Facebook is filled with posts and images of children transitioning from one stage in life to another. There are the little ones who are going to pre-school for the first time. Their moms’ are both excited and nervous. Then there are the new middle schoolers and high school students. Perhaps the most touching of all are the young men and women who are going away for college. Their mamas are remembering the times that they held their babies in their arms and when they folded their baby clothes. Suddenly without warning childhood has ended and the babies are ready to spread their wings and work toward becoming totally independent from their parents. I sometimes wonder if the uncertainties of leaving home are more difficult for the mothers than they are for the young people who see the unknown as a well earned adventure. Life is suddenly very different and no matter how well everyone has prepared for the changes, they take all by surprise.
I remember driving my eldest daughter, Maryellen, to the University of Texas in Austin. At first I kept busy helping her set up her dorm room but when it came time to drive away and leave her on campus my heart almost burst open. I hid the tears that were forming in my eyes until Mike had driven far enough away that she would not see. Then the dam that had been holding back my emotions burst. I sobbed for at least an hour. I couldn’t imagine how I was going to wake up each morning and not see her face or go to sleep each night not knowing that she was safely tucked in. I eventually adjusted just as all parents do. I understood that it was in her best interests to begin to move away from me. Her confidence in her own abilities was proof that I had done a good job as a parent. It is the nature of life for our young ones to slowly but surely progress into their adult roles. If my daughter had never left my home I would have had more to worry about than when she made that important leap into the adult world. Nonetheless, those first days and weeks and months without Maryellen in my home were some of the most distressing of my life. As a good mom I of course never let her know just how emotional I was feeling. Continue reading “Transitions”
The sun rises early on Storm Mountain. About five in the morning the first hints of light peek in through the window. Within thirty minutes the sky is aglow with a gorgeous show of pinks, oranges, and yellows in the east. Just in case everyone is sleeping so peacefully in the cool mountain air that they don’t awaken in time to see this glorious start to a new day, a local rooster announces that it is time to rise and shine. Other than the sweet crowing of his cock-a-doodle-do there is no other sound in the little valley encircled by rocky peaks. It is a glorious way to begin the cycle of life anew. The air is clean and invigorating. Anything seems possible in this lovely place. 
I saw a headline for a news story the other day that read, “Biker’s Poop Starts Wildfire.” Of course I had to read the journalistic feature to find out how this had possibly happened. I felt hoodwinked by the time I had finished the last sentence. It seems that a man was biking in an isolated area. He had a call of nature, specifically for a number two. Since there was nobody around he took a nice dump complete with cleaning himself with toilet paper that he had brought along just in case. Not knowing exactly what to do with the used paper he decided to burn it. Unfortunately the area was so dry that the tissue became a fire starter, quickly spreading and causing an out of control fire. 
There was a boy who lived in Nigeria in a small village. He was very bright and he had big dreams. He longed to attend the university and to study to become an engineer. He and like minded friends learned that they must take physics in high school to qualify for admission to the program. Sadly there was no physics class at the boy’s school. There were no instructors qualified to teach such a course. The boy and his friends were disappointed but they were not defeated. They heard that there was a man in the next village who had once been a physics teacher. They decided to seek him out and ask him for help.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 