I’m headed back home after being in DC this past week. I finally have a bit of time to myself to reflect on the past couple of weeks (actually months) and I find myself wondering where in the world the time went. How could it already be the first week of February? This makes me think about what I have traded my days for.
“Hi Mama! It’s nice to finally see your beautiful face!” (picture credit to Auntie Taylor)
I’ve got one hour. One hour before the entire year of 2014 is in the history books.
I was going to post pictures of our first day of the three we spent in the mountains but something else felt like it needed to be shared.
This morning, I woke up to the news that Kate Middleton was pregnant again. About an hour later, Jamie texted me, “Kate Middleton is having another baby. Parallel lives.”
I loved Princess Diana. I think that weird sort of love for her and her life was because she and I were so close in age. I always thought it was sort of “cool” to think about how similar we were and yet so very, very different. She was a Princess, for crying out loud! We continued our parallel lives with our weddings and babies (my two older girls). I was devastated when I learned of her death on Sunday, August 31, 1997. The girls and I were sitting in the little Lutheran Church in Jordan when it was announced. I remember the immediate sick feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach. How could this be? I felt like I had lost a good friend.
Years later, the parallel lives continue with Jamie and Prince William. Married the same month/same year (April 2011), 1st baby within months of each other (2013) and now pregnancy #2 at the same time. Parallel lives.
Poor Kate! I feel so sorry for her – for anyone who is so sick with their pregnancy that it feels like it would be easier to die. I know.
Yesterday, Jim and I spent most of the day inside the Cottage. Well…maybe I should say I did. Jim, on the other hand, started doing some of the going-home chores that he normally does AFTER we finish cutting. Things like change oil in the pickups, grease whatever needs greased and preparing for the 900+ mile trip “home, home”.
It was about 4:30 when he walked through the door and announced he was going to take a trip out to the combine. That trip is about 40 miles. “Give me a second to finish what I’m doing and I’ll ride along”, I said. It didn’t take me long to finish typing what I was typing, shut off the internet, throw on my shoes and walk out the door.
Gosh, it felt good to get out of there and head back down the roads that we had been travelling daily until the rains began just a week ago today (Friday). The day was beautiful and the sky seemed extra blue and clear. Once we got just west of Jordan, I noticed it…the color green. It was only seven days ago the color was brown. The desert had come to life after that life-giving rain we had. Jordan was blessed with about half her normal year’s rainfall in just two days.
I began my day with sweat pants and a sweatshirt. (and sprinkles) It was July 2nd, for crying out loud!
I think it was well after noon when I finally decided the Cottage was warm enough I could put my shorts on. Who would have ever guessed? Just one more for the crazy weather of summer wheat harvest 2014!
Due to the early morning moisture and cool, cloudy conditions, there wasn’t any wheat cut. Jim did try it but it was over 15%. And that was later in the day.
So, how did we spend our day? Well, first off, Jenna showed up!! Woo hoo!! It’ll be so good to have her around for a few days. The time will go fast – it always does. I find myself thinking about different events that have happened within the past couple of years and I just can’t believe how crazy fast the times go. I hope there is something that comes from all these events and happenings because when I reflect, I think about the reasons and the purpose of being here at this exact time. I pray that what I’m doing is the reason I was placed right here, right now. Will I have done all that I was supposed to? Did I teach my kids all they should know to survive this crazy world? Will I be allowed to be a large part of my grandkids’ life? So many crazy things I find myself thinking about that I never even would have considered several years ago. Guess this comes with age, right?
As I’m typing this, the pitter patter of rain is hitting the Cottage roof and I can hear thunder every once in awhile.
We were able to finally get started after lunch today. It had been over a week since the first storm rolled in. Today we cut on a piece that was under a pivot but wasn’t yielding as well as we had hoped. It certainly wasn’t the typical irrigated wheat yields for this area. I’m guessing the late season freezes probably had something to do with that. And…it didn’t help that it had hail pounding it a couple of nights ago. There were broken heads laying on the ground and wheat that had shattered. It looked like it was only going to make about 15 bushels per acre. The quality was still really good – over 60 pound test weight. Just not very much of it.
I was reminded today just how fast something can change.
This morning, we noticed Bub (the cat) was out of the dog pen. We figured he was small enough to go through the fence but he hadn’t figured that out – until this morning. I had done all I could to plug each gaping hole along the sides of the pen with anything that would work. I was told the dog could be locked in the pen but how fair was that? We were the visitors. Why should he have to do something out of the ordinary?
So, I quickly scooped him up before the dog saw him, took him back to the pen and closed up any hole that looked like may have been big enough for him to get through. And then I saw it – he went right through the fence. Well, this was a problem. How in the world would I keep him in now? My only hope was that he would kick into survival mode if that dog spotted him and began the chase.
We had just poured some coffee and was “fixing” to have a cinnamon roll when I heard it – Bub’s cry. I went outside to see what was going on only to witness him in the dog’s mouth. I rescued him but it was too late. It’s been a rough day! If you haven’t been following my blog for long, you may not know about Bub. He was rescued by a neighbor and brought to my house when he was about 2 weeks old. I bottle fed him and fell in love with him. There’s a picture of him in my last post, “just tinkering”.
I find it rather ironic that we’re being told of the seriousness of today’s weather. Ironic because it was 34 years ago today – on a Tuesday – that changed my Grandparent’s lives forever.
I remember Grandma talking about this home when it was brand new. I don’t know what year it was built but it was outside of the Grand Island city limits. The house still stands at 2204 South Locust in Grand Island, NE. But on the night of June 3, 1980, all future memories in that house came to a complete halt.
This morning, I had to make a trip to the University of NE Med Center for blood work. Nothing serious, nothing to worry about, just a routine checkup. When I arrived at the diagnostic center, I was met with a full house. The place was completely full of sick and hurting people. There was one chair left so, of course, I took it. The man I sat next to began a simple conversation.
He had a friendly face but a sadness hung there. We began our conversation with just the friendly usual…weather, politics, etc. We eventually dug a little deeper and I found out he came here every week. “I have bone cancer, and hepatitis C and …” I immediately felt guilty for sitting next to this man. I was here just to have blood drawn.
He talked – I listened. He threw in the, “but it’s all a part of God’s plan”. I knew then that the chair that was left was also a part of God’s plan. I came here this morning with a heavy heart. Why? Because my “problems” seemed so large. After talking with my new friend, I realized I have NO WORRIES!
My new friend was dealing with a hole and the hole was getting larger. The medical bills had forced him to sell everything but his pickup. He has a home but he’s 3 months behind. He can’t get a job because of his medical history. He’s trying to stay on top of utilities. Obamacare would cost more than his house payment. So he was literally taking one day at a time.
He started to cry. “I understand why so many people commit suicide”, he tells me.
My heart hurt for this man. So I prayed for him. I’ll never see him again but he knows he’s in the hands of the One who can help him. For this I am thankful. God bless you, Michael! And…thank you, God, for that divine appointment this morning!
April has whizzed on past and has left me wondering where the time goes!
HAPPY MAY DAY – well, a little late.