It's true. I am 35 years old today. Kind of weird. I handled the transition fine, exept for one small moment. At 10:30 Saturday night, someone mentioned that I only had an hour and a half to be young. I was tired and wanted to go to bed, but all of the sudden I felt like I should quick be doing something fun! Anyway, I ignored the urge and went to sleep before midnight, wasting at least a good half an hour of my youth.
I had a good weekend of camping with our church. It was a good way to spend my birthday weekend. On the way down to the campground, Kendall gave me a great birthday gift- an eBook reader! It's like practically my first cool gadget ever! Well, not exactly, but maybe the coolest thing I've ever owned. And it fits me so well because I LOVE TO READ.
Random things from the weekend:
-Cinnamon rolls with birthday candles this morning- Thanks Glenda!
-A cool, refreshing (cold) bucket of water poured over me- Thanks young women whom I attempt to guide in good paths. Obviously I've failed. (Just kidding- they're awesome.)
-Playing a really fun game in which teams chose cardboard pieces, duct tape and random junk and had 45 minutes to build a boat which they then raced in the lake.
-A spur-of-the-moment spa complete with pedicures.
-Playing Lawn Dutch Blitz (thanks for the cards, Kendra). There were 2 individuals in particular that you really had to watch out for in this game or you would be trampled. But if you kept your guard up, you were fine. :)
-2 boys who played hard all day, then were more than willing to collapse into bed at night.
-Having everyone sing Happy Birthday to me. In the absence of candles, anyone with a lighter was asked to light it and let me blow it out.
-Our camper was so squeaky, I was embarrassed just crawling around in it making the bed!
-There is a close forest fire and Friday was very smoky around here, so I (wisely) took our computer and the safe with important documents inside along to the campground. I didn't want there to be an evacuation while we were down there and not be able to get back up to Red Lake! No evacuation was necessary and tomorrow it's supposed to rain. I was rather sheepish about being so (wisely) prepared, but later found out I wasn't the only one who did this!
The boys had a great weekend. We gave them firm boundaries and then let them roam. Eli said tonight that one of his favorite things was that the kids could do their own thing so much. They had their bikes and there wasn't much traffic. They loved it. We're spoiled right now. Eli and Evan are at a great age for camping. They are pretty independent and usually obey the boundaries we give them, so we can relax a lot more than we could have a couple years ago. Really, the main things they needed from us were meals, bedtime and supervision at the beach. Oh- and love, of course. Other than that, they were having a blast with their pseudo-cousins.
Oh yeah, when we got home, we were wearily putting things away, I opened the refrigerator door and lo and behold! There was a platter of delicious cheesecake setting there waiting for me! Thanks to my new-ish friend, Parla!
Too bad, I'm not good at pulling out the camera. Sorry, Grandparents. I'll snag some from facebook when I can.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao-tzu
July 1, 2008
This journey so far has taken me one thousand and four miles from my hometown, but I’m having trouble putting my finger on the single step that began it all. Was it Monday afternoon at the border when they gave me my official document allowing me to pass? Was it Saturday morning when we started the car and drove out of Goshen in our funny little caravan? Was it in February when we came up to Red Lake for a job interview at the hospital? Was it two Christmases ago being up here with Kendall’s family and all of us rating our desire to live up here? (I can’t say my number on a scale of 1 – 100 was high, but it was the highest of all the in-laws, so I guess I’m the chosen one.) Was it three years ago almost to the day that Kendall first said, “What if we’d move up here?” (I tried to ignore that one for several months, thinking surely it would go away.) Or was it June 10, 2000 when I married Kendall and made some solemn promises before God and all these witnesses? Was it a night before Kendall and I were married when we talked about moving to Red Lake? (It was a far off and romantic possibility at that time.) Or was it living in and visiting different cultures at different times in my life? Could the first step have been when my parents brought me as a baby to this same area for a year of voluntary service? (Kendall wasn’t born yet, but I surely saw his parents as they chatted with mine from time to time.) What about when my dad lived on a nearby reserve for two years before he was married? Or when my mom visited this town with her family as a teenager? Or maybe it had something to do with choices my grandparents made? Or other ancestors farther back?
At any rate, moving into this house where I slept for a few weeks as a baby and where my dad stayed as a teenager, has made me very aware of roots. And how they affect our lives and choices and passions.
I suspect there is no single step that began our move a thousand miles away from Indiana. It seems, rather, to be a coming together of so many different factors. (Not the least of which is marrying a man who has taken this land as a very part of his being. And for all the ways I can tease him and get annoyed at some of his woodsman ways, I really do mean that in a reverent and respectful way.)
So here we are, a thousand miles from nowhere. (Oops…I meant a thousand miles from Goshen.) I know that we safely made the journey here, but mostly our journey is just beginning. And mostly I’m excited.
This journey so far has taken me one thousand and four miles from my hometown, but I’m having trouble putting my finger on the single step that began it all. Was it Monday afternoon at the border when they gave me my official document allowing me to pass? Was it Saturday morning when we started the car and drove out of Goshen in our funny little caravan? Was it in February when we came up to Red Lake for a job interview at the hospital? Was it two Christmases ago being up here with Kendall’s family and all of us rating our desire to live up here? (I can’t say my number on a scale of 1 – 100 was high, but it was the highest of all the in-laws, so I guess I’m the chosen one.) Was it three years ago almost to the day that Kendall first said, “What if we’d move up here?” (I tried to ignore that one for several months, thinking surely it would go away.) Or was it June 10, 2000 when I married Kendall and made some solemn promises before God and all these witnesses? Was it a night before Kendall and I were married when we talked about moving to Red Lake? (It was a far off and romantic possibility at that time.) Or was it living in and visiting different cultures at different times in my life? Could the first step have been when my parents brought me as a baby to this same area for a year of voluntary service? (Kendall wasn’t born yet, but I surely saw his parents as they chatted with mine from time to time.) What about when my dad lived on a nearby reserve for two years before he was married? Or when my mom visited this town with her family as a teenager? Or maybe it had something to do with choices my grandparents made? Or other ancestors farther back?
At any rate, moving into this house where I slept for a few weeks as a baby and where my dad stayed as a teenager, has made me very aware of roots. And how they affect our lives and choices and passions.
I suspect there is no single step that began our move a thousand miles away from Indiana. It seems, rather, to be a coming together of so many different factors. (Not the least of which is marrying a man who has taken this land as a very part of his being. And for all the ways I can tease him and get annoyed at some of his woodsman ways, I really do mean that in a reverent and respectful way.)
So here we are, a thousand miles from nowhere. (Oops…I meant a thousand miles from Goshen.) I know that we safely made the journey here, but mostly our journey is just beginning. And mostly I’m excited.
3 comments:
that sounds like a great birthday weekend, karen! i'm glad you enjoyed it. i can't believe you got a bucket of water dumped over your head! hopefully that doesn't convince the boys to up the ante, moving beyond putting ice cubes down peoples' backs! ;)
Love the reflections, Karen! Mom
Glad my Dutch Blitz cards are still being put to good use. =) Camp-out sounds like a lot of fun. Wish I could've been there!
Happy birthday a few days late.
Kendra
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