Tag Archives: community

“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.

Finding the Magic on a Dark Day

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It was dark and cold and I needed to get out of the house and find some magic.

I drove towards La Conner, took a left, another left, and a right, and ended up at Kohl’s in Burlington. I rarely shop at Kohl’s, but I found myself heading towards their door. I meandered towards the back of the store and looked to the left, and this is where I found magic!

There was a happy little toddler there, busily pushing one of those toy popper mowers and my heart just melted at the sight of him. He was joy personified! I looked around to see who he was with, and found his mom and dad watching him from the aisle. They saw me grinning and laughing, tickled by their little boy, and started laughing with me. After a couple of attempts, I realized the little one’s mom and dad didn’t speak English – I think they were speaking Oaxacan – but we managed to communicate without words, and I was able to let them know I wanted to buy the popper toy for their toddler. They nodded and smiled, and followed me as I went to the cashier to pay for the toy. When I’d bought the popper mower, I brought it back to the little one – who was sitting in the cart now – and thanked him for the pleasure of meeting him today. It – all of it! – was magic!

I wandered around the shopping area for a while then – to See’s for some California brittle – to Petco to watch the fish. And then I drove to Fred’s for some impulse shopping.

I picked up a bag of oranges, a bag of apples, cherry tomatoes, cat food, yogurt, and went to the cashier to pay. She asked me how I was doing and I told her it was cold and dark and I needed to come to Fred’s and buy impulse items. “Like cat food,” I said, “and I don’t even have a cat!” She started laughing with me. I told her nah, I was just joking.

It brings me joy to be with people who know how to laugh with me.

It was still cold and dark outside as I drove home, but now my inside was all warmed up with laughter.

The Way It Should Always Be

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PUPS!!! So many sweet pups on the boardwalk today! They brought me such joy, filled my heart all up with good things. There were two Lilahs; a Motley; Aspen with her human, Ash, ; Gypsy; my old friend, Daisy, with her buddy, Melody; Akira, who danced down the boardwalk; and my old friend, Baker – who came bounding down the boardwalk to greet me.

The bay was beautiful today, too – blue and shiny, with fog on one side, and the Canadian Coastals on the other.

The road above Taylor Dock to Fairhaven was closed because of construction, so I went up one block to by-pass the blocked street and then came down into Fairhaven from above. I felt Cafe Blue calling to me – I haven’t been there for a while and was missing the welcoming vibe. Cafe Blue has always been packed full of people when I’ve been there, so I mentally prepared myself for that. I figured if I couldn’t find a place to sit, I’d just get a coffee to go and take it with me on my walk back to my car.

Cafe Blue WAS packed again today, but, cosmically, as soon as I got done giving my order and started looking for a table, one opened up! It was a table for four and I felt kind of greedy sitting there – so I put myself in the corner of the table, ready to offer the rest of the table to whoever was looking for a place to sit.

My coffee arrived and I settled into the space, closed my eyes for a minute and just let myself absorb the joy around me. When I opened my eyes I saw a couple of young women who looked like they were looking for a place to sit. I offered them the open seats at my table and they sat there until the table next to mine opened up for them. One of the women, Elena, had cool rings on every finger, and I asked her about them. She said the one on her thumb had been made by her grandma, and the other rings were ones she’d mostly found in shops around Bellingham – rings with art and cool quartz and tiger’s eye rocks. I told her I love rocks, too, and reached for my amber necklace to show it off to her – and then I realized I’d forgotten to wear it today. Elena laughed and said that happens to her, too – just when she wants to show off something, she doesn’t have it with her.

I enjoy the feeling of community I always feel in the Cafe Blue – strangers smiling at each other, sharing tables, becoming friends. That’s the way it should always be.

I Smiled the Whole Way Home

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Fred’s was full of Seahawks fever today. They’ve got this big screen tv set up in the middle of the store with a comfy chair in front of it. Highlights from Seahawks games are playing on the screen, and every time I passed the TV, I stopped to watch for a moment – Bobo catching a touchdown pass; Smith-Njigba running the ball in for six points. So fun!

Today there was a man seated in the comfy chair, watching the highlights with a smile on his face. I recognized him as the man who worked in the big bookstore in the Cascade Mall maybe 30 or 35 years ago. We exchanged smiles and greetings and watched the highlights together for a bit.

There were so many sweet toddlers in Fred’s today – and, being the grandmother of a toddler, I find myself wanting to exchange smiles with each and every sweet one of them. Such joy!

I ran into an old teaching colleague, Rob, at Fred’s. I tailgated him with my cart until he finally turned around to see who was behind him, and then his face lit up in recognition. He smiled and asked how I was doing. I said, “You know…” I asked him how he was doing and he said, “Same.” We gave each other a hug and wished each other a good day and exchanged one more smile before we moved on.

There was a young man in the store – early thirties maybe – and we kept passing each other in the produce section. Every time we’d pass each other, we’d smile. And this young man’s smile was so genuine and kind that I got a sudden image of what he would have looked like as a smiling toddler – and that put a grin on my face.

After I was done with my shopping, I went to the in-store Starbucks to get myself something to drink. There were a couple people waiting in line in front of me. I saw that the barista was manning the counter all by herself – busily whipping up coffees for the people who’d already ordered. And I came to a decision. I leaned into the people in front of me – a woman of maybe my age and a younger woman with a young child in her cart – and I said that I wanted to buy their drinks for them – that way the barista would only have to ring up one transaction.

The younger woman, Kelsey, said she’d feel guilty letting me pay, but the woman of about my age, Shelly, knew that I really wanted to do this for them, and convinced Kelsey to agree to my offer. By this time another young woman had gotten behind us, and I said I wanted to take care of her, too. She initially resisted, but eventually gave in and let me buy for her. I told them that I really needed to do this for MYSELF today.

And so when it was our turn, I stepped up and ordered two cake pops (one each for the younger women’s children), an iced caramel macchiato for Kelsey, and a “senior coffee” for Shelly to bring to her husband, and a hot caramel macchiato for myself. Everyone thanked me, and Shelly said she was going to be sure to “pay it forward” later in the day. It’s amazing how much joy I got from connecting with those women.

There were more smiles as I exited Fred’s with my cart and drink – a customer smiled and motioned for me to go ahead of him; a Fred’s employee who was walking out of the store in front of me, turned around and offered a big smile; another employee smiled and wished me a good day. These little exchanges – these little kindness in life are powerful, my friends.

I smiled the whole way home.

I walk with Love along the way,
And O, it is a holy day;
No more I suffer cruel fear,
I feel God’s presence with me here;
The joy that none can take away
Is mine; I walk with Love today.
– Christian Science Hymnal #139

I’m Glad I Got Out of Bed to See Them

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I’ll be honest, my friends, I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. A message from a friend finally got me moving. “C’mon, Karen!” I said to myself. “Let’s go!”

I decided to go into La Conner to pay my monthly cable bill. Jeri was in the office today – it’s always good to see her smiling face. I paid my bill and then walked through the town, down the boardwalk, and to the Calico Cupboard for lunch. Along the way I took photos of the Valentines on display, and a little kingfisher that was chittering and chattering, diving and darting among the boats. I love kingfishers! I tried to snap some photos – but I wasn’t quick enough to get any really good pictures of him.

As always, the service and food at the Calico Cupboard was great. I ate my pesto focaccia scramble and drank my coca, while I scrolled through my phone and read my messages. And, after I paid, I gathered up my stuff and headed back to my car. I passed by the La Conner Retirement Inn and waved to the balcony where Mom used to wave to me. I felt her smile on me.

I got to my car and headed out of La Conner. When I got to Best Road I surprised myself by turning right instead of left. Apparently, I wanted to go to Fir Island. And it was on Fir Island that I found swan magic. There was a field of them there, grazing on the grass in front of the Fir Island Lutheran Church and a red barn. Perfect!

I communed with the swans for about ten minutes, snapping photos and absorbing their unperturbed peace.

I really needed the swans today, and the kingfisher, and the cheery Valentine decor. I’m glad I got out of bed to see them.

Find It! Celebrate It! Share It!

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My dear Humoristian hooligans –
There is still joy in this world. There is still beauty. There is still love.
Your mission today:
Find it! Celebrate it! Share it!
Karen

I set a mission for my fellow Humoristian hooligans to find joy, beauty, and love today, and then I went in search of these things myself. And I found them!

I roused myself from my comfy chair and went to the courthouse for the noon rally. I got there early and there was only one other person holding down the corner. He told me his name was Christian, this was the first time he’d been to a rally, and he’d walked all the way from the college to be there. He told me he was autistic. I told him I was proud of him for being there.

I’d come all decked out in my Seahawks paraphernalia today. This came in handy. At one point a man, stopped in front of me in his truck, gave my TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign a thumbs down. I grinned and revealed my Seahawks shirt and yelled, “Seahawks?” to him. He laughed and gave me a thumbs up . As he drove through the intersection we smiled and waved at each other. A man and woman gave me a thumbs up for my sign, and then when I showed them my Seahawks shirt they gave me a DOUBLE thumbs up. A sheriff’s deputy waved to me and gave me a thumbs up as he turned to go to the sheriff’s office.

The support and love the community showed to us today gave me hope for our world.

By the time I left, the corners were packed with people and signs. I told Christian to look at what he’d started. He smiled and said it was great to see so many people there.

On the way home I went though West Mount Vernon and then through Bay View and down the hill into the valley. And this is when I found the murmuration of snow geese. It was inspiring to watch these beautiful birds winging together in perfect harmony.

And now we’re driving home from the Illuminight celebration on the Mount Vernon revetment. The celebration was so fun! I bought an illuminary ball from Travis and Summer, the owners of Tr-Dee Arts; officers, there to keep everyone safe, allowed me to take their picture (I explained I’m a boomer and so it’s going to end up on Facebook, of course – oh, and I’m a Karen, too. They laughed at that.); I met Lyle, who’d made her very own illuminary with a simple paper bag; Tieron let me take a picture of him holding his instrument – he was going to be a part of one of the musical acts tonight; and the La Venture Middle School Marimba Band was fantastic! They played with such irrepressible joy! I had the cosmic good fortune to find myself standing next to Erik, the father of one of the marimba players, and I had tears in my eyes when I told him how much I’d needed that music tonight.

Beauty, joy, love!

You can find my video of today’s snow geese sighting at this Youtube link: https://youtu.be/rHAiIz7S2u8
And another one: https://youtu.be/_MFor8r-2hY

Rallying for Kindness

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I had such fun today!

I started my to-do list with a trip to the bank. There was a man with a Latino accent next to me at the counter, and we made small talk for a while while the bankers took care of us. We both finished our business at the same time, and exited the bank, smiled and wished each other a good day. And then he put out his arms for a hug! I was so touched by this. We hugged and then I unzipped my fleece jacket and showed him I was wearing my “EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE” shirt. His face lit up in a big smile and he thanked me.

After the bank, I drove into Mount Vernon and parked near the Red Apple market. I brought out my “TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS” sign and brought it with me as I walked, first, to the courthouse – to put my school levy ballot in the courthouse ballot box – and then down to the Co-Op for a breve.

As I walked to the Co-Op with my sign, a couple of people honked and gave me a thumbs up, and one person yelled out her window, “I love your sign!” That made me smile.

I passed a shop window with wedding dresses topped with Seahawks t-shirts, and that made my smile even bigger. 😃

When I got to the Co-Op, I gave my breve order to a cheery cashier named Annabelle. When Annabelle asked for a name to put on my breve, I cringed and said, “Karen. It’s so embarrassing.”

Annabelle started laughing and said, “So you know about that?” And then she said, “But you’re one of the nice Karens.” And then, of course, I had to take her picture because she was so cool.

Annabelle told me my drink was going to take about ten minutes – they were very busy at the Co-Op today – and I let her know that wasn’t a problem.

As I’d been walking to the Co-Op, I’d gotten it into my noggin that I wanted a picture of me holding my sign underneath the painting of my friend, the late great John “Peace Wizard” Bromet, that was hanging in the Co-Op. I trusted I would find the right person to take the picture for me when the time came. And I did! As soon as I started up the stairs to the loft, I spied a man sitting at a table facing me, and I just knew he was the man I needed for this job! I approached him and asked him (I learned his name was Andy) if he could take the photo for me. Andy smiled and said of course he could do that for me.

Then I went back downstairs to see if my breve was ready, and this is when I heard someone calling my name. I looked over to see my old friend, Pat, sitting at a table with a buddy. Pat introduced me to his friend, Nils, as the daughter of Dee Molenaar – Nils is a mountaineer and had heard of Dad. He asked my name and I said, “Karen. Because every place needs a Karen, right?” Nils and Pat laughed and we chatted for a while, then my breve was ready, and I brought it with me back down the street to the courthouse for the noon rally.

I saw the regular noon rally crew there – Marilyn and John and Ginny – but there was a whole host of new people I hadn’t met before, too. Across the street there was a young man dancing to music and holding his rally sign, and I just had to join the “dancing man.” I learned the dancing man’s name is Isaac, and that he’s involved with the Community-to-Community organization. Isaac had picked out the music that was playing over the loudspeakers and it was great! One of my favorites was “A Change is Gonna Come.” How perfect!

“She’s Chatty!”

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My thanks to employee Robby at Fred Meyer’s who stopped what he was doing to come help me get the item I wanted from the toppiest shelf. Robby was very cool.

I took a moment to tell a father with an unhappy child in his cart what a good job he was doing – I saw his patience and calm as he talked his son through a difficult moment. He grinned and thanked me for noticing.

As I was going through the checkout I chatted and connected with my cashier, Patty, who is a former neighbor of mine. Then I turned to the woman sitting in a wheelchair behind me in line, and said, “Hello!” I think I took her by surprise because she got a big grin on her face before giving me a hello back. The man who was with her – her son maybe? – smiled at me, too. The woman said to Patty (referring to me), “She’s chatty.” And Patty laughed and explained that we used to be old neighbors. “We go waaay back,” I said, laughing.

I got to the door to exit, and there was another woman there, preparing to head out into the parking lot. It was dumping rain out there, and the woman and I looked at the rain and then at each other and started spontaneously laughing. “Hoods up!” I said, bringing my hood over my head. She pointed out that she didn’t have a hood. I gave her a quick nod, like we were comrades going into battle, and wished her good luck. She smiled and returned my good wishes.

Today a Rocket Scientist Worked on My Car

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Today a rocket scientist changed out the cabin filter in my car.

I set aside this morning to run errands: oil change, car tab renewal, bank, grocery shopping.

I thought I’d start with the one that most scared me: the oil change. I’m always a little scared I’m going to drive my car into the pit.

I got to Valvoline pretty early, and was the second car in line. While I was waiting to face my terror and drive over the pit, Ashlee came back to check my tire pressure, and to see if my lights were working. (All good!) I saw she had a *Star Trek* belt and asked her if she was a Star Trek fan – she said what she really enjoyed was *The Big Bang Theory* – and her favorite character on there was a Trekkie. I loved that Ashlee was a Big Bang fan – anyone who enjoyed that show is okay by me. 🙂

A fearless young man directed me over the pit. I thanked him for bringing me in safely and he said, “You’re welcome” – like he understood that this was serious business for me.

Everything was looking good – battery, brake fluid, and etc. Then the young woman who was ringing me up asked me how my air conditioner was working, and wondered if I might want the cabin filter changed. I had never, in the decade I’ve owned this car, had the cabin filter in it changed. It seemed like a good idea to take care of that.

She asked me if she could come around and get into the passenger side of the car, and I nodded. She opened the passenger door, and then pulled down my glove compartment box and it was like opening a secret door! There was a whole ‘nother world hidden back there!

At this point she went to get Zach, the manager. Zach is like a comic book Super Hero. I long ago discovered his brilliance when he helped me reset my old Ford Fiesta standard transmission maintenance light. The fact that he could even drive a standard transmission was cool – but knowing how to turn off that maintenance light – knowing the just right order to push which pedal and how long to hold it – that was epic.

Zach pulled out the glove compartment box completely, and then removed a panel below it, and, as he was doing this, he was pointing things out to me and explaining what he was doing, and I actually understood what he was saying! I asked him if he’d ever thought of being a teacher – he’d make a good one – and he told me he had considered that – and he knew there would be parts of teaching he’d like – but he could also see himself losing his patience sometimes, and he thought that probably wouldn’t be a good thing.

Zach was working in a very small space in my car – contorted between the passenger seat and the shield under the glove box. When I expressed sympathy to him, he told me he’d worked in smaller spaces, and this is when I learned he’d been a designer for a race car team when he was a student at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. (!)

A rocket scientist was working on my car.

For personal reasons, he’d dropped out before he’d completed his degree, but he told me that he was currently enrolled in an online program through Embry-Riddle – the old credits on his transcripts had transferred into the online program – and he was working on finishing up his degree with hopes of getting into a career in aeronautical engineering.

It took Zach probably 20 minutes to get that cabin filter replaced – he’s one of the few people in the Valvoline chain trained and trusted to do this procedure, and I felt really lucky that he was there today. I had such fun chatting with Zach for those twenty minutes. I learned that he’d grown up in a town in Oregon, where his parents had both been pediatricians, and that he loved his mom and dad, but liked the freedom of living up here and being able to create his own life with his wife (whom he’d met at Embry-Riddle and is herself employed as an aeronautical engineer).

Every now and then, while Zach was working on my car, his younger Valvoline teammates would come back and check with him to make sure they were doing things right. I loved the rapport I saw between Zach and the younger technicians. I could see respect and appreciation there. I could see Zach teaching.

After he was all done, I asked him if I could give him a hug – I told him it felt like he was one of my kids. He grinned and we exchanged a hug, and I drove away smiling.

Yup. Today a rocket scientist worked on my little car. How cool is that?!

A New Magazine That Brings Us Renewal

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Excerpt from “Connecting 101: Karen Molenaar Terrell’s Lab Class on Love” from the newest edition of Renewal, published and edited by Constance Mears:
“This consciousness of cosmic connection goes beyond basic friendliness. For Karen, it’s informed by her beliefs as a Christian Scientist.”

Every month my friend, Constance, brings us inspiration, beauty and wisdom in her online magazine, “Renewal.” She brings us magic.

This month “Renewal” prepares us for Thanksgiving – for sitting down around the table with family and friends and celebrating (or rebuilding) our connections with one another.

Author Shannon Willis speaks of the importance of putting down our devices and sharing our stories with each other.

Connie talks about the tradition of gratitude, and the healing that comes from building a shrine to what’s important to us.

And look! There’s me! 😃 Connie interviewed me to get my thoughts on connection.

You can read the magazine by clicking this link and then either downloading the magazine (this issue has happy ducks on the cover) or tapping on the little “full screen” box under the cover, and clicking the arrow to turn the page. (This works best on a full-sized computer.): https://www.constancemears.com/renewal/