someone brung me flowers

These are from the steep hillside leading down to the lake where I spent many of my childhood days. My grandpa used to mow the hill, thinking it just needed to be mowed, but now it's a riot of tall grass and wildflowers, and I think it looks just fine.

We went to visit my uncle and aunt, who now live there, on Sunday, to celebrate Grandma's 88th birthday (today), and Calvin's 10th. The latter birthday makes me pause for reflection more than the former, although I'm proud to have 88-year old genes in 1/4 of myself. Calvin will be ten next Sunday. Half of his path from infanthood to adulthood has passed. Yikes. I remember being ten. It was much better than being twelve, or thirteen, or fourteen. Fifteen was when things started to look better, maybe.

He got the usual birthday money, but my brother and his family gave him perhaps the best present, an electronics kit; just snap together various components, and voila: a circuit that does various things. My brother had one of these at about Calvin's age, and he ended up getting a Ph.D. in physics. Correlation? I don't know.

The corporation my brother works for is sending him off to Singapore again, starting late July. My sister in law and nieces will be joining him in November, and staying until May. They are excited about it, having been there already, but...that kind of life just would not be for me. I like being where I am, thank you.

So I'm just kind of trying to see the good things about our little community here. Like the friend of Calvin's and the friends from church who watched my brood today while I had to work. My work, by the way, was cruising the shoreline of a local lake, documenting vegetation. Not bad work if you can get it, although today's 80 degree heat was a bit stifling.

And like the preacher-neighbors of ours, across Sand Creek and the swamp, who will pick up the kids for Bible school tomorrow and even volunteered to watch Starflower and Mr. Attitude Thursday afternoon, when I will again be at work. They have shown nothing but kindness, and I have to get over this thing of "they will judge me by the strength of my beliefs, and how my beliefs align with theirs". Maybe our beliefs aren't that far apart. Anyway, thank God for neighbors.

So, in negotiating this week of life when The Hermit is away tending to business and aging parents, I'll take what flowers anyone brings me.

Oh, that reminds me...today, between dropping Calvin off at his friend's house and dropping Starflower and Attitude off at a friend's from church, we saw a bald eagle taking off from the side of the road. I had to slow down to avoid it! BLESSING!