The Space for Possibilities

This year, I’ve experienced more than my share of death, with three people dear to me having passed on to their next journey. It’s a reality of life, yet I often get too caught up in the minutia of things to take stock of what is real and lasting and what is a mere bump on a side road I will never see again.
Thanks to Cynthia at Running with Letters for this quotable quote in her post, taken from a column she wrote about the holidays in 2004:

“Being still means keeping space open for possibilities.

It means leaving room for moments of wonder.

It means not running the risk of being “too full” to assist in a miracle.”

I’m taking the time over the rest of this week and next to make a plan for possibilities. For my space has become a cluttered collection of time spent on too many projects to make a real difference in any of them. My plan must include space to be less rushed but more deliberate, less worried but more thoughtful in entertaining the endless goings-on in my mind, less influenced but more able to listen with both ears.

This photo was taken on an 11 mile hike through the Myakka Forest a few years back. Talk about possibilities.  On a long road ahead shared with no building of any kind, we walked through several habitats, encountered a shed Indigo snake skin and tracks of all kinds, met no one on the trail and could enjoy silence except for the birdy chatter around us.

Christmas is a time for reflection, gratitude and love, right? We yearn for that one day when nothing is expected of us but togetherness. But it wasn’t meant to be singular in its celebration. If I know the meaning, I hope to make it an every day sort of thing. I’ve particularly enjoyed Julia’s Thank You Project, finding something short and sweet to be thankful for in every day. Short and sweet but meaningful. It's often the shortest proclamations and reflections that have the most meaning, as any great writer (not me!) could tell you. What a lovely inspiration.

Wishes for a Merry Christmas to you and everyone in your life. Thanks for reading.

Creative Christmas

Let me say, reading your blogs has left me amazed at all of the creativity out there centered on Christmas and other things. Your stuff for sale on Etsy, for one. I’m probably the last to hear about it, but now that I have, I’m in love with it. What a extraordinary place to support small business and people who are making beautiful art, jewelry, vases and more out of their homes—stuff you couldn’t find in a store if you had to. Very cool.

We don’t talk too much about Christmas at work, since about a quarter of our staff (who are very awesome people, by the way) don’t celebrate holidays. So yesterday, there was the coolest staff appreciation party, and part of the deal was a “white elephant” gift exchange—you know, one of those “choose a gift and steal someone else’s if you don’t like yours?”

We all brought an unwanted item from our home that would theoretically have some appeal for others, wrapped it in non-holiday paper and each chose a numbered ticket. Although the first numbers had a better pick of the anonymously wrapped gifts on the table, the latter numbers had a better choice in terms of hijacking opened gifts. It was funny and festive. And a nice way to say “Hey, the economy sucks. Re-use something from your house. It will be funnier, better for the environment, and you won’t have to buy anything.”

Candle holders galore, a few books that no one wanted, frequently stolen bottles of wine, a UF Gators baseball hat, a Kleenex holder, and a shoebox of treasures from a desk drawer were among the re-gifted items.

So check out this Christmas tree. It is made entirely from found materials around the home and is a creation of a local artist who’s married to one of Husband’s co-workers. How’s this for creativity? It’s even cute. Wish I had a better picture.

We bought a live tree this year instead of Old Petroleum, our fake Frasier Fir. I’m thinking of some better ideas for disposal than the curb when it’s time for her to go. (After all, 3 years ago my freaking car was wrecked when a dump truck shed a Christmas tree in the road. Because there were people in all 3 lanes of traffic, and the tree appeared before me like a blazing comet, I had no choice but to hit it.)

Before I sign off for today, thanks for all of your meaningful thoughts on the post below. The comments are worth a read if you have the time. Enjoy your day and happy blogging.

What's Happened to American Dialogue?

Now Gropius has always been a place for everyone—short and fat (and gaining like me from all of the junk food at work), tall and thin, black and white, liberal and conservative, etc. Especially that last one. I’ve pretty much had it up to my eyeballs with people who have different political views and can’t still get along. What the hell? We’re all people, right?

One of my favorite people at work couldn’t be more different than me when it comes to politics, but I love to talk to him because we challenge each other’s beliefs. We'e both very educated about the issues on which we share dialogue. And although we’ll never convince the other to change, we respect one another and in the end, it’s really just about two people having a passionate conversation. And true to form with Gropius, even if you respectfully disagree with my opinion, your comment is very welcome. I truly appreciate different points of view.

So here’s our new Gropius friend. Someone who just left a comment (on the wrong entry I might add) to a statement I made here:

“Here's the infamous border fence, keeping our America safe from pot, people and...hmmm....wait? What's it for?"

It’s true, some patrolling of our border may be necessary for many reasons, but the fence? I do happen to find it just atrocious. Maybe you feel differently. That’s fine. Isn’t that why we can live in this place called America? If you find yourself hating people who have different political views, I think the problem is yours, my friend.

Here’s what our friend said about my comment above in red:
After all, only marijuana gets smuggled across the Border. Not heroin, cocaine, weapons and terrorists. It is only pot. RIGHT. Wow, you really are ignorant.

To many uneducated liberals, the Border Fence may just be that.

I'm sure you think that most illegal aliens are just coming over to work and find a better life. Unfortunatley, a majority of them have backgrounds that include rape, murder, drug smuggling, and numerous other felonies. But I'm sure that doesnt matter to a left wing douche like you.

Let's just open the country to them. After all, they aren't coming to your neighborhood, are they? The luxury that you have is that you don't really know what happens in these Border towns and you can cry and bitch all you want, but the fact remains that if the Border Patrol wasn't around, your life as you know it would not exist.


Like I said, different opinions are important to me. They help all of us to continue re-thinking and evaluating our stances and enable us to find new solutions. But honestly, Anonymous, if you’re that intelligent, maybe you could discuss the issue intelligently.  You made quite a few assumptions about what I know and don't know. How presumptuous of you. 

“You really know what happens in these border towns?”  Clearly you would be surprised to know all of the research I have done on the issue and having just come from a border town, I've seen a few things for myself.  We just feel a little differently about this. And one of us knows a little more about having an adult conversation. "Douche?"   That's so 80's.

Here's the point:

Isn’t it sad that Anonymous and so many other Americans are losing the ability to talk to one another humanely when they disagree? I was just chatting up this topic with a fellow blogger before Anonymous delighted my morning by proving a point.

My 13 YEAR OLD is more educated in having conversations. If Anonymous was really feeling smart about his comment and conduct, he would have included his name.

One of the biggest opportunities we have here in today's devisive American climate is to be friendly with and/or respectful of those who feel differently about the big issues. It will only benefit you and the country as a whole.  Comments on either side welcome. As long as you're decent.

Canyons, Babies and Fences

It's been a few. One day I will learn and just get a Mac, but in the meantime I am suffering the old fashioned way--with computer viruses. (And human viruses from travel...er um, I have completely lost my voice.) Thank goodness dear IT man was able to clear the nasty infection from its new life on my PC without me losing anything.  So at long last, here are some pics as I blog in voiceless silence at 2:30 a.m. (courtesy of Flanders' wee morning pee run).

The Texas babe was a treasure. Just beginning to smile, every now and then she would flash a quick one for us. She loves her hands and is very expressive using them in dramatic poses on her face as she sleeps.

Bro took me out on Lake Amistad, an enormous 66,000 acre, duck-filled wonder, produced from daming the Rio Grande River.  Coots, green winged teal, white pelicans (9 foot wing span), an American wood cock, and my personal fave--the dramatic-in-red scarlet tanager--were seen in various spots along our journey. We stopped the boat to get out and walk and found a charming dry creek bed filled with deer tracks, cacti and sounds from birdies we don't have in this part of the states.  More photos are on the Flickr stream (see right), but here are a few to give you a taste:

Now the terrain in and around Del Rio was pretty freaking crispy. Not too much vegetation with a dull grayish-brown pervading the color wheel on all sides. But there were treasures in the morning fog and in small things that maintain a beauty of their own:

Sis-in-law, baby and I went on a 45 minute drive to the canyons near the intersection of the Pecos and Rio Grande Rivers. Here I spoke with a sweet local fisherman, met my first ever canyon wren and heard goats calling from a cave within the canyon where, apparently, they stay during the night to avoid a grim fate induced by mountain lion capture.

Here's the infamous border fence, keeping our America safe from pot, people and...hmmm....wait? What's it for?  It was quite different than I imagined. This was taken near a station just outside of Del Rio.

And to end on a high note, Del Rio and surrounding area have fabulous sunsets. A special thank you to my family hosts. They were the best and I miss them already.

A Few Things I've Learned About Del Rio

So tomorrow I'm headed back home to Sarasota/ Bradentucky, and I've gained a few things on my trip:  a cold, a bottle of excellent port and images of a sweet new person.  I've also picked up some choice bits of random trivia about Del Rio I thought I'd share in case you're ever in this part of the country:

• The smell of skunk is big around here. Frequently, I hear "Damn. Skunk. I smell skunk again."
• You can pay for your WalMart purchases with Mexican currency, but it really pisses off the Americans who have to wait extra time in line.
• The border fence doesn't look how I imagined it. Where we stood outside of the car for a photo under the watchful eye of a border patrol agent, it looked more like a wrought iron gate lining a fancy neighborhood. (And I'm exercising silence instead of getting all political on you.)
• You can totally get out of a ticket exactly how I imagined it. Someone who shall remain nameless didn't see the speed limit in a school zone. After getting hit with a whopper, she walked into the court office and found a man with a big cowboy hat and a cigar, told him she knew his kids, and he knocked her ticket down to less than a third of its original sting.
• When you visit a border town and you're a vegetarian, your choice is cheese. And chips. That's it. Seriously. We've totally bastardized Mexican food in other parts of the country...and I like that kind of Mexican food.
• I loved visiting here. What an incredible experience to get to know this tiny little girl. And I saw some beautiful things. But I could never live here.

Photos following tomorrow if I'm not comatosed from the trip.

My Brother's Dysfunctional Dog Raids Kitchen Can

Poor Kaley. She's been pissed since my bro's move to Del Rio and even more so since the baby has been born. No longer the sole recipient of love and affection in the family, this mixed breed wonder has taken to different forms of entertainment and attention-seeking. Wanting to see exactly how much time elapses before the garbage dump occurs after they walk out the door, a secret camera was set up. Kaley's been punked!

Texas Traveling

This part of the country is definitely different. And anything different is interesting to me. So far, we've spent time indoors with the young babe who is sweet and beautiful...and has taken up crying at times like all new little people do. We've taken a few short walks in their hood, out to a rocky trail overlooking slight hills with green-gray vegetation, the remains of half eaten skunks and unseen birds chirping in the distance.

I'm looking forward to a trip to Lake Amistad National Park when the fog clears this afternoon. In the meantime, I'm bummed I can't upload any photos to this laptop. All good things to those who wait.

I'm mentally planning an exciting roadtrip-that-may-never-be for the Spring. It involves a starting flight into San Antonio, followed by driving to Austin and a few New Mexico destinations. Love the southwest. Honestly, I love anything that involves traveling and could probably be satisfied doing it at least half the year. (...Except expensive bed and breakfasts and considerable transportation to far-away nature preserves are usually involved.)

Now let's talk air. I flew Continental for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at the difference between their service and US Air. ...Although it's not hard to top US Air on a positive reliability scale. My recent stranding experience on Thanksgiving was evidence once more that they couldn't give a doo doo where or when you're left unaccording to plan.  The nice lady beside me on one of my flights added "The most favorable thing US Air has done is that safe landing in the Hudson." (One of her recent 6 hour cross-country trips took 14 hours.)

Flight attendants are getting saucier with their comments, which I love. On the Tampa-Houston flight I heard "Please do not open the closed overhead compartments, as we may never be able to get them closed again if you do."  Have you seen this Southwest Air flight attendant? Posted it on Facebook recently and had two people tell me he was on one of their flights. I'm so jealous...