Sunset of My Life...

Consider the beauty of a sunset...
The whole sky changes colors from blue and white to grey to pink to salmon to red.  The eye beholds its magnificence!  There is no sound, so there is nothing to hear except the beating of your heart and the singing of the birds; you cannot touch it so there is nothing to feel  except joy; and you cannot smell it.  But your heart delights in its beauty and you snap a photo in your mind (or physically) for your memory.

Those who stay long enough will experience that last sliver of light as the sun slips beyond the horizon and out of sight.  And with its passing, it leaves a promise that it will return one day.  It says to us, "I will return on the morrow."

The year 2017 is coming to a close, and like the sunsets I have viewed, I pause and consider the beauty of the past year.  I have experienced pain and sorrow; I have experienced family delights; I have given up a portion of my independence; and I have grown a little older.

I have grown, I have fallen (literally), and I have mellowed with the experiences of this past year.  God gives us experience for just these purposes.  And he tests us and tries us to make sure we are ready for better things to come.  Like the iron ore that is put into the fire, shaped and bent and hardened, our lives are shaped and bent and strengthened.  God works His wonders through our lives.  We cannot see what He sees, and sometimes it is so very hard to realize that "this is for your own good!"  Only He knows the outcome.

I am experiencing the sunset of my life.  I'm sure there must be some beauty there, but some days it is hard just to get out of bed and get moving.  My hair has turned nearly white; my eyes are dim; my ears don't hear as sharply as they used to; and my bones and joints have an ache to them that sometimes slows me down.  Simple tasks, like getting in and out of a car, find me moving with such deliberation that patience must prevail.

One day, like the sunset and like another year's end, I will be facing the promise of tomorrow, but not yet.  The sun will return; a New Year will arise; and I shall return again with that same promise that "I will return on the morrow.

"
I'm sure I will see quite a few more sunsets in my life and I will see a number of years begin and end before I face that last sliver of light fade from my life.  And so, for now, I will enjoy the many sunsets to come...whether or not they are on the ocean or the desert or the mountains...they are all so beautiful.

Forgive my rambling.  Just an old woman alone with her thoughts as 2017 comes to an end and I am wondering what 2018 will bring.

                                             HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!
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My Cup Runneth Over...

The past several months have found me caught up in a flurry of activities...so much so, that I hardly have time to even think, let alone write!  It has been one of those quarters in the year where I hardly know where to begin!  You know how it is...you have a list so long that it overwhelms you and so you do nothing!  But there are so many important events that I cannot leave a single one of them out.,  So...here goes!

In July, my son, Billy and I started on a road trip--just the two of us.  His brother, Eliot was getting Married August 2nd and Billy was to be the Best Man.  I drove to Redmond, where I met Billy and the following morning we took off in my car.  (Don't ask why this particular arrangement...it's complicated!)  We drove all day that day and arrived in Orem, Utah (where we stayed overnight with his sister, Debi and her husband.)  We stayed in Orem an extra day, because we were early.  We had an awesome visit and Billy got to rest his eyes for the next leg of the trip.

The following morning, we said our good-bye's and headed south to catch Highway 6 through Spanish Fork Canyon and on to Denver, Colorado.  Another 10-hour drive!  I don't know how Billy does it.  We arrived in the early evening in Denver and went ti the Motel Eliot had arranged for us.  We were both exhausted!

Denver is a crazy town!  Traffic, traffic, traffic everywhere and Freeways that don't make a bit of sense.  (Much like Salt Lake City.)  It's interesting how those big cities start out with one main thoroughfare and then keep adding on until it looks like a spaghetti bowl!  I do not like driving in the cities.  The next day, Dean arrived via airplane.  We had a very nice family gathering.  Eliot drove all of us to the venue where the wedding was to be held and we took some pictures.  I like this one the very best!

                                                    Those boys are always goofing off!

There wasn't very much rehearsal involved, so we just walked around and got to know the park.

The wedding was the next day and we weren't allowed to take pictures of the ceremony.  Eliot and Tamiya had a photographer who took care of all of that.  (As of this writing, we have received no photographs!)  We did take one of Dean and I standing on a little bridge.

August 2, 2017                            Dean and I on the bridge.


The wedding was very nice--very simple, but nice! Dean and I were way too overdressed!  We dressed for a "wedding" and I guess folks don't take that as seriously as Dean and I do.  Just about everyone else were dressed in jeans and tee shirts!  Oh, well..it was the marriage we came to witness, not a fashion show!  (When I am able, I shall post photos of the wedding.)

With the wedding behing us, we all went our separate ways.  Eliot and Tamiya to their new life, Dean to the airport to fly back to Newport, and Billy and I to travel back to Utah.  Ugh!  Another 10 hour drive!

We took a different highway back--I-80--and stopped in another town, where Billy went to see Alicia and the girls who were visiting friends. Alicia got to meet her real dad and a sister for the very first time.  Billy and Alicia are going through some really difficult times lately and it was awkward.

On our way to Salt Lake City and Billy and I had some really long and deep conversations.  Getting to know my son has been quite a wonderful experience.  Somehow, all that talking made the miles just melt away.  There were no real long silent periods and though the trip took 10-11 hours, it seemed we were there in no time!

Debi met us at a KFC on Redwood Road.  I said goodbye to my son (I'll miss him) so he can continue on to Redmond (another 10 hours).  I don't know how he does it!  Debi and I ate some lunch--not the best KFC we've ever had--and continued on to Orem where I will be staying for most of the rest of the month os August.  I hope she can put up with me!

I love staying with Debi.  She and Brian give me my own space with a bedroom and a bathroom and I am always very comfortable.  They work every day, but that is OK with me.  Debi goes to the gym every morning, golfs a couple of days a week and still plays baseball!  That girl!

                                                     Brian and Debi's Cabin


On Friday, we went to Brian and Debi's cabin in Indianola,  It is a beautiful setting.  Brian and Debi have built an amazing log cabin on the property. The property has been in Brian's family for years.  Just last year, they built a second cabin, called "The Shed," and furnished it for guests.  That is where I go to stay.  I love the mountains...I felt so free and loved just walking around taking pictures; I even liked using the "facilities," (an outhouse that Brian built.)

                                                         "The Shed"

                                                          The Facilities!

On my walks, I often come across some interesting wildflowers,  I love to photograph flowers!

I had a lovely time at Debi's.  She is always the perfect hostess...and daughter.  There is so much more to tell, but this writing is getting too long, so I will do this in sections.  I will call this one Section One and continue the story later in Section Two.