Summer Time Reading

            Warm sunny day, cool breeze in the shade, glass of ice tea and a lounge chair. What do all of these things lead to? The perfect spot to escape into a good book. To me summer is a time to rejuvenate and store up brain energy for the coming months.

When I think back to when I was growing up on our family farm, some of my fondest memories involved escaping to a secret spot to read. After doing my chores I would head up the hill through the prune orchard and down the other side into a tree lined gully. There under the overhanging limbs of a wild quince bush was the perfect spot to hide out and read. The entrances into this little secluded spot had been made by either our sheep or deer as they made their way along a time worn path that meandered through the trees. I can remember bending low and entering this little oasis where the temperature was always cool and little beams of sunlight filtered through the leaves. This was the perfect spot to get lost in my book because it was far enough from the house that I couldn’t hear if someone called my name, but it was close enough to get home quickly if I heard the “get home now whistle”.

Today I don’t have to worry about finding a secret reading spot where I can hide to avoid being given extra jobs. Instead my reading oasis is right outside my back door. I have traded the hard packed ground for a comfy lounge chair with a beautiful view of our flowers and small raised garden. Listening to the birds chirp and feeling the cool breeze as I lose myself in whatever book I am reading at the moment is one of summer’s blessings.

Toothless Week

Why is it the older that you get the more you look back to the past? This last week, now known as “The Toothless Week,” brought back many memories for me. On Tuesday, I took my daughter to have her wisdom teeth pulled. While I was sitting in the waiting room during the procedure, I thought back thirty-five years to the day when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. It was July 3, 1976 and I had just started my rotation of four days off after having worked ten days on Yellow Butte Fire Lookout. This wasn’t how I had envisioned celebrating our country’s 200^th birthday, but I am sure that when my parents had scheduled the appointment they weren’t thinking anything other than getting it done before I had to head back to college. I remember lying on the living room couch watching all the parades, concerts and firework displays on TV. Of course my face looked like a big round balloon and my best friend was the aspirin bottle! I’m fairly certain I was alone as the rest of the family was probably working at the Freez-Ett Drive-In that we owned. It would have been a big weekend for us with the holiday traffic and people stopping for ice cream, hamburgers and fries on the way back from the beach. 

Just like all those years ago when I rested for four days and then headed back to work on the fifth, my daughter Kate did the same. Only she had to go back to work at a restaurant, trying to ignore the fact that her cheeks were still swollen and smiling when people commented on her appearance. At least the only one who saw me was the fire ranger as he drove me up the mountain and the rabbits and squirrels that lived in the underbrush around the lookout. Somehow I don’t think it mattered to them that I still looked like a chipmunk.

Second Chance

            Last week I started reading a book by Jane Green called Second Chance. It is the story of how one man’s death can be the catalyst of change for the childhood friends who gather to mourn him. These friends are forced to face the realities of their lives and are given the chance to change where they are headed. While some of the storyline is predictable, it is still a thoughtful read and conjures up memories of the movie “The Big Chill”.

            Life is full of second chances, but the trick is to recognize them when they are given to you. Thirteen years ago when I quit my job with the St. Paul School District I had every intention of working on several book ideas. I even got as far as doing some research for one particular story that I had been sketching out in my mind. However, keeping up with a five year old pretty much occupied my life. Those three years between jobs were filled with children’s play dates, excursions to the local library and tending a huge garden that helped fill our freezer and pantry.

            Now I have been given another chance to corral those characters whose voices I keep hearing in my mind. This time I have promised myself not to let this chance slip away. Who knows if there will be a third chance later on down the road.

A Job Worth Doing Right

It’s amazing how much stress the mind and body can absorb and deal with until just the right moment, when all that tension comes out, usually in the form of complete exhaustion and for me a head cold. In looking back over the past few months I’m surprised that I managed to wait until after my last day of work to get sick. Dealing with the impending uncertainty of losing my job, worrying about my sister who was going through cancer treatment, and experiencing the first signs of menopause played havoc with my emotions and mental well-being.

I’ve been asked how I managed to continue in the day to day tasks of teaching. The answer is easy. “If a job is worth doing then it is worth doing right.” I remember these words and others from my father who taught us to always do our best. These past few months I have had to dig deep and draw on my fierce independence in order to get through. The lessons I learned from my parents have served me well, and I can only hope that I pass them on to my daughter. However, I don’t think I will be teaching these lessons in quite the same way I was taught. Living in today’s world I can’t imagine helping to foster her independence by “running away from home” as my parents did back when I was in high school. Shocking you say? Maybe, but that is a story for another day.

A New Road

I am standing at a crossroads as my career as a library media teacher comes to an end. As I consider what I am going to do I recall a very famous poem called The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Questions going through my mind are keeping me up at night. Do I look for a job that will earn enough money to get by for a few years until I retire? Or do I follow my dream of bringing to life the characters that have flitted around in my head for the past twenty years? Am I ready to take a chance on my abiltiy to create the stories that I want to share?