Wednesday, January 20, 2010

And Life Is Good



Jackie in Georgia


The four months of living since I last posted here contained many shifts along a sometime bumpy road, keeping us periodically a little off center. It has been a busy time in our lives. In September we celebrated our first nephew's birth. His family lives in a bedroom community a few miles north of Zurich, Switzerland and part time in Aberdeen, Scotland. The first young male in our family on either side, he is journeying at 4 months old through another continent, meeting family who are thrilled to welcome him to this world. We had fun shipping gifts across the sea and imagining his tiny arms and legs sliding into his fuzzy, warm clothes.

After we harvested apples from our tree in fall, we chose a new Brooks plum to replace an injured and dying Japanese Maple in our front rock garden. Told we could pick it up in November to insure a safer transplant in dormancy, we ultimately made 2 trips south of Seattle, enjoying the long drives and lovely orchards while we viewed Mt Rainier rising in the distance. Garden chores called loudly as we raced against the clock to get things done before winter arrived with her running faucet of cold, dripping rain. New bulbs and a shrub were planted, and a few transplants were done before the temperatures dropped. We are eager to see the blooms of our new mountain laurel in late spring and have great expectations for a full blooming Sappho rhododendron, now living in more garden space. We had to keep it severely pruned in its previously limited garden bed, and this significantly restricted its blooming.

Traveling along scenic Highway 2 beside the Skykomish River, past Stevens Pass where skiers busy themselves all winter and through part of the Cascades, we made our way to Leavenworth, Washington in late October. We enjoy shopping in open air markets where we buy pumpkins, fruit, and hand made soaps. Leavenworth's quaint shops and festivals greet visitors any time of year and add pleasure to our annual adventure of autumn leaf peeping. We always look forward to dinner with a friend we don't see often enough and had a delicious meal together at Viscontis.

Our November trip to Georgia started off as a reunion with friends from Miami who flew in to meet us for a few days before we traveled on to spend time with family. Along the way we saw my childhood friend and her husband, sharing stories, love, and deep laughter in the way only those who share long history can. Good food is always part of these visits, and there is a comfortable lingering at the table where chatting takes place over long-ago emptied plates, an activity I have come to believe may be more southern than not. Jackie, their daughter-dog, entertained us as she played soccer with her basketball and made us think a lot about adding a puppy to our own springtime home.

Family visits, at least for us, are splashed with emotional fire power which can shatter the continuum from A to Z. Considering my father's mental health we thought ourselves lucky that our holiday celebration went as well as it did. My father managed to get through 5 days with only one major flare-up, and my husband and I were happy to have missed his temper tantrum. Sadly, my sister was not as fortunate, but things calmed down rather quickly. Seeing my sister is always one of the biggest treats of our trips, and I leave Georgia with tear-tracked cheeks knowing it will be a long time before we meet again. En route to the airport for our flight back to Washington we joined 5 friends we had not seen in years for lunch south of Atlanta. A homecoming of good friends eager to see each other quickly became a mix of joy and sadness as we learned one had been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She received bountiful love and words of support, assurance that she would conquer this serious challenge, but a buzz of fear traveled around the table like an electrical shock wave.

Within 2 days of returning home I fell sick with an upper respiratory virus, an ailment I frequently get following November air travel. We'd both had our swine flu vaccines and used Purell so often I was surprised our hands were not chapped all in hopes of avoiding a major viral infection, but it was not meant to be. Within 10 days of my symptoms, hubby had his own so we had to scratch all plans for holiday travel, meals, celebrations, and entertaining, opting instead for kleenex, Mucinex, antibiotics, neti pots, cough drops, and naps in our recliners. Not even a tiny bit of fun!

Each of us ran a 3 week course of illness, but hubby was able to work from home much of the time, a plan chosen to avoid infecting anyone else. He decided to cancel his vacation leave so he could take a nice break later. Our only holiday activity was a Christmas breakfast buffet at a nearby hotel and an outing to "It's Complicated" which was so hysterically funny that the entire theater was laughing loud enough for viewers to miss some spoken lines. Unfortunately, hubby's laughter resulted in his coughing so he had to zip it up and smile while sucking on cough drops and drinking water. Afterwards we were too tired to even consider a holiday meal so canceled our reservations at a glitzy Seattle hotel and restaurant and went home to take a nap. No tree, no lights, no wreaths, no decorations, nothing Christmassy at our home but red noses.

Shortly before Christmas my father decided to create one of his major trauma-dramas across the miles, coast to coast, something which caused both my sister and me much consternation and pain. This dance insured we would choose to have no contact with him during Christmas and for weeks beyond. We are weary of his disrespect, mental health issues or not. He has given us little rest since our mother died in February, 2009, and we need peaceful moments away from the constant courting of chaos.

January, free of paternal manipulation and verbal abuse, has been a much improved month for us all. The rainy weather kept us confined a bit and delayed weekend road trips, but we are feeling healthier and happier and grateful. Recent sunshine reminds us why we love the Pacific NW and teases us into thoughts of spring with daydreams of colorful explosions across our landscape. A new year is here, and we will soon be gardening and admiring the splendor before us, traveling along the rocky Pacific coast, cutting roses for vases, exploring Canada's coastline, whistling to our Steller's Jay, watching Orcas roll playfully in the Sound, waiting for a sighting of a black bear, and choosing where we will vacation in late summer. Now we eagerly await the first snowfall of 2010. None is forecast; it will be a grand surprise. And, life here in the Pacific NW is good.

Seattle Skyline Across Puget Sound

Pacific NW and personal photographs are from our private collection,
and may not be copied or used in any manner without explicit and written permission.



14 comments:

kenju said...

I was here this morning and the comments wouldn't open, so I came back. You have really seen some changes in a short time, haven't you? Welcome back.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Sky, another welcome back. I check constantly to see if you have entered something. I love the way you share - love, trying times, sickness and happy times.
I am all most over what you have recovered from. No fun.
Again - I would say "Your Life is Good". Thank you for your constant encouragement to this One Woman.

mb said...

You're ba-a-ack. I'm so glad.

mermaid said...

It's good to hear from you again. Family drama is never easy, but I'm glad you were able to enjoy both the high and low tides life has to offer. You, we live in such a beautiful part of the world. It's hard not to count blessings despite the difficulties in life. Your balanced perspective is appreciated.

rdl said...

all sounds good, cept for the drama of course.
and yes 1 vote here for the puppy!!

Pauline said...

So glad to see this new post. Life is all ups and downs, isn't it? Hope your ups outnumber your downs!

leslee said...

Another vote here for a puppy! Glad you had a good trip and things are good overall. Sorry about your dad making things difficult, but good for you for setting limits with him. I know how hard that is.

♥ N o v a said...

I always love reading your entries because you write in a way that is always so calming and soothing.

2009 was a tough year for you, I know, with the unfortunate passing of your mother, and then the subsequent months of grieving. It's a shame that your Father has only aggravated an already tough situation. I'm glad that you were able to spend time with your sister, and although you may not see her for awhile, the memories you both created this time will hopefully last until you next meet each other again. How wonderful, too, that you were able to visit with your friends in Georgia. I remember that you had mentioned that you were feeling "homesick" for them. There are few things better than good times with good friends, I always say.

I think you should get a puppy. A new life in your home will bring you and your husband a new dimension of happiness. ♥

colleen said...

A great update. I feel so for you on the father issue. My sons have a father like that and it has caused them a lifetime (so far) of pain with no signs of it changing. Flare-ups is a good word.

Everything seemed so calm and idylic until the bug part, which I guess I caught too. It's been two weeks and I still have nasty phlegm and feel so unmotivated.

I recently posted about going to a laughter yoga session. I couldn't handle it because the laughing made me cough!

Pauline said...

Sky - I keep finding your cheerful (and complimentary :) comments on my own blog but things stay the same here. Hope all is well with you...

Susie Hemingway said...

Great post taking the reader on a little journey with you - I loved the photos and enjoyed learning a little more about your part of the world.
Blessings

Kati said...

I can certainly relate to your descriptions of the family drama and feel for you. hope you'll be back to more calm and blogging again soon. I'll be on the west coast soon, sharing your climate myself!

♥ N o v a said...

It's been a year since you've written!

mermaid said...

Sky, do you post elsewhere? Miss your journey.