to see so many folks who
leave trash, light fires when the fire danger is so high, and generally have
little respect for the beauty and needs of the land. I am her mail contact, and her son has sent her new debit
card, as the bank won’t let her get it in person. We hug after our 10 min visit, and she is off to caregive
and get groceries before dark. She
and Geno could take over the Emigrant Lake host duties, but that park has no
shade, so even without internet access (she works on line, too) it’s better to
stay where they are, much as it tries their patience. Folks go thee from the upper Rogue Valley, and the Ashland
types try to hang out at the Greensprings and Hyatt Lake areas, but being new
to camp hosting as a job, they don’t have seniority or they’d be on the coast in the summer.
I try
to rest again, and am awakened by a phone call from the fraud dept of my
bank; someone is using my debit
card number with a $1000 purchase
in Wisconsin, so the card is cancelled and I need to call the bank
today; thank goodness they are on their toes, and she had no idea how they got
my number but it needs to get changed as it is in bad hands. What a strange world we live in! Yes, there are still folks who steal in
strange ways out there.
Lindsay,
my caregiver for 4 weeks while Katt is in Spokane, gives me a hand with dinner,
clean-up, organizing the fridge.
I realize I shall miss her
lovely company, like having a 21 year old daughter drop by to lend a hand, and
then she’ll be returning to Tennessee for fall term. She helps me design and order business cards on vistaprint
for sharing with friends and letting folks know I wish to be a essential oils
and health care consultant for doTerra;
I believe in their products and am seeing results in only 6 weeks.
Lindsay is a graphic designer, so she can do this much
better than I can, and it saves me about $20 compared to the local print
shop. I weep after she leaves, for
in a short time we’ve become friends and I’ve enjoyed her company. Caregivers do move on, and when I
especially enjoy them, it’s sad to have them go.
This was a special day! Now
I need to attend to chores that need doing in the cool of the day, and prepare
for my annual recertification interview tomorrow, requiring lots of detail work
that is not my strength, but it’s necessary.
Hope you are dealing well with the
heat where you live. It was great
to have Katherine report we are okay being at the cabin on Aug. 11, as folks
are scheduled to be there the day before and the next day, so our timing is
good, and Kirt is likely to be there with his wife, as they knew mom well and
want to pay respects, too.
Blessings to you, and my yu find some goodness in your day, too! Love, Carol
