Celebrating the Friendship Between Canada and the States

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I found such joy today!

I drove up to the Peace Arch Park on the border of Canada and the States, to celebrate the friendship between our two nations.

The weather was interesting on the drive up. I left under blue skies and fluffy white clouds, but when I got near Lake Samish I suddenly found myself driving through snowfall. That lasted about ten minutes, and then I was in the sun again. “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb,” right? – and I guess when you’re in the middle of March you get all of that on the same day.

Many cosmic and wonderful things happened today.

Before I left for Peace Arch Park, I’d needed to make a stop at an old neighbor’s house. This old neighbor now lived in a neighborhood where an old teaching friend of mine had once lived. I’d asked my old neighbors if Lou still lived there, and they said he’d moved away a while ago.

So guess who I ran into at the rally at Peace Arch Park?!! Lou!! Lou had married another teaching friend of mine, Michelle, and they now lived in Bellingham. It seemed absolutely cosmic that I should run into Lou and Michelle (and their sweet pup, Brody) when I’d just been thinking of them that morning. But I’m starting to realize that cosmic coolness is happening all the time, and we just don’t always notice it.

My friend, Tom, was there today, too. He and another friend, Haidee, were the original creators of the Peace Arch Park get-togethers. Another person I consider an old friend now, Ranger Rick, the beloved Peace Arch Park ranger, came down to the arch to see how we all were doing and if we needed anything. AND I found the sister to my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign: TRUTH JUSTICE COMPASSION! How cool is that?!

I met new friends today, too – Cora was there with her “TOGETHER WE ARE AMERICA” sign; Arsh (an American citizen) was at the Peace Arch with his girlfriend, Harleen (a Canadian citizen) and they posed in front of the boundary marker for me as they walked their way down to U.S. Customs; Georgia from Lynden was there, to show her support for our friendship with Canada; and, afterwards, when I sat down at a picnic bench by the water, nibbling on the macaron I’d bought myself at L&L Bakery, I met Nancy who’d come up to Blaine to take pictures of birds. I learned Nancy was a retired school principal and teacher, and an avid birder. I had such fun chatting with Nancy in the sunshine at that picnic table and talking about birds with her. (I told her about that whooping swan I’d seen a couple days ago, and gave her directions to where she might find it – I hope the swans are still there for her tomorrow.) While Nancy and I were talking, a sweet pup named Finnegan wandered off the sidewalk to come say hi and get a pet on the head. He was such a sweetheart!

Pups and old friends and new friends and the inspiration that comes when two neighboring nations come together to celebrate their friendship – today was full of magic, my friends.

Nudged by Love to Find the Magic

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March 9:
This morning a series of what seemed like random happenings led me to run into a friend I rarely see – and brought me such joy! Later, as I contemplated this, it felt, to me, that the entire way I had been led by Cosmic Love – nudged and guided to that surprise meeting with my friend. And it occurred to me that this kind of magic is happening to us all the time – that Love is continually guiding us to beautiful gifts. I am so grateful for all the good that fills my life.

So here’s what happened:

I’d gone off at sunrise to make a run to Fred’s to get something for a friend. I hadn’t gone far on my drive when I came upon an amazing reflection of the sunrise in a flooded field. Magic! I took some quick pictures and continued on my errand.

I found what I needed for my friend, bought myself some groceries while I was there, and then, on impulse, got myself one of those Lindt creamy chocolate bars, too. (That candy bar is going to appear later in the story.) When it came time to ring me up, the total came to $66.66. “Six six six six,” the cashier said. “Well, that’s kind of scary,” I said, laughing. My friend, Patty, who was just about to come in as a cashier, started laughing then, too. She reminded me that the week ends with a Friday the Thirteenth, too. “Let’s round it up for the food bank,” I said (I was going to do that, anyway), and everyone nodded their heads in agreement that this was a good plan.

I drove home – stopping at my friend’s house to deliver what I’d gotten for her – and, when I got home, started unpacking the rest of my groceries. When I got to the bottom of my canvas bag, I realized that my candy bar was missing. Huh. It was such a small thing, at first I thought I’d just chalk it off as one of those things that happens sometimes, and move on. But I finally decided I might as well call Fred’s and see if a candy bar had been left behind and turned in to their customer service people. I was embarrassed to make the call asking about a candy bar (!), but the customer service person asked, “Lindt? Extra creamy?” And when I confirmed this, she said it was sitting right there, waiting for me. Whoah. I told her I’d be right in to pick it up.

There was a small line at customer service. When the woman ahead of me got up to the desk she bought a Powerball and a Lotto ticket. Although I’ve bought a lotto ticket for Scott a couple times when he’s asked me to – I have never, in my life, bought a lotto ticket for myself. I was kind of intrigued by the idea of it. The Mega Millions one is up to $533 million now. I started fantasizing about what it would be like to win something like that.

Anyway. So when it was my turn at the customer service desk, I announced myself as “the candy bar lady” and said I was really embarrassed about this. The customer service woman started laughing, and assured me that this kind of thing happens all the time, and handed me my Lindt bar.

I brought my candy out to the car, but then I thought again about that Powerball thing. It is a weird week with Friday the 13th and everything, and maybe, for me, it would be a LUCKY week. So I threw my Lindt bar into the car, and then headed back in to Fred’s to get myself one of them there Mega Million thingies – a vision of stacks of money tickling my brain.

When I got to the lobby, my friend, Amanda, entered from the other door – and there we were! It was so good to see her again! Amanda is one of those people that just exudes joy and kindness – and anyone blessed to be in her presence, feels it. I told her I was on my way in to buy a Lotto ticket of some kind, but I wasn’t really sure how to do it. She said her dad buys Lotto tickets sometimes, and walked me through what I needed to say to the clerk. I thanked Amanda, and started to turn away to go get a Lotto ticket, when I realized that being led to come back into the store hadn’t been about getting a Lotto ticket at all! It had been about running into Amanda in the lobby! I told Amanda this, and she grinned and nodded her head, and we stayed and chatted together for another ten minutes. It was wonderful.

I never did get a Lotto ticket.

On the way home, I took a side road and came upon a field of trumpeter swans flapping and honking and having a jolly good time. When I first got there, there were actually swans on both sides of the road, and – I do not think I’ve ever seen this before – a line of swans waddled across the road in front of me like they were pedestrians in a crosswalk. It was charming. Magic!

Lessons from a Peace Workshop

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Years ago I took part in a peace workshop being taught at our local community college by Leo Valk (I think that was his name?), from de Nederlands. Here’s what I remember about the peace workshop –

1) Leo asked us to draw a line down the middle of a paper. On one side of the line he asked us to draw war, and write our definition for war. On the other side he asked us to draw peace, and write our definition for peace. This got us all thinking about what war and peace actually ARE.

Then he told us that there are actually different kinds of war, and different kinds of peace. There is negative peace and positive peace: Negative peace is just the absence of war; Positive peace is built on the idea of social justice for all members of a society. Leo talked about Von Clausewitz and Tolstoy and Karl Deutsch and their differing views on war. Leo asked us if we thought, as Von Clausewitz did, that war can be justified as a way to solve problems when diplomacy doesn’t get us what we want? Is war, as Tolstoy believed, like a natural disaster that we can’t prevent, but shouldn’t participate in? Can just the threat of war be seen as war, as Karl Deutsch believed? Can we justify war if it’s used to stop evil? Or is war, as Gandhi believed, the worst evil of all?

Leo got us thinking.

2) Leo talked about nuclear weapons and explained the difference between missiles and warheads – just limiting the number of missiles, doesn’t limit nuclear power when each one of those missiles can have more than one warhead on it. He asked us if we thought a nuclear war was “winnable.” And if you “won” a nuclear war, what would that look like? What would be left of civilization to “win” when there’s already enough nuclear weapons to annihilate all life off the face of the planet?

3) He talked about strategies in a nuclear disarmament:

– Unilateralism – when a nation says, in essence, “We’re done playing this game,” and gives up all its nuclear weapons without waiting for other nations to give up their weapons.

– Reciprocity – when nations take turns giving up their weapons – “We’ll give up this, if you give up that.” This helps to build trust between nations.

4) He talked about ways to maintain peace:

– Stop changing boundaries – establish them and keep them.

– A nation’s security depends on the security of other nations. Maintaining peace is letting your neighbors know they’re safe, and not threatened by you. If countries are happy and prospering they’ll be less inclined to invade other countries.

– Do not intervene in other nations’ governments.

– Working with other nations to solve problems we all share – problems with the air we all breathe, and the oceans we share – builds alliances and trust.

– Trade with other countries is a way to maintain friendships and alliances.

I think so much of what Leo taught us all those years ago is timely now, too. I’ve been asking myself how our nation’s leadership is doing with the whole “maintaining peace” thing, and I’d have to give them all a failing grade right now. In fact, it seems like our leadership is doing the exact opposite of what brings peace.

Behold, the Worms!

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When I finally got out of bed this morning, I was relieved to find that it was pouring rain outside. Good. When it’s sunny in the Pacific Northwest, I almost feel guilty if I’m not outside doing something. I was in the mood for an “inside” day. The first part of my day was wonderfully uneventful – I made a quiche, watched the latest episode of Will Trent, puttered around the house until 2:00.

(We’ll call this next bit “foreshadowing” – Scott just got home as I was typing this on my phone and, without any initiative on my part, AI began transcribing our conversation: “what are you up to? worms worms bathing worms worms there’s quiche in the fridge if you want some forecast on my app it’s gonna get like 6 feet of snow.” Our lives have become close captioned. I’m a little freaked out.)

Anyway. So at 2:00 I finally extricated myself from the house and went to the post office and the bank. Except for a quick conversation with the teller about her new short haircut (“frames your face, brings out your eyes”), I was pretty much having a “vow of silence” day.

When I got home from my brief excursion into society, I said to myself, “Karen! You’ve got to get moving! C’mon! Go take a walk around the block!” And so I did. And, almost as soon as I’d taken my first step, I spotted a little worm making his way across the pavement. I saved him and brought him to my rose garden. And, realizing that I was likely going to find more worms to save, I found the perfect twig to help me scoop worms off the road. I ended up saving eight or nine. Brought them all back to my rose garden to join the first one I’d rescued.

Saving worms was – and I am not joking about this – the highlight of my day. The Cosmos gave me something I could save today. This is no small thing when one is living in times like these, and when one often feels helpless to make anything better. Today I can say I saved lives.

So when Scott got home and asked me what I’d been doing today, I told him, “Saving worms.” Maybe thinking he didn’t hear me right, he asked, “Saving what?” and I repeated, “Saving worms.” Which got transcribed into “bathing worms” by the ever-present AI that lives in our lives.

Behold, the worms!

“Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright”

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Cosmic magic in abundance!

My friend, Rebecca, and I met for coffee and a walk at Boulevard Park this morning. We sat at Wood’s for a while, drinking our coffees, eating our pastries, and sharing our concerns, our hopes, our inspiration. It was exactly what I needed, my friends. I’d arrived at Wood’s Coffee Shop feeling discouraged and disillusioned. I left Wood’s feeling hopeful and celebrating my disillusionment. It is not a bad thing to shed our illusions.

Rebecca told me that when she woke up this morning there was a Bob Marley song in her head – “Don’t worry about a thing ’cause every little thing gonna be alright…” And as we left Wood’s we started singing that song – wanting to spread the hope in it. We hadn’t finished the first line, when two young women started dancing and joining in with us. We parted for a few minutes as they went one way around the park, and we went the other way. But when we met up again at the end of the park, we introduced ourselves – Willow, Addyson, Rebecca, and Karen – shared in a few moments of encouragement for each other – and came in for a group hug. Our new friends are so cool – young and brave and kind – and they give me hope for our future.

Rebecca and I headed for the boardwalk then, for our walk. We soon met sweet Rosie pup, who approached us for a hug – aww…look at that sweet face! And not long after Rosie, we met little Enzo pup who came skipping down the trail ready to meet new friends.

As we approached Taylor Dock we saw a woman taking a photo of her family and I asked if I could get a picture for her that included her in it. She said that would be great, and handed me her phone. I told the family that while I took the picture, Rebecca was going to serenade them with a little song. And while we sang, and I took the picture, the family joined in and danced and sang with us: “Don’t worry about a thing ’cause every little thing gonna be alright…” There was cosmic magic there, my friends. Such joy! I asked them if I could get a picture of them for myself – because they had brought me joy today. They cheerfully agreed to this. (I’m always hesitant about taking pictures of children, but they felt fine about including the youngsters.) You’ll find the family in one of the photos below (from left to right): Kyler, Drew, Tyler, Anna, Nancy, and Alyssa.

I told Nancy that I’d been named Nancy for three days, and then my dad took a poll at the office, and guess what my name became?

The family looked at me expectantly, waiting for the punchline.

“Karen,” I said. “Thanks, Dad.” And they all started laughing. I love people who can laugh with me.

Rebecca and I continued up the ramp from Taylor Dock, and then decided to take the alternate route back, going in back of the Chrysalis Inn and through the little park on 10th Street.

Rebecca is a wonderful walking buddy. She gets the joy of meeting new people and pups, of taking in the glory of nature, of looking for the magic.

By the time I got back to my car, I felt like I’d had a productive session of therapy. Boardwalk therapy.

And “don’t worry about a thing ’cause every little thing gonna be alright.”

“You Have Such Cool Names”

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I had a nice walk along the River Walk in Mount Vernon. Met sweet Indigo pup who approached me for a pet on the head and a scratch behind the ears. Exchanged “Go Seahawks!” with a couple of folks wearing their Seahawks caps. Saw a young man lithely leap over a fence from the embankment to get to the riverwalk. He was kind of shy. Ducked his head as he approached. But I had to say it – “That was pretty athletic!” I observed – and I got a big grin from him.

After my walk, I fetched my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign out of my car and went to join the folks in front of the Courthouse. I met two new friends down there today and they both had way cool names: Osa and Selah. After they’d introduced themselves, they turned expectantly to me to learn my name. Sheeze. “You guys have such cool names,” I said humbly. “But I guess every group needs one of me. I’m Karen.” Osa and Selah gave me welcoming, inclusive smiles – as I’d expect from the people in front of the Courthouse – reassured me about my name, and took me into their fold.

I’ve forgotten to take the “SEAHAWKS” side of my sign off since the Superbowl, so I made use of it and flipped to it a couple of times today. Once, I got two people shaking their heads in disapproval at my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign, but when I flipped it to SEAHAWKS, I got smiles and two thumbs up. You’d think that TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS would be something everyone could agree with, but I have found this is not always the case. The response that gave me a big laugh, though, was when I got a thumbs up for TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS and a tilty-handed “meh” for the SEAHAWKS.

Just a Thought…

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Can you imagine what our world would look like if, instead of wasting our time worrying about feeding our egos and naming buildings after ourselves and seeking revenge on those we think are our enemies, we instead spent our time being kind and fair, and making sure we did right by each other?

Just a thought.

Alrighty. Carry on then…

Shameless Self-Promotion

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And now a moment of shameless self-promotion. An editorial review for The Madcap Christian Scientist: All Things New from the French UBuy site:
https://www.ubuy.fr/en/product/3OFRIRHM0-the-madcap-christian-scientist-all-things-new

“Of the People, By the People, For the People”

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As Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address – our government is “of the people, by the people, for the people.” It’s not meant to dictate to us. We are meant to dictate to it.

I have recently been involved in some interesting discussions about our Bill of Rights and what it means – particularly the provision in the First Amendment for peaceful protest.

I think there are things that should be considered non-partisan: decency, fairness, equity, kindness, wisdom, honesty. And there are certain things that no party should tolerate: cruelty, inhumanity, bigotry, racism, misogyny, dishonesty.

In a thread on a friend’s FB wall, one poster pointed out that 56-67 ICE detainees died during the time of the Obama administration. (Note that according to The Guardian, “Thirty-two people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] custody in 2025 – making it the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades, as the Trump administration moved to detain a record number of people.”)

In a comment to another poster, I wrote: “…thank you for reminding us all that this is a non-partisan issue, and whenever our Bill of Rights is ignored – no matter what administration is in charge – it is our duty to protest to make sure we keep our rights.”

To which, that poster replied, “…well the left treats it like Its (sic) a partisan issue and only sends (sic) to have a problem because trump is doing it. If you’re gonna protest then you need to protest when the left does it or allow when the right does it too. Its (sic) not rules for thee and not for me.”

To which, I posted the photo below – of me marching in a local migrant farmworkers’ march in 2012, during the Obama administration.

And no, I certainly don’t think any of us should EVER “allow” cruelty, injustice, inhumanity – regardless of which party is sitting in the White House. Activism – fighting for the rights of others, and for our own rights – doesn’t begin when one party gets in office, and end when another party gets in office. It should be, I think, a lifelong commitment to our country, and our world.

Another poster posted a response that gave me my first laugh out loud of the day. I’m still cracking up. 😀 Here’s a screenshot of that conversation…

I’m finding a sense of humor is essential to keeping one’s sanity in these interesting times. 😀

When Mama Was Dying

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There was a time – almost exactly nine years ago now – when I was terrified and felt like I was facing challenges impossible to overcome. Both my parents were in the hospital – Mom on one floor, Dad on the floor above her. I’d just learned that Mom was not going to be allowed to return to her retirement community apartment because they couldn’t provide the medical care she’d need. I had made calls to assisted living places and to offices that provided in-home nursing care and learned that the cost of my mom’s care – combined with care for Dad – would cost $15,000 or more a month. Their savings might buy them a couple months, but then I might need to get into my own retirement savings to care for them.

And beyond the money terror, I was feeling a deep grief. Mom was dying. My sweet mama was dying. No one would ever love me like Mom loved me, or know me as she had known me. I remember sobbing with hopelessness.

I talked with my husband about our options, and he supported me in my decision to have Mom brought to our home. He agreed to help me care for her. The social workers at the hospital were concerned for me – they kept asking me if this is what I really wanted to do, and I said yes. I didn’t know how we were going to do this – my husband and I were both working full-time then, and I wasn’t sure when we were going to actually be able to sleep. But I knew it was the right thing to do. I felt Love leading me to make this decision for Mom.

Mom was brought by ambulance to my home on President’s Day nine years ago. A hospice nurse from Hospice Northwest came to show Scott and me how to care for Mom. We weren’t sure how long we’d have with her – I think we were told she wasn’t expected to live more than six months – but… I picked up on the signs from the hospice nurse as she examined Mom that we probably didn’t have that long.

Mom and I spent the whole afternoon telling each other how much we loved each other. Mom – who’d always been one of the bravest people I’d ever known – was scared. I can’t remember any other time when I’d seen her scared. She asked me, “What happens when I die? Will I see you again?” And I told her that nothing could separate us from the love we have for each other. Love doesn’t die. I assured her we’d meet again. She nodded her head and seemed to accept my words as the truth. Later, as it got hard for her to speak, I asked her one more time if she loved me – I was greedy. And she looked at me with such intensity – her eyes on mine filled with love – and nodded her head. I will never forget that look in her eyes. I carry it with me still, and it reassures me.

That night I slept on the couch by her hospital bed. I had this beautiful dream full of butterflies and green fields and felt this sense of joy and peace and love brush by me. When I woke from this dream I realized Mom wasn’t struggling to breathe and I thought, “Oh, she’s okay. I don’t need to give her any medication right now.” And I closed my eyes to go back to sleep, and then I realized… I got out of bed and felt my mama, and she was cool. I went upstairs to tell Scott I thought she had passed, but I wasn’t sure. Scott came downstairs and felt her pulse, and said, “Moz is gone, Sweetie.”

The hospice nurse came and walked us through what we needed to do. I’ll always be grateful for our hospice nurses.

But now my thoughts turned to Dad – he was soon to be released from the hospital and I still didn’t know how we were going to give him the care he needed. He was 98 then and suffering from a kind of dementia – and I didn’t feel equipped with the skills to help him. I prayed. I prayed desperate prayers, and I went for a walk to try to find some peace. As I was walking, a rainbow suddenly arched over the field I was passing, and I felt Mom with me.

The social workers at the hospital asked me if I’d ever looked into adult family homes, and gave me a pamphlet with phone numbers. On the second call I felt I’d found the right place for Dad and when my brother and I stopped by to check it out we saw bird feeders and dogs and cats – and we knew Mom would have loved the woman who answered the door. Again, I felt Mom’s presence with us. We’d found the right place for Dad – and within his budget, too!

I learned something from that experience. The answers are always there – even when things seem impossible. I hadn’t known that adult family home even existed the day before – and now here it was! Just waiting for Dad! Love had this place waiting for him!

Dad lived another three years and the people in his adult family home became like family to us. They are still very dear to me.

And I still feel Mom and Dad with me. We’ve never been separated. Nothing can separate us from Love. We’re connected by Love, forever and ever. Amen.