Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Visions of Grandeur

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Burn Pile Memories

Sorting. 

Thank goodness we put the house on the market way early. In getting things straightened up for showing we were forced early on to begin sorting through our material lives.
An easy place to start was with the two large boxes of tax records. 
While we watched fluffy English language movies during the long nights in early November I would go through folders and envelopes. So many utility bills, bank statements with numbers, but no meaning, so many checks for Scholastic book orders and Girl Scout Cookies. Every now and then there would be an astronomical check for a bonsai tree, a garden pot, an airplane ticket to France. These I would read out loud to Tom and we would be in wonder at what we had been doing at that time, who we were to spend so much money, who were those two people?
After we had reminisced and laughed at those forgotten experiences, 99% of those papers were put into paper bags for disposal. Being Fall the perfect thing to do was to stack all these bags into the garden cart and head on down to the burn pile. As flames caught the bags you could see the papers curling up and then ashes began to float into the air. Big paper ashes.

 Suddenly we both laughed. All those evenings of viewing our past. The chance to recapture memories that had drifted away were again drifting into the ether. What about writing that memoir that could have been pieced together? - now we could create just any ol’ thing we want. 

Friday, July 2, 2010

Group Lessons


Some lessons learned from group participation:

Listen
Be firm yet gentle in your statements. You will see these people in the grocery or at the gym
Learn from your elders and your youth
Be humble
Be joyous
Be silly
Take risks. You will feel stronger
Be passionate even when it is scary to be in the public eye. Say it even if your lips are trembling
The right group can be safe and make you better emotionally and better in your actions

Thank you Williston. Thank you Vermont for the all the opportunities to participate and shine in the little things we could contribute.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Are You a Groupie?

Tom thinks that when he moves to France that no groups will find him.

Ha!

Bonsai, “Don’t Mall Williston”, Choir, Habitat, the town council, Save the Steeple, Save the Horticulture Farm. Not sure that I can remember all the good causes and frantic needs he’s participated in. For someone that thinks he doesn’t like people he has had a lot to offer and talents to share. They will find him in France no matter his intentions to hide from humanity. And as we learned from our lovely experiences in Williston, what better way to get to know our community, our friends and neighbors.

In the meantime I will continue to participate in any happy group that comes along. We’re going to be in France. Let’s join in!!

Once he said the next time we move to a new country we’re not learning the language……. too late for that.  And I’m not moving to Siberia.