Experiences, New and Old
Living gratefully today, I am noticing the peace and quiet of early morning and how it is absorbed into me when I sit, fully present, for a moment. It is a good way to start the day.
Experiences, new and old, are the stuff of life. This weekend included the new experiences of snowshoeing with my sisters Zita and Ruth and my husband Darcy. Ruth had the idea and it was something we had always wanted to try.
Beautiful weather and one of several scenic parks in Decorah, Iowa greeted us. We had a pleasant time working some different muscle groups while enjoying the fresh air, sunshine, and each other’s company. I would definitely snowshoe again. A new way for me to play in the snow, in a year where "play" is my focus word.
That evening, we enjoyed the new experience of one of the local breweries and the nostalgia of a long table and benches as 14 of us taste tested both beverages and food. Darcy and I were joined by six of my siblings and their spouses. I treasure these times together.
On Sunday, some of us again gathered together at the nursing home where our mom lives. We were there to get an early start on her birthday celebration. As her memory fades, she still speaks clearly of some of her own experiences in decades past. But I feel her slipping further away, little by little.
Her children and grandchildren are going through the new experiences of watching this decline, this fading, each from our own perspective. It is emotional, sad, sentimental, inevitable, and more. There are lessons in gratefulness still be found though.
I am grateful for the time I had with my family this weekend, with our aging mother, with each other.
Such time has always been a blessing, a blessing I more fully realize and appreciate now as I age myself.
Experiences, new and old, are the stuff of life. This weekend included the new experiences of snowshoeing with my sisters Zita and Ruth and my husband Darcy. Ruth had the idea and it was something we had always wanted to try.
Beautiful weather and one of several scenic parks in Decorah, Iowa greeted us. We had a pleasant time working some different muscle groups while enjoying the fresh air, sunshine, and each other’s company. I would definitely snowshoe again. A new way for me to play in the snow, in a year where "play" is my focus word.
That evening, we enjoyed the new experience of one of the local breweries and the nostalgia of a long table and benches as 14 of us taste tested both beverages and food. Darcy and I were joined by six of my siblings and their spouses. I treasure these times together.
On Sunday, some of us again gathered together at the nursing home where our mom lives. We were there to get an early start on her birthday celebration. As her memory fades, she still speaks clearly of some of her own experiences in decades past. But I feel her slipping further away, little by little.
Her children and grandchildren are going through the new experiences of watching this decline, this fading, each from our own perspective. It is emotional, sad, sentimental, inevitable, and more. There are lessons in gratefulness still be found though.
I am grateful for the time I had with my family this weekend, with our aging mother, with each other.
Such time has always been a blessing, a blessing I more fully realize and appreciate now as I age myself.
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