Plane on the Runway

It was 7:15 a.m. when we boarded the Delta flight 4677 leaving Calgary at 7:45 headed to Salt Lake City. Departure time was right on schedule. After the plane was pushed with the tug away from the terminal, we sat there, about 100 yards away from the buildings with the nose of the plane close to a curved line marking the preliminary boundary.

Then, the captain came on the speaker phone and informed us that he was going to be making the ‘first flight of the day’ check of the airplane and those duties would take a short time. Within a few minutes, the plane was taxiing to the main runway. The plane turned and situated itself in the center of the concrete facing the long stretch of runway ahead. Knowing the flight plan, the control tower gave directions and the pilot edged the throttle forward thrusting the plane from the runway to the sky.

I could see the morning traffic going at a snail’s pace along the Deerfoot Trail. Homes, office buildings and the green of spring dotted the landscape below. Shortly after taking to the air, there were clouds that hid the path ahead but with wings set and knowledge that all was in order, we headed forward until we were above the clouds. Once on the other side of the mist, we turned to the south and headed in the direction of our destination.

As I gazed across the landscape to the blue Rockies tipped with white snow, I couldn’t help but feel the power God in the universe. I said a little “Thank you” in my heart. Through the window beside me, I could see the sun glistening on the wing of the plane and the clouds looked like large puffy cotton balls still in the package. I felt like I could reach out and touch it all.

My mind rushed with the metaphor that this take-off was like a ‘believer’ daily checking in above. Whether we are pushed out of our beds each morning by our alarms, by the delightful smells of breakfast, or by the roar of the diesel on the street corner outside our window, we need to leave home making the ‘first flight of the day’ check with our Heavenly Father. Morning prayer is as essential to our navigation as an airlines check is to its operation. Then, as we travel through our clouds or daily struggles, those preparations will have set our spirit for smoother flying.

Our control tower is God, who knows who we are and what our flight plan is. Not only do these efforts make our system run smother, we know we will be flying in the right direction. Yes, there will be turbulence, but we will know that we have done our part to make the journey easier. We will be guided and protected because of our diligence. With that assurance, we too can enjoy the scenery along the way. Now, buckle your seat belts and enjoy the ride.

Cell Phones 24-7

I spent a wonderful afternoon on Monday, working in a friend's garden. What a nice visit we had as we quartered off the area and did our selected duties. It was Monday, May 24th, a holiday. We were not bothered by other people, animals or phone calls. We relished every minute of the quiet. We heard birds sing, children laughing and sounds of mowers in the neighborhood yards.

Later when I came home, I checked my cell phone in my pocket and found that it was not turned on. I had turned it off on Sunday and had not turned it on again. I smiled to myself and thought about those days when I was tied to the phone for calls from family and other responsibilities

I love my home phone, my cell phone and my computer, but I have learned that my solitude and my alone time needs to be mine. There is plenty of time during a working day to catch all of the phone calls. Phones systems are made now to take messages or we can just wait for people to phone back during business hours.

One of these days, I will do a study on the stress of being on call 24/7. In the meantime, I know in my heart that our time is not a time for being on call for someone else. It takes away from my time with my family, my time for work, and my time to just be. I want my free moments to be a time to dream and to ponder my memories. It's like having my own garden. Then, I'm rejuvenated to better know what calls I need to make or tackle the calls as they come.

Creating a Friendship

Who can say how much time it takes to create a friendship? Does it take an hour, a month, or a lifetime? Sometimes you know in a minute that someone is a kindred spirit. Why must it take forever for others? What is the value of time?

It doesn’t take so long to create a friendship as it does creating consistency in communication and making it a part of our life. Communication comes in different packages. Here are four ways communication helps friendship to grow:

Friendship grows when we take time to listen. Sometimes it is one talking and other times it is the other one talking – not one sided. Nor is it constantly talking about one subject. It is talking about thoughts and ideas, dreams and wishes. It is in a look, a sigh, a dream. It takes time to listen. It takes concentration and self restraint. We are sometimes gregarious creatures that love to talk about ourselves and our own ideas, but that fact can grow old if we are always the one talking.

Georgina just wanted to spout off. Samantha was busy with a project at home and wanted to get it done. Suzi had been hurt and ridiculed and there was no one else in site to listen to the difficulties she was having at the time. Samantha found her crying on the front steps of the office building. Feeling compassion and following a feeling she had to listen, Georgina was able to vent her anger and then to hurt feelings that took a listening ear. Soon there was interest and laughing coming from their direction. A distraught moment had turned to a friendship that continued. Samantha and Georgina had become friends and spent some interesting work breaks talking about things that they had in common.

Friendship grows as we spend time with each other. Time – something that is so rare today but is all around us. There is value in walking in the park for 30 minutes. Value is seen in doing things together - working on a project. There is value in going for a drive and sharing in the beauties of nature. There is value in just sitting together over a hamburger.

Charlene and Ray were feeling like they had nothing in common and were not spending quality time together. Charlene wanted to talk. Ray didn’t know what to say. They took a drive to a near by nature preserve, neither one saying anything. Little by little, they spoke to each other about the weather, the beautiful day. They both enjoy photography and began taking pictures of the lake, trees and distant beauties. Quite often the car would stop and a camera would come out of the window fixed on an object. Soon, time was spent out of the car just getting the right angle or focus. They expressed confidence in each others photo gathering and even joked about framing their art and learning how to display it in a fashion that would be salable. They took the time to share in something non threatening or something that was non descript. It was out of one person’s expertise where the other person may feel uncomfortable.

Friendship grows when we anticipate each other’s needs through service. We know when someone is hungry or when they are tired. Then we give them food or give them space to rest. Fixing a meal or straightening the bed or helping with work is time spent thinking about the other person. When we go out of our way to help someone, it is like walking in their shoes not for a mile but for a step or two, empathizing with their needs.

Mary and Carl Jones were getting on in years and found that their yard was beginning to be more than they could work with on their own. Illness had curbed their ability to take care of their property at that time. Many attempts to call a young man down the street to care for their yard had left them forlorn. Lawn service companies were much more than the Jones could afford. One sunny afternoon, Chuck and Jenny, neighbors from several blocks away, maybe 10 years younger and still physically active, came by one day with their mower, rake and garbage sacks and proceeded to work in Mary and Carl’s yard. At first they were hesitant to accept such a sign of intrusion, but with kind tones and swift action, their service was a token of friendship. That only happened once, but the service came at a time when it was difficult for the Jones. Several times later Chuck or Jenny would just stop by to say hello. Since then, Jones have been able to continue by themselves. Yet, the friendship that was developed that sunny afternoon was one they will never forget.

Friendship grows when we share in each other’s growth and development. We encourage improvement in physical fitness. We encourage education and learning and we make that possible.

Kay loved painting and working with her hands. She was talented with crocheting and sewing. One day, she became interested in making dolls. She painted their faces, attaching the heads, arms, and legs to soft cloth bodies. Her sewing skills were shown in her ability to make dresses, jackets, or crocheted hats and sweaters. Her husband encouraged her interest and soon it turned into a business she could do from her home.

Friendship takes effort and communication. It takes appreciation that one person has for another’s time and interest. It is a two way street with both parties needing to focus on doing good things – little by little - for people they just meet or people they care about.

Cousin Address List

I had a ‘bee in my bonnet’ this morning. I was interested in gathering up the names and addresses of all my children and those children of my siblings to make a ‘Cousin’s Address List.’ Cousins were always important to me when I was young, so I thought that I would make it possible that my children would have the opportunity to communicate with cousins, if they chose to do so.

Back in the day, things were different. Families stayed together and didn’t move too far from the home place. Families were more nuclear and many things rotated around the family and everyone kept in touch. Cousins lived right around the corner from each other.

Now, jobs take us from one corner of the nation to another. It is now thought that we change professions three times in our life, so not only do we move to go where the jobs take us, but we re-educate and move some more. Thus, many of our family members are scattered. We have our lives so packed with our own needs and wants that we have very little time for family or extended family, especially if we need to travel long distances.

Thus, I called, e-mailed and visited my siblings and my husband’s siblings, and their offspring to find all the names, phone numbers, address and e-mails of all of their children, the cousins, on both sides of the family. That was a delightful exercise. I spoke to people that I had not spoken to in a long time. Not, that it was intended, but that I just had not taken the time to do so.

I am grateful now that I have those numbers. I found that three cousins all had babies within the last month. One cousin’s husband just graduated from university and two others just bought new homes. Congratulations are in order for these families with new ‘firsts’ in their lives. Is this a time to share more than just a quip on a web site? How about a real conversation?

Angel Sisters

Irene and Beverly were 1st cousins and the only daughters of two sisters born at the turn of the century. Each of them had one older and one younger brother. Even though they lived over six hundred miles apart, they were like sisters, caring about each other. They stayed close over the years through letters, phone calls and visits.

After WWII, Irene showed off her young baby daughter to Beverly and later when Beverly was married, their bond did not cease. Over the years, they spent an evening now and then, after the children had been put to bed or on a Saturday afternoon, in the Bluebird Coffee Shop laughing and talking over soda and a piece of pie, while their husbands would take their turn for an hour to give their wives a break. Beverly and Mother could talk a mile a minute, crying over their problems and laughing at their “lot in life”. They had this little bit of time alone to share their thoughts and feelings and to take a deep breath.

I remember Mom and Beverly saying that when they would do that, they came home with renewed energy and enthusiasm for daily tasks. This was their ‘boost’ to give them the courage to put on a ‘stiff upper lip’ and get back to their homes as wives of diligent husbands and mothers of feisty little angels ready, daily, to give their moms a difficult time.

With eyes peeled, I observed first hand as these two ‘angel-sisters’ interacted. I was very small when my mother first took me with her and then recorded that experience in my baby book. Later in my youth, I remember the feelings of an experience where the two of them were laughing and talking at their meeting. There was an overwhelming kinship they had for each other as if time stood still. Again, I reminisce, as a new bride, visiting Beverly and her family. I was welcomed into her family, as if I were her sister, securing that friendship into my own life.

Do you have an ‘angel sister’ or a cousin that takes time out of their day to give you a word of encouragement? If not, there are others waiting to hear a good word from you.

Feeding the Ducks

A lot of water has flowed under this bridge since I was young and so loved to feed the ducks with my father. That was one of the original, great past times of my youth. I still have actual photographs of those good old days picnicking by a stream or a pond where the feathers dotted the grass and the “poop” was scattered everywhere which made us watch our step.

I remember taking my own children on duck feeds, but they won’t remember those times as much as my grandchildren will. When my children were young, we did not live very close to a duck pond, so they were really not the draw. We lived in Canada where the summers were short and ducks were ‘game birds.’ I know that our mechanic had ducks in his back yard, which we went to see once or twice. More often, we would always see the ducks and the geese fly overhead in the spring and in the fall, watching them land in a nearby stubble field where they could find the gleanings of the past harvest. Sill, I love that picture in my mind of birds on the wing.

Now, I love to spend an afternoon or a few hours with the grandchildren feeding the ducks which takes me back to my childhood. I usually rob the bread drawer of all the old half used loaves and buns with the ends left open that are hard and crusty. I load everyone in the van and we head for the closest grocery store to get a fresh loaf to replace what we have taken and pick up any old day old bread that may be available. Sometimes, we are too late in the day for the day old bread.

When we arrive at the park, I love the interaction between child and duck. One always insists on chasing or trying to pick up one of the ducks. One always wants to make the duck his life long friend. One might be afraid of the duck because he at one time got bit or chased by one himself. One will always love the water. One loves to gather the sticks and the feathers. Finally, of course, there is always one that loves to help me take the pictures. Usually each child takes his turn at being one or many of the ‘one’s’ above.

On a sunny day, early last summer, I remember taking four grandchildren, who were between the ages of four and nine, to the duck pond. It was a beautiful afternoon as we all danced in the grass with the warmth of the sun on our backs. We were feeding the ducks until every bag was empty, even shaking the bag to get every last crumb on to the grass. Darting around the droppings on the sidewalk, we started on a journey - the half mile trek around the pond as we were laughing and talking. Finding very unusual items by the water's edge, turned our conversations to recycling, rain, endangered species, families, and this time together.

Time seemed to float on air until we came to a grassy knoll where each of the children struggled to climb a nearby tree. Many of the lower limbs had been trimmed off so - stuggle they did. In the distance, we could hear the burbling of a small stream. Then, like a siren calling to a ship, it pulled their gaze and they darted off to see how close they could get without falling in. Nervously, this grandmother encouraged them to continue the back stretch of the walk where we were again discussing life in a way only understood by children as they collected sticks - each child attempting to find a bigger stick than the previous find.

Wearily, without any coaxing, we all ambled into the van satisfied that the trip had been worth every minute. We even have pictures to prove it.