Poor Wayfaring Strangers

My friend Charlene and I made music once again today.  Every few months, we sing an a cappella piece of music at our church.  Normally, we sing something peppy, but this time, we sang "Poor Wayfaring Stranger."  The arrangement of the American folk ballad was simple, yet lovely. The lyrics were soulful and filled with much meaning.  I especially liked the words: "I know dark clouds will gather 'round me; I know my way is rough and steep.  Yet beauteous fields lie just before me...."  Those are words of hope, faith and a knowing of better days ahead.  When the way is difficult, there is always something to which to look forward, something both today and ahead to keep our spirits positive and our hearts light.  In some ways, we're all probably poor wayfaring strangers in this life, but today as Charlene and I sang, I felt in full communion with her and others and had a light heart and deep knowing that the beauteous fields truly did just lie before me.

Getting Together

My friend Julie and I see each other one day a year.  We live only a couple of hours apart, but life has a way of preventing us from getting together more than once annually.  Today was that day when we met halfway and spent hours catching up on life, sharing gossip and eating foods in which we normally wouldn't indulge.  It's a brief getaway, yet it always feels like a vacation made with a special friend.  Julie and I have known each other for 30 years.  Yet, when we get together, the decades melt away and we are young women again, finding our way in the work world and trying to figure out how our adult lives will take shape.  But 30 years have passed.  We've married, our parents have passed away, we've changed jobs a few times and we've seen some of the good, the bad, the difficult and the indifferent about life.  Although we only get together once a year, that once-a-year get-together means more to me that perhaps Julie will ever know.

Toe Tapping

Every Saturday throughout the summer, there's big band music at the Chateau at Devil's Lake State Park.  Last Saturday, Larry and I walked at the lake and then tapped our toes to the music wafting from the Chateau's open windows.  There's something magical about hearing music at such a beautiful place.  The weekend before, we had walked at the lake and then took in a concert on the lake's shore.  Music bridges the generations, as was evidenced that evening when children and their parents and, in some cases, their grandparents danced, tapped their toes, sang, played makeshift instruments and gestured to the music.  All winter long, I carry the memory close to me of those carefree summer nights when music travels the shoreline and tapping one's toes is all it takes to feel fully entertained.

All's Fair

It's time for the county fair and I'm delighted.  Our county fair is a fine blend of music, animals, carnival rides and 4-H displays, plus much more.  Our fair embraces all that is right about small-town and country living and reminds us why we have chosen to live a rural lifestyle.  Scheduled each year in the heart of summer, I equate county fairs with hot weather, abundant sunshine and the tickle-bumps I felt as a child every time I rode the Tilt-A-Whirl. I recall having a full tummy as a little girl from the cotton candy, the burgers and the ice cream.   This year, I'm working at the event to engage local residents in a survey about broadband Internet access to our county's rural residents.  Although I have a larger purpose related to my work for being there each day, I'm deriving much pleasure from being with the many others who celebrate our rural roots.

Church Family

Last Sunday was Communion Sunday at our church.  As I stood in a close circle around the communion table with our pastor and others from our congregation and, later, as I sat in the pew watching others do the same thing, I felt a tremendous connection to the wonderful people who are my church family.  Feeling their openness, their kindness, their outward love for me and for others nearly brought me to tears.  It is with this group of people that I have shared all of the joys and sorrows of my entire life.  The First United Methodist Church in Baraboo is the only church to which I've ever been a member.  I was baptized, confirmed and married there.  It is there that we honored the memory of my dad and mom. The church and its members are my past and my present. And these days, with my parents both gone, no siblings, no children and my aunts, uncles and cousins living far away, these precious people and others from our community have become family to Larry and me.  And what a lovely family to have.

Strawberries!

Larry and I enjoyed our first locally grown strawberries of the season this week.  We hadn't made the time to pick them ourselves, but the local farmer's market had them available to us by the pint.  A few days earlier, we had eaten some large, juicy strawberries that had traveled a long distance to get to the function we attended and they were tasty.  But they paled by comparison to the rich flavor and ruby red color of the strawberries that were grown locally and transported only a few miles to our dinner table.  I'm a big advocate for locally grown and organic food.  There's a different look, a different flavor to the produce that is grown in our backyards. Just taste a locally grown strawberry and I think you might agree.

The Valley of Challenge

Composer and musician Alanis Morissette was interviewed in the July/August 2013 edition of Energy Times, eloquently telling about the ways she pursues health and happiness.  Alanis Morissette explained that she doesn't shy away from confusion, anger, fear, frustration and sadness, but accepts them for the value that they can have in her life.  She then said that she gets back to wellness "by walking through the valley of challenge."  The valley of challenge.  What an apt description. In all of our lives, we encounter those occasional valleys of challenge (and sometimes not so occasional).  So what do we do with them?  Perhaps they are important indicators of things that require change or temporary setbacks that lead us to new, right directions.   These days, there are countless books, articles, speakers, blogs and more on the art of happiness.  It's almost as if we've forgotten how to be happy or we want to march right out of that valley of challenge as fast as possible so we don't have to experience pain.  But those valleys can be unavoidable.  They provide valuable lessons and we must experience them in order to live a real and complete life.  What we learn from those experiences and how we use that knowledge to live our own better lives and help others is even more important, in my opinion.