If I Were a Rich Man--er, Woman!

The other day Abigail and I took a little history trip.

Not far from where she lives is the spot where gold was first

discovered here in Fairbanks.

Felix Pedrono, (mis)known as Felix Pedro around these parts,

was the lucky Italian who struck paydirt in 1902.

 When we read that the windfall came from the creek right

across the road, we just had to go see...

and there it was, just a humble little creek gurgling along.

But there was this sign posted that invited anyone to try their luck.

"Good panning and good luck!"

And looking downstream, we realized that's exactly what

some people were doing.

This fellow was dressed much the way Felix would have been,

except for the canvas chair, of course.  

He had his shovel, a pan and sifter.

So I asked Abigail what she thought.

Should we get ourselves a shovel and pie pan?

We could be rich!

Being the caring mother that she is 

(except for the fact that she likes her baby to go in the nude all the time),

she consulted Anna about the prospects of finding gold.

Both decided that a snack at home was more appealing so we left.

Driving the pretty trip back, we noticed piles of rock along the banks of that

little creek and knew that not just a handful of folks have tried to follow in

Felix's tracks.  

I wonder how many have walked away with a fortune?

As for me, I just may head back there a time or two this summer.

And I'll pack snacks for Abigail and Anna first.

OY! What a commute!

As I mentioned before, I am staying out of town this summer.

I'm in the green, rolling hills north of Fairbanks, 

the ones where gold was first discovered in this area.

I have a 13 mile commute to the hospital each morning.

Could be stressful and tiring, I know. 

One thing I really, really, REALLY dislike in life is traffic.

REALLY.  HATE.  TRAFFIC.

See the kind of traffic I have to deal with each morning:

I can TOTALLY handle this.  Even enjoy it.

As I begin to coast down from the higher elevation, I can see pretty Fairbanks below.

She sits in a large, expansive valley, almost a bowl.

I can pick out the buildings that make up the college and even 

Fairbanks Memorial Hospital where I work.

Surrounding the city are the hills and, further beyond,

three great mountain ranges.

                       

Just a few miles into my trip, the jagged, snowy peaks of the

Alaska Range peek over the tall trees. 

This vista always makes me smile.

And then the pride of the Alaska Range grandly appears.

Mt. McKinley, or Denali-"The Great One", the tallest peak in all

of North America, greets me.

Not every day as the clouds sometimes fill the horizon.

But on the days this massive mountain glows in the sunlight,

I am buoyed upward by its silent, powerful presence.

It simply does my heart good to whisper,

"Good morning to you, too."

So you see, not only is there NO stress in this commute,

it blesses and centers me and I begin my workday with a song in my heart.

My friends, I wish I had a better camera than my basic little Canon and I realize

this picture is rather poor quality.  
But, please look beyond the blurriness and graininess

and join me in recognizing greatness when you see it. 

Here are two pictures I took of the same mountain a couple of years ago.

Kathleen and I were on an adventure to go into Denali National Park 

and were thrilled to see all of this mountain as it often has its summit

sheathed in clouds.

That was a very good day. 

So is every day I have to live and work here.

And I never mind the commute!

MIdnight Sunshine

Isn't it odd how some things in life just never grow old?

Those things that, no matter how often they are experienced,

still bring excitement and wonder to our souls?

Things such as:

 a baby's laughter,

the freshness and silence of winter's first snowfall,

the lonely, haunting call of geese heading south,

the fragrance of freshly mowed grass,

and summer solstice in Fairbanks.

Yes, today is the longest day of the year

and it means there will be no darkness at all.

Since the day is not over yet, I'm using some pictures from

the past few years here.

Tonight, at 10pm right now, the sky is as bright as noon.

 This picture was taken at midnight.  

Mr. Sun is still up and shining bright.

The actual sunset is scheduled for 12:48 AM tonight...

The sunrise is officially 2:58 AM.

The two hours in between fill the sky with rosy glows 

as the colors of the sun's setting and  rising blend into one.

                                

Honestly,  for weeks the night colors have been just like this

and they will remain so for many more weeks to come.

But, just the knowing that this is the official longest day

makes me want to stay up and gaze at the skies.

But, alas, work begins early tomorrow morning and I must sleep

to make it through the demands of the day.  

So, I will go to sleep under blue skies

and wake under the same.  

I'll miss the short spell of pink as the sun dips briefly below the horizon,

but my heart will still be glad.

I've just had another solstice in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

And it doesn't get old.

Good night.  Or is it morning?

Family Togetherness

 I have returned to Alaska for another contract as a travel nurse

at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

My job is the same and I slipped into the role more smoothly than 

I had ever expected.  

I recognize many staff and they all accept my presence as normal, 

even though I've been gone 8 months.

Even quite a number of patients that I've treated in other summers

remember me and we chat like old friends.

It has been a wonderful return.

There is one BIG change, however.

I have chosen not to stay at the apartment from the past

but I'm living with Josh and Kathleen at their home in the hills

north of the city.

I drive the country, unpaved road to their house each evening

and am greeted with a good meal, smiles and hugs.

And enthusiastic greetings and smiles from my sweet, little

granddaughter, Abigail.

If she's on the deck when I pull in the yard,  she waves her arm

so much that her whole little body wiggles.

Now who wouldn't choose a welcome like that?

She's decided she likes wearing my shoes, besides.

                                      

And Grandma's car has a different car seat--

this one is front-facing so she can feel the wind blowing her hair.

Yay for watching what's coming for a change!

 I never wanted to stay with this little family for such an extended time

and still have the option of moving to Wedgewood Resort.

But Kathleen comes up with new reasons EVERY day
examining why I should stay with them.

  The silken threads of love seem to be binding me here.

I have a pretty little room to myself with windows looking out at dozens 

of tall birch trees and blue skies, birds and moose. 

 Reminds me of a college dorm room, all my personal things in one place.  

It feels good.  And right.

And I like waking to a tiny hand knocking on my door, calling "Mamaw!"

People Along My Path

We can learn so much from others.

One great benefit of my job as a nurse in an outpatient setting is that a vast array of different people come and go every day I am working.

Sickness is an amazing equalizer.

Butcher, baker or candlestick maker...

doctor, lawyer... you get the picture.

My patients are vulnerable, hurting or weak and I have the

privilege of treating them in an effort to improve their present condition.

And I totally believe in holistic nursing whereby I touch

body, soul and mind.

And that means talking and mostly listening.

*****

This sharing is certainly not limited to a hospital IV infusion room.

We  each have the wonderful opportunity of getting to know others

 if we are willing to reach out and try.  

Now, I must confess that I am often so tired from preparing for a trip

 that I get my window seat and curl up (as much as one can 

in a cramped airline seat) and go to sleep.

My back to the person next to me, my body language shouts,

"Leave me alone!"

But, once in awhile I make eye contact with a seatmate and a conversation ensues.

And I'm never sorry I did!

On the Seattle to Fairbanks flight, that's what happened.

This young man is from Moldova, an eastern European country

near Romania that used to be part of the USSR.

"A very small, poor agricultural country," he described in a thick accent.

His mother a teacher, father a farmer.

His father needed him to labor on the farm but understood his son wanted to expand his horizons by spending the summer in the US.

A sophomore in college near home, he is returning to Fairbanks 

to work at the Pump House Restaurant for the second year. 

I doubt his limited English skills could enable him to work

 as a waiter and, indeed, his job is a busboy.

We chatted about the great restaurant and how my daughter 

had her wedding dinner there 6 years ago.

He had been traveling for 2 days already 

and was very tired on this last leg of his journey.

He spent over $2,000 for his fare.

He did not know where he would be living but had a friend who was

 (hopefully) picking him up at the airport.

He was polite and pleasant and though I could not understand the

pronunciation of his name, he chatted comfortably.

I see  him as brave.

(Although if he were mine I'd see him as reckless, I must admit.)

20 years old and venturing to a far off land, speaking another language.

Unsure of lodging, transportation and working a poorly paid job.

I wonder that his pay covers his air fare, never mind meals and housing.

But he recognizes the poverty back in Moldova

and wants more choices for his life.

His experience in America is limited to Fairbanks,

but he grins and speaks of how much money and opportunity

is here in America.

Our brief time on the flight caused me to ponder on all I take for granted.

Opportunities.  Money. Security. Freedoms.

A sober pause to reflect on my life.

Thanks to a young college student far from home.

Wild at Heart

                             

The view from my window proves I'm no longer in Texas.

No cacti...

no mockingbird singing...

no 90 degree days... 

no deer in the backyard...

no backyard even.

But a moose recently grazed her way through the woods just outside

and I am wearing a sweatshirt and warm pants. 

Why?

My Alaskan summer has begun once again.

And I am ever so thankful.

As the plane left Seattle at 9:30 pm, it was dark and stars shone.

These would be the last stars I see until September.

Barely an hour into the northwestern flight

I noticed a faint line of yellow marking the horizon ahead.

From 33,000 feet above, the curvature of the earth is so evident.

And lovely with the glow of light marking it.

Such a strange phenomenon:

 the later the hour became, closer and closer to midnight,

the brighter this horizon grew--

the band of light growing wider and higher and redder.

Defying what my mind expected for the time of night.

Massive, snow covered mountains glow in setting sunlight

and tall, dark Black Spruce darken the land beneath the plane.

Our descent into Fairbanks connected with my soul 

and I recognized the wide, silty banks of the tangled Tanana River

meandering wherever its glacial waters choose.

My heartbeat quickened as I acknowledged the wildness of this land.

People may have settled here but nature dictates their course.

The land of Interior Alaska will not be tamed.

And this harsh and beautiful wonder thrills me.

The expanse of forest, height of the trees, twisting of rivers, 

and massive mountains all shout of excessive sizes.

Just because they can!

No borders limit them--one cannot stop a glacier grinding forward.

Nor a raging forest fire devouring hundreds of thousands of acres.

And my soul expands with this environment.

I am reminded how big my God is when I am here!

His mighty hand created all my eyes see!

I sigh and am filled with peace as the wheels touch down.

I pray I am ready to begin yet another brief span of time here

in this great place with people I love.

The Power of Multiplication

  Today is Mother's Day, a holiday my dad always scoffed at,

saying it just made Hallmark rich.  But, if I remember correctly, 

he still succumbed to buying flowers and such.

I want to take the day to tell you a personal story.

I love a story.  I always hated math.

But, as far as this story goes, the math is great!

Ready?

Once upon a time there was a young family of 4.

2+2=4

Soon to become a family of 5.

Here we are all dressed in our finest on Mother's Day, 1981.

Don't snicker, leisure suits were the fashion in those days.
And besides, just look at how color-coordinated we were!

The young mother treasured this wee baby, knowing she would be the last.

But, tired as she was, the young mother blinked 

 and discovered she was cuddling another baby--

the wee  daughter of her own tiny girl from years ago.

How did this happen?  

Well, it's all about basic mathematics.

First those three children grew up.

Into handsome and wonderful adults, I must say.

                                

Eventually the firstborn found the love of his life in Texas

and they became two.

1+1=2

                              

Another brief blink and they were 4.

How amazing is that math?!

The second little girl stayed in New York to choose her love

and they, also, became two.

1+1=2

They have also grown their family by one more and 

he looks a lot like them,

don't you agree?

And remember that wee babe in the pictures above?

Well, she traveled to school in Alaska where she met her soulmate.

1+1=2 

And the same mathematical principles proved true yet again...

Blink!

2+1=3

The mother found she LOVED the role of grandmother!

Someone said, "A mother teaches and loves but a 

grandmother teaches love" and that's so true!

        

This mother's heart stretches far and wide to hold her children and

grandchildren close though they live 1,000's of miles apart.

The winter visits from Alaska to Texas connect the cousins.

So much sweetness-

we try to capture it with a professional photographer

so the these portraits bring smiles during the many

months of being apart.

This may seem an odd picture to include,
(I actually took a picture of it where it sits on the mantle-haha.)

but that mother was troubled knowing that all of her family

had never been together in one place.

How to gather all her chicks under her wings for once?

A cruise ship would handle this bunch!

And this was the only picture that included all 10 of us!!!

If you notice, the newest grandbaby is hiding in this picture. 

  The first night, around the dinner table on the ship, 

the mother smugly announced,

"Well, we are finally ALL TOGETHER in one place!  

All 10 of us!".

Quietly, the youngest daughter added,

"All ELEVEN of us!"

And it doesn't stop there...

recently our "baby" shared some exciting news,

nonverbal though she is.

The front of this shirt read "BIG SIS".

11+1=12

So, today, on yet another Mother's Day,

this no-longer-young mother is filled with contemplations.

Peering at  a myriad of pictures on the computer,

(never mind all the albums in the closets),

she fondles a remaining pair of baby shoes that 

still bears the scuff marks made by a toddler years ago.

And she ponders, what if she had never blinked?

True, she would be holding a soft, pink baby in her arms

*******sigh*******

but she would miss the many wonders of growing children 

and then growing grandbabies (and grand-dogs).
And....
 SO. MUCH. LOVE.

                              

She knows in her heart that blinking is necessary,

but she'll never do it carelessly.
And this story has no end... thankfully.

Happy Mother's Day!