More Fall Joy

Autumn has almost completed her fall show. I have to enjoy these last few days while I can. Winter will be here before I know it.

How can you have Joy when your neighbor has Loss?

I'd had a normal day today. Kinda slow. I did a disability evaluation and a psychotherapy session, wrote up a couple of reports, got a large payment from a former client that I thought would never pay me, paid some extra bills, ran by the grocery store, went to the pet store with Sandy to buy a car harness (best $35 I've ever spent on that dog), and drove home. As I approached my home, I saw no fewer than 10 emergency vehicles including at least six long bed fire trucks (you cannot see all the vehicles in the above picture; they went down two different side streets and extended behind where I stood; this is the view from our home). Overhead flew a couple of news helicopters. My heart started to race.

The road was blocked off and I wasn't able to drive to my home. I couldn't tell whose home had been on fire, but mine was certainly a realistic possibility. My heart raced and my eyes started to tear. I asked someone standing by and got the impression that it probably hadn't been my house. I parked, got the dog out, and walked toward my home.

It wasn't ours. And, I exhaled with relief and joy, but the very quick feeling that followed was wondering how can I feel joy and relief when a tragedy has happened to my neighbor? (It was not anyone on my cul-de-sac, but the home is only a few homes away). My relief was because the tragedy was not mine, but someone else's. That isn't joy.

So, extend that. Where does someone become not my neighbor? One block? Two blocks? Different subdivision? Different zip code? Different city? Different county? Different state? Different country? When is someone not my neighbor?

My religious belief tell me that all are my neighbors. And, if tragedy and pain occurs to "the least of these" and all that, then they occur to all. It brings to my consciousness how so many tragedies throughout the world occur to people who are my neighbors. It just feels so overwhelming, so I shut them out and focus on my little family and my little neighborhood.

I find no joy in their tragedy, but I am human and I am relieved and grateful that the immediacy of the tragedy was not mind to manage. Somehow, that feels selfish. Human, I am sure, but selfish. But, I am grateful. And, I am especially grateful that the only loss was material and not life. And, I am grateful for our emergency response personnel.

Joy Is. . . A Beautiful Fall Day

I used to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Gorgeous. Lovely. Flowers year round. But, no true fall. Over the past nine years in Kansas, I have truly come to look forward to fall. It is even my favorite running season. Not much better than running on a lovely fall day.

Not that I ran today.

Saturday is my rest day following my Friday long run. It was so lovely, I almost ran today anyway.

Our Ginko tree dropped all her leaves today. You can see them dropping in this picture. She was full in the morning and totally bare by noon.

I've decided that my Hawaii vacation is truly over and that I need to get back to cooking meals, rather than throwing things together or going out. So, I made a Mexican lasagna tonight a la the November issue of Southern Living. Served with butter lettuce/pear salad and garlic green beans. It got a thumbs up for all four members of our human family. So, I'd recommend.

I cannot currently find it on-line, but it is the November 2010 issue (and, I HIGHLY recommend Southern Living).

And, then, for kicks and giggles, I made my first ever sweet potato pie. Also from the November issue. For a pie, I'd say that it isn't too terribly unhealthy. The kids had their requisit three bites plus two more on a voluntary basis. Eric and I finished our slices. But, I'm thinking that this won't be repeated. It wasn't bad, but not awesome either. That said, I'll probably have a slice for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow should be another lovely fall day. We have an extra hour, we got to the church we love so much, and I'll get to go out for an easy seven.

Team Rasmo Cousins Trip HAWAII, Day Nine Sunday

After flying from Kona to Honolulu to Oakland, we slept at the Hampton Inn in Alameda (lovely rooms, btw). We woke up to say goodbye to each other. And, it was Halloween. Brooke passed out funny glasses for the kids.

And, then we had to have a few goodbye pictures. Cousins.

Of course, we had to do some jumping pictures. Unfortunately, we neglected to get the sacred marshmallows of departure. We will not forget again. It felt wrong and dirty to leave without them.

We had so much fun and we are so grateful to Gammie and Papa for helping make this possible. We know that we are blessed to have a family that enjoys spending so much time together and who makes an effort to regularly spend significant time together. I have such awesome siblings who are married to people I also love. I am lucky, lucky, lucky. I hope that my children someday realize who privileged they are and that they never take it for granted.

This all brings me joy.

Team Rasmo Cousins Trip HAWAII, Day Eight Saturday

Time to go home. Sniff.

We had to rise early (now that we are finally on Hawaii time) and leave. Complicating our travel was the security problems with the tampered toner cartridges being shipped from Yemen. We had to prepare for tighter security (though we were flying out of tiny little Kona airport).

I had to snag a couple of pictures from the moving car as we drove to the airport.

"Save Ferris." How I caught that particular one is completely beyond me.

Goodbye Hawaii. We will miss you.

For what it is worth, I'm really glad we went to the big island, but I prefer Maui. I'm thinking that we will next hit Oahu. Maybe with the Rasmo Cousins in the future. But, next up for the Miles family: Playa del Carmen for Joey and Nayeli's wedding in January.

Team Rasmo Cousins Trip HAWAII, Day Seven Friday

Our last full day. We are all already sad. This day was just an easy day at the resort. We had yet to play in the lagoon.

Sarah, Brooke, and I tried stand up paddle boarding. I wish I had tried it the first day because I would have made a point of doing it daily. And, Cameron joined us. At first he complained that we weren't renting a paddle BOAT, but we told him that he was always free to use his own money to do what he wanted, but with our money, we were renting a paddle BOARD. And, he tried it. And, it liked it. And, he was glad that we are smart women.

And, then the day drew to night and it was time for our luau. In Gammie made dresses and shirts.

During the show, they invited one man from every table to dance on stage. Dave went and was, by far, THE BEST of all the men on stage. He rocked.

And, of course, the kids liked the fire dancing.

But the evening was late and the kids were tired. Time for bed. Time to say goodbye to Hawaii.