hodgepodge list of events as of late
-the trip back to arkansas was adventurous. Four random bonners ferry people fastly become friends when it's midnight and we make a unexpected landing in Salina due to bad weather and then couple hours later its 3:30 am and im plopped on my suitcase in the airport parking garage as we are all gathered around empty car rental booths (that dont open till 8 am) and there we, are stuck in tulsa airport with no vehicle or hotel available. It's wholeheartedly storming. the funeral starts at 10 in the morning.
A winding, long story concluded - a random lady suddenly shows up to Enterprise at 4:00am and I have a suspicious God was very intertwined in that occurrence. She gives us a free upgrade on a suburban. We get to gentry at 5:30am.
Once again im reminded how insanely blessed we as church family are, we never met each other before and here in this coldhearted airport parking garage, we trust each other just like we have known each other for years and we easily talk about random topics that we all know about and we make random connections and then without second thought, we invite them into our homes and it all just breaths safety and i just know i take this blessing so for granted.
-jolissa renae flew out to arkansas. due to flight havoc she arrived here a day later than planned. she was here less than 24 hours. we packed our time full. walked to the coffee shop in the woods. got bubba. toured the ranch. hung out by the lake. and got roasted - i looked like a rotisserie chicken that got stuck. honestly it was a bad burn. it took some pep talk and a dose of humility to go to vball that eve. but we went. and it was a jolly time. And i got roasted, this time by comments. by 4:30 wednesday morning we head to the airport and she leaves for home.
-so after she left, i just tried to catch up on life and all things since i had been gone the whole week before. one lunch ms shar and i met up for laughter, convo, and food. i worked in my classroom. went on walks. the uth had a softball game one night followed by pizza and ultimate. I also gardened. just did life.
-home visits ended saturday/sunday.
Sunday
In the screened in porch we drink our steaming coffee and eat our fruit and listen to the rain fall. We go to church. We come home and on the same porch we eat chili and listen to the rain fall some more.
I attempt to draw, read, write but I can’t seem to drum up much inspo for any of that. So I try a nap next. Not too much success either. So i make hot tea and walk down the lane and my hot tea and i stand in the drizzle of rain and watch the world cruise by.
At 4:30 us youth head to a nursing home to sing. Afterwards we eat supper at Marketplace.
So the original plan was this. Ms tiff flies in at 9:30pm. And rancher flies in at 10:30pm. So i was going to pick up tiff and then we were gonna wait an hour for rancher to fly in. during the eve, Mr doug calls me and gives me the info on how to pick up a minor behind security and also says rancher’s flight gets in a lil past 9:30 now. An hour or two passes and he calls again and says the rancher’s flight actually gets in soon after 9:00. So I need to be there way sooner than planned now. At this point it's quarter after 8 and us uth are still around the supper table at marketplace. So we hatch the plan that mr doug and ms sharon are just gonna go get rancher and tiff now.
Us uth head back to church and the plan is to go end the night at uth leaders place with brownies and icecream. On the way, i get a call from the airport saying since only my name is on the paper thingy to pick up rancher they wont release the girl to anyone else. They cant change the name anymore. I tell them they can give rancher to doug and sharon klassen, that i approve that, i was hoping that was enough. But nope. they are not budging. Which I respect a lot honestly. shows that they take this transporting minor business seriously. So i head to the airport. I wonder if the rancher is gonna be scared no one is there to meet her at the gate right away. Mr doug calls and says they are at the airport and have seen and talked to the rancher and she is ok and she is just waiting with a lady in a room till i get there.
So at the airport I show my ID and reunite with rancher and i sign the paper. Then we find mr dougs and tiff by baggage claim and rancher stays with them and i head back to uth.
Monday. Time on the porch with coffee and journal in the sunshine that suddenly burst through the clouds is the best way to start the day. A walk. Toast. And off to the ranch.
Check plants. Refill first aid kit. Talk to people. Work in classroom. Print off new schedule. Go find ms tiff and yack with her. I may have accidentally knelt on her glasses and broke them. To my horrors.
Lunch. Sing a memory song in the living room. Make more coffee. Look over lessons. Gather the wits. And then at 2, school starts.
It was a chill school day.
Mondays are my evenings to do chores with the girls so we do that. Home for supper. In the eve, I head to the park to go rollerblading and listen to my book. I'm currently listening to ‘’same kind of different as me’’.
So i'm rollerblading and immersed in my own world and suddenly this lil boy comes scootering up to me and just looks me dead in the eyes and just stand there. So i stop the audible voice in the head and strike up a convo with him.
7 years old. Birthday is may 12th. He wants ‘’powers’’ for his birthday. He likes school. He likes to scooter. He can skate. He thinks he can surely roller skate with my four wheeled skates now. I tell him it is tricky and maybe we should just leave it. To understand him, I have to really pay attention to his words.
‘’Do you wanna slide?’’ he asks me.
I toss the idea in my head. Why not? I think. ‘’sure.’’
So we head over to the play structure where the slides are.
I take off my skates and he lays down his scooter.
‘’Okay ill go after you.’’ I say as i point to the stairs leading to the slides.
‘’I want to skate.’’ he keeps looking at me with these eyes that i can't quite understand.
Ohhh. This is his tactic. He got me to take off my skates so he could try them on. Ok. I doubt there's any harm in that. So I agree.
The skates are way too big on him but he's determined to try. I lace them up. He clutches tightly onto me and we very very slowly and awkwardly make our way down the sidewalk. He makes noises, and he can't form his words all that well. I wonder about him.
The wheels don't go where he wants them to go and there are a few falling down incidents. he is determined to learn. It was a rather funny experience.
Then his older sister (i'm assuming that's who she was) makes her way over to us and tells him they need to go. I think she was a lil horrified at him. I don't mind though honestly. Boy sits down on grass and sister quickly un-laces the skates.
Tuesday. Day off.
Target. Barnes and nobles just to read books. Onyx for chai and writing. Gardening. I went to the lake to get sun. Walmart for melatonin and kleenex…Hashtag life necessities right now. For supper mr dannys and i got subs and enjoyed them at the park. In the evening, there was youth softball.
Wednesday.
In the morning, i met tiff at a cafe to discuss life. School in afternoon, had it outside on the deck. For recess we made up our own dare base rules, so now the arguing over rules can be done with.
Back at home, there is a tree that stands on mr dannys yard and the trunk has ‘’jowls.’’ for a time now we have discussed painting eyes on the tree to make a face out of the jowls. So this afternoon was that time. Ms tru and I head down there with white paint, black spray paint, and creative minds. mr danny comes with a ladder. And we give that tree a face.
‘’We didnt realize we were making memories, we were just having fun.’’ a.a milne. that quote fits this moment.
This eve, the uth came over here for a singing eve.
Thursday.
Coffee. Toast. Walk.
Off to ranch. School starting at 9:30 today. And we are occupied with that till lunch. Authority meetings lasts from 1 till after 4. I like thursdays because they are deep days, so much gets discussed and shared. Yet they can be really draining when you literally sit in one spot for 3 hours straight and just discuss hard, people problems. This eve i sat outside and shopped shein cuz thats my lil ‘’winding down’’ coping mechanism somedays.
Friday
Coffee. Toast. Walk.
Looks like this is tradition by now.
A phone call with mom. At the ranch I moisied around in the garden dirt. After lunch there was school. Out of pressed flowers, we created bookmarks for our mothers. For supper the Unruh family met at the Spoon for supper and i toodled along too. There was northern lights tonight so I meandered out on a walk at night but weird noises in ditches squashed all excitement to stay outside for too long.
Saturday.
Bri and I find ourselves at our fav cafe to hash out life over coffee and bagels. Im so thankful she is marrying a guy from here cuz i really appreciate her presence around here.
Now its saturday afternoon and im laying out in the sun writing this....
This eve there was a hot dog roast at the ranch cuz one of the rancher’s families was out. Sang songs around the fire before the girls went in for showers.
Today I received eddies phone in the mail. That hits. Those same feels that followed those first days after her death - those feels came back. Yet it's such an answer to prayer we actually got into her phone and i got all my messages back from her. I left snot on a few people's shoulders today. Grief demands a witness and im forever grateful for these people here bearing witness to loss♡
may you know courage during this next week.
Comentarii