Tag Archives: joy

Go Out There and Work Your Magic!

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My dear Humoristian hooligans –

Today may your confidence in the power of kindness bring assurance to the lonely and scared. May your unassailable joie de vivre transform the bitter, the bossy, and the bullying. May the stodgy, stuffy, and stingy be transformed by your irrepressible good humor. May you bring laughter to those in sorry need of a good guffaw. May those who mistake meanness for strength be edified by your example of unwavering good will and courage.

Go out there and work your magic, my friends!

Karen

What a Glorious Day!

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What a glorious day!

When I woke up this morning, I checked my impulse to reach for my phone to do wordle games. I knew that once I got on my phone I’d get sucked into the vortex. I determined to just give myself some time to commune with the Cosmos this morning, to commune with Love.

So I loaded myself and my camera into the car, put in a CD of inspirational music, and headed up to Bellingham. My first thought was that I’d go to the boardwalk for a walk, but then it occurred to me that maybe I should pay a visit to Lake Padden first, to see how the autumn colors were evolving up there.

The autumn colors aren’t in full bloom at Lake Padden, yet – but the gold is starting to emerge, and the vine maples are showing some copper and red.

I walked down to the lake to take some pictures of reflections, and this is when I saw a little youngster having fun throwing rocks into the lake. I loved his rock-throwing technique – he’d wind his arm up – bringing it around and around – before throwing. I felt such joy, watching him. He reminded me of the joy I see in my granddaughter.

When I got to chatting with his mom, I learned she is a photographer, and we talked about photography for a while. She said she, too, had been planning to go to Bellingham, but changed her mind en route – thinking, like me, that she might see autumn colors at Lake Padden. It was cosmic that we connected today!

After my visit to Lake Padden, I continued on my drive to Fairhaven – planning to take advantage of the free parking before 11:00.

I saw some of my usual favorite things on my walk today – boat reflections on the bay; my friend, Mary; Baker Pup, who came up and greeted me, and let me give him a scratch behind the ears (I told Baker’s human that Baker is like the boardwalk’s service dog for the humans who walk there); and the heron in the tree by the boardwalk.

After my walk, I stopped at the Colophon Cafe for some brunch, and was happy to see Taryn would be my server today. Taryn is one of my favorite people – she’s funny and smart and kind and thoughtful. And I learned today that she’s also a photographer!

This kind of funny thing happened when I came to the Colophon. I didn’t expect the restaurant to be open because I thought it was closed on Wednesdays. So when I told Taryn I was surprised to find them open because I didn’t think it would be open on Wednesdays, she told me it was Tuesday.

Wait. What. Today was Tuesday?! But. I googled “What day is today?” and my phone told me it was Tuesday. But. I went out to lunch with my daughter-in-law yesterday and we do that every Tuesday. And I went hiking with Scotty the day before that – and we always hike on Mondays. So. Was I having two Tuesdays in a row? Was I in some kind of weird time warp? Or something? I googled again, and this time my phone told me it WAS Wednesday. Whew. Maybe because I hadn’t gotten on my phone since yesterday, it had given me the wrong day when I first googled.

Anyway. The next time Taryn came around, I told her that it IS Wednesday. She started laughing then, and told me that when she’d said it was Tuesday, she meant that Tuesdays are the days the Colophon is closed now.

Ohhhhh….

I had such a fun day today! I felt Love with me all day – expressed in the kindness and smiles and joy all around me.

There Is Magic Out There!

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We sit at a table outside the restaurant
and chat and watch people pass by
and there is magic out there!

A young man with a bright smile
walks by, holding a small bouquet.
I smile at him and point to the flowers,
and he grins and says, “A first date.”
“That’s so sweet!” I say, and his smile
gets even brighter.

A little chap of three or four walks by
with his mom and he turns and looks
at me and I wave. He waves back,
serious about our exchange – a little man.
My heart melts.

A woman passes by with her grandbaby –
she sees our grandma faces light up
and brings her little one to our circle
so we can share in her grandmother-joy.
She is not called “Grandma” she tells us –
she is “Nanna” and she is enjoying
her last days with her grandbaby
before he moves to the east coast
with his parents. All of our grandbabies
live out of state and we understand
what she’s feeling right now.
“Enjoy these precious moments,” I say,
and she nods and smiles and hugs
her grandbaby close before moving on.

At the table next to us there is a baby
in a stroller and she smiles at me and gives
me high fives with both her feet and hands
all at once. A high twenty!
Such joy!

And now the man who’d had the bouquet
walks by on the other side of the street.
He is with his date and they are laughing
and chatting and getting to know each other.
He sees me watching and waves and grins
and I wave back.

Magic everywhere!
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

I have had such a lovely day. I went up to Bellingham for my walk this morning and found new friends and pups and magic! Bellingham never fails me.

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I started at the ramp that leads to Taylor Dock and sort of wandered from there down to Boulevard Park, and then wandered from the park down the trail that leads to downtown. Along the way I encountered Eric, who I learned was a retired teacher like me – and we talked about the joys of teaching; I ran into my old friend, Dan, with his sweet pup, Jakada, (Jakada just turned a year old yesterday!); and I saw a doe and her youngsters nonchalantly criss-crossing the path in front of a bicyclist who was grinning at them.

When I got to the little loop of the trail that I’d decided would be my turnaround point, I saw a man gazing out at the water from one of the benches there. He was the picture of “peace” and I asked him if I could take his picture. I asked him his name and he told me his name was “Mark Anthony.” “Really?!” I asked, thinking of Cleopatra’s Mark Anthony. And he laughed and said yes, he really was named “Mark Anthony” and he loved having that name. He asked my name and I told him, “Get this – I’m Karen!” And he laughed and said I was one of the good Karens. I grinned back at him, and said, “I love having my name, too!” We shook hands – a “Mark Anthony” and a “Karen” – and wished each other a great day.

When I got back to the park I started back up the boardwalk, and this is when I saw something that made me tear up at the beauty of it: Three people were walking ahead of me on the boardwalk – what I guessed to be a mother with her grown children – and they had their arms around each other as they walked. I thought, “This is what Love looks like.” When they stopped ahead of me, I stopped with them, and told them how touched I’d been by the love I’d seen between them. I learned, then, that the mother, Oonagh (pronounced Ooh-nah), was up from Santa Fe, and her son, Ian, had come from New York City, to visit Annika (Oonagh’s daughter and Ian’s sister), who lives in Bellingham. I could relate to this. I told them my son and his wife and my grandbaby lived in California, and we’d just visited them a few weeks ago. I knew how precious this time together was for them.

I decided to take the steps up to the top of the little knoll that separates one part of the boardwalk from the other. I walked the length of the knoll to Thom Bishop’s bench (I’ve written posts about Thom Bishop’s bench before) and there I ran into a sweet pup named Sage and her human, Bruce, who was sitting on the bench. Sage was very sweet and came up for a pet on the head. I asked Bruce if I could take her picture, and he said sure. So I barked to get her to look at me – and that’s probably why she looks a little surprised.

Back down on the boardwalk, little Guiness pup brought her human over to say hi to me. Guiness put her paws on my legs and smiled up at me and stayed until I gave her some scratches and pets. Such a sweetie!

When I got back to the ramp, Oonagh, who was sitting with her son and daughter on a bench at the bottom of the ramp, called over to me, “Hi Karen!” I smiled at my new friends and said, “There you are!”

At the top of the ramp, I decided I wasn’t done with my walk, yet, and headed for Fairhaven. When I entered the Colophon, I was greeted by the hostess who led me to my favorite table in the corner. Taryn was there today – it was good to see her again. And I was served by a cheery server who was new to me, but fit right in with kindness of the Colophon.

Smiles and pups, new friends and peace. I find the best therapy on my Bellingham walks.

“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.”
– Minnie M.H. Ayers, Christian Science Hymnal #139

I Felt Myself Slipping Into the Abyss and Went in Search of Magic

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My newsfeed was full of dark and scary things when I turned on my cellphone this morning and I felt myself slipping into the abyss. I knew I needed to get myself up to Bellingham for a therapy session with sunshine and fresh air and smiling people and pups.

As I was walking down the boardwalk towards Boulevard Park, a man on a bicycle approached from the opposite direction. As he went passed he smiled and pointed back the direction he’d come. “Two eagles in the second tree!” he said.

I knew exactly the tree he was talking about and thought maybe if I climbed up to the top of the knoll I’d be closer to the eagles. But when I got up there, I realized the eagles were on the other side of the tree, and I’d actually have a better view of them from down below.

When I got back down on the trail I could see the pair of eagles right above me. I pointed them out to a young woman named Lisa who stopped to enjoy them with me for a bit. Then three women – maybe of three different generations? – stopped to watch the eagles with me. I told them that I’d often seen one eagle up there, but I hadn’t seen two in the tree before. The younger woman said something to the other women and I recognized the Spanish word for “two” – “dos.” I nodded and smiled, “Yes! Dos!” And they all grinned with me. I thanked them for sharing that moment with me. They nodded and smiled. New friends!

When I got down to Boulevard Park, I went into the coffee shop to get an iced coffee. A woman in a pretty dress walked into the coffee shop. Her dress was cheery and colorful and it made me smile. I told the woman I loved what she was wearing and she smiled and thanked me. Then I took my iced coffee out to a picnic table to watch passersby and the boats on the bay.

Pretty soon a fluffy puppy walked by with his humans – a father and a young son. I asked Mario if I could meet his puppy and take a picture and he smiled and said sure. Little Yoshi is a Burmese Mountain dog, and he’s going to get much bigger before he’s done growing. He’s wonderfully photogenic – seemed to know exactly how to pose for me – and Mario told me that Yoshi has his own instagram account with thousands of followers. I am not surprised by this.

A woman stopped at my picnic table with her friend to ask me if I was Karen from Facebook. And this is how I came to at last meet my Facebook friend LaVonne in the person. LaVonne and I travel in a lot of the same FB circles – birding groups and The Seeing Bellingham group. It was very cool that she recognized me. LaVonne and her friend, Gina, sat and chatted with me for a while about birds and sign language (Gina is an expert in this) and the beauty of the day and Gina’s amazing purple hair.

From the picnic table, I could see the pair of eagles still sitting in their tree. It occurred to me that if I went back to my car by way of the road to Boulevard Park, I might actually get a great view of the eagles. So that’s what I did. By using the road, I was able to get pretty close to the raptors. It was cool.

Just as I was getting back to my car, I saw the woman in the pretty dress again – this time with her husband and a pup. I learned her name is Stephanie, and her husband’s name is Nick, and I learned their pup is named Zena. They all (including the pup) graciously agreed to pose for me.

This morning I went in search of magic – and I found it!

Gathering at the Shores of the Pacific

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Lincoln City, Day One:
I’m thinking the world’s problems could be solved if we all just gathered on the shores of our earth’s oceans and looked out towards the horizon together – watched the waves rolling into shore, and shared agates with each other.

I saw the figure of a woman standing at the edge of the ocean, looking towards the waves. There was something poignant and dear about the way she stood there. Later she approached me as I looked for agates. She asked me what I was looking for, and I told her. She asked what an agate was, and I described what an agate would look like. I hoped that I would just look down and find one to give her, but that didn’t happen right away.

I told her I’d taken her photo and showed her the picture. I said there was something very sweet about the way she looked out towards the ocean. Kristi told me her father had died just last week, after being diagnosed with cancer ten days before. She said his passing had been sweet and tender. “He went home to Jesus,” she said. She said his passing had been different than other deaths she’d witnessed. It had been peaceful.

And just then I looked down and saw an agate looking up at me. I plucked it up and gave it to Kristi. “Here’s an agate!” I said. “This one is from your dad.” She smiled at the idea of that, and let me take her picture holding the agate.

A little later I met Todd and Donna searching the rock beds for agates and other treasures. I learned Todd and Donna had traveled all the way from Indiana to make their first visit to the PNW. They were such fun!

Todd and I exchanged mountaineering stories. He said he’d climbed up to the top of a 13,900′ peak in Colorado while he was on a hunting trip, and the elevation had really gotten to him. I told him I’d climbed Rainier, Baker, Adams, and Hood in the PNW with no problems – but it was when I climbed Mount Harvard in Colorado that the elevation had effected me – I had to vomit in the nearest hole. He said he enjoyed hiking around in the Appalachians and I told him a friend of mine had just finished the AT this week! He described how he came off a short hike on the AT one time and someone had asked him if he’d just finished the Appalachian Trail. Todd started laughing then – he said he was wearing sneakers and had none of the equipment that would make him look like he’d just completed the AT, but it was fun that someone thought he had.

We all talked about the nice people we’d met in Lincoln City. We agreed that this was a nice break from all the division and politics going on right now and agreed we weren’t even going to talk about that stuff. We were simply people enjoying the ocean together. People enjoying other people.

A little further down the beach, little Buddy came scampering towards me for a hug and a scratch behind the ears.

Lincoln City, Day 2:

Agates and gnarly boulders, Banjo pup and her humans, Russ and Nan from Montana.

Russ recently left the forest service to go back to school to get his master’s in counseling. He told me a little of what had brought him to his new career choice, and I told him that the world really needs what he has to offer. Russ and Nan are good people, and Banjo is a good dog.

Lincoln City, Day 3:
Our last morning in Lincoln City. Made one last trip to the beach before hitting the road.

Met Melinda and Ray hunting for beach treasures. I was impressed by how nimbly Ray skipped across the boulders – he said he didn’t want to hurt any of the sea life. And look at the cool heart rock Melinda found!

Jennifer said she was from Nevada where there’s “just dirt” and she was so excited to be in a place where she could look for agates. She said she’d just found little ones so far. “You’re just about to step on one,” I told her, pointing to the agate just behind her foot. She plucked the agate up, a big grin on her face, and said, “The biggest one so far!”

Little Chocko pup was shy at first, but I held my hand out for him, and he came up for a sniff and a scratch behind his ears.

***

Agates and pups and people to laugh with. Life’s simple pleasures. Heaven lives in Lincoln City, Oregon.

Below: (clockwise from upper left): Todd and Donna, Buddy, Melinda, Jennifer, Russ and Nan and Banjo, Kristi.

To Lighten My Load

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I went in search of joy –
trusting Love to lead me
to treasure beyond compare.
I found birds – cormorants,
ducks, swans, and geese –
calmly doing what birds do
and it brought me peace.
Joy!

I passed by places where
I’d spent time with loved ones
and happy memories filled
my soul and made me smile.
I remembered the love
and found the love was with me still.
Joy!

I passed a woman with a bag
of belongings on her back
and asked her if she needed a ride.
She pushed her bag in my car
and got into the passenger seat.
I asked her if she was hungry
and we went to the espresso stand
to find her something to eat.
The barista understood what we
were doing and gave my new friend
extra crackers and we smiled
conspiratorial kindness at each other.
Joy!

And as I drove my passenger to her
next destination she told me that God
had sent her on her journey today
with a message she’d had to deliver
to someone up the road.
And it came to me then that she’d
been a message delivered by Love
to ME today to help lighten my load.
Joy!

– Karen Molenaar Terrell

I Went in Search of Joy Today…

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Magic!

I went in search of treasure today – looking for the things that bring me joy. I parked down near the Alaska Ferry Terminal in Fairhaven and walked up to 11th Street. Stopped in at Village Books and bought myself an anthology of Mary Oliver poems – joy! Then walked back down to Fairhaven Coffee, hoping I’d find Kenzie barista-ing to give her a copy of my latest book (she’s in it) – and she was there! Kenzie is studying to be a social studies teacher – and I was a social studies teacher for a good chunk of my career – so we talked shop for a while – joy! I walked up to the trail to the dog park and walked through the rookery – remembering when those nests were full of squawking tuft-headed babies – the memories brought me joy! Then I walked down to Marine Park and sat on the block where my 100-year-old dad had once sat and remembered our time together there – joy!

I took Chuckanut home. I passed a woman walking on the side of the road with a big bag full of her belongings. I pulled over to ask her if she needed a ride. She described where she needed to go in Burlington and I told her I could take her there, so she got in the car and I headed towards Burlington. On the way, I asked her if she was hungry. She said she’d had a banana today. I told her I could buy her something to eat at the Otter Bean Espresso down the road.

Ali was working at the espresso stand today, and I introduced her to my guest and explained that I wanted to buy her a meal. Ali’s face lit up. She went through the food options for my guest, who ended up choosing a cup of chili and a mocha. When Ali handed my new friend’s chili to her she let her know she’d added some extra crackers. Ali and I smiled big smiles at each other and I thanked her – joy!

I brought my new friend to her destination and then continued on to Fred Meyer’s for some quick shopping.

I ran into my old friend, Kim, from Youthnet there and we exchanged greetings. Then, as I was leaving, I saw Kelly, the parent of one of my former eighth graders, coming towards the store. Kelly was literally glowing with joy. She said she was there to work on fundraising for Meals on Wheels. She said working with that organization was something that meant a lot to her – it felt good to be part of it. Joy!

What an amazing day Love gave me today – so many gifts! So many opportunities for joy!

There Will Be Rainbows

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There’s no promise that it will be easy. There’s no guarantee there won’t be challenges. But I know this – there will be joy, too. There will be beauty and kindness and laughter. There will be new friends and new paths and new books and rainbows. We’ll find we can be happy even when we’re sad. And we’ll find we have more courage than we knew. We’ve got this. We were made for this.
(Rainbow photos by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)

A California Weekend

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Scott and I flew to California last weekend to see our son Andrew, and daughter-in-law Christina, and our little granddaughter, and to visit other relatives who live near to them. It was a wonderful stay in every single way.

But, my friends, going into it, I had a lot of fear about it all. Would I get sick before we left and not be able to fly out? Would I get sick when I was down there and not be able to fly home? Would I lose my hearing aids? Would I lose my contact lens? Would I lose my passport? My cellphone? Would the plane lose a window mid-flight and would I get sucked through it kiester-first and get stuck in it? Would the grandbaby recognize me?

Fears like that.

Fittingly, the Christian Science Bible Lesson sermon for Sunday was “God the Preserver of Man” and was full of verses like these: “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” (Psalms 27). “The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works…The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” (Psalms 145).”The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.” (Psalms 121). “Fear thou not; for I am with thee…” (Isaiah 41).

I leaned into those passages and felt Love wrapping me up in Her arms and giving me a big hug. Love never changes, never ends, never abandons us. Love loves us even when we’re being ridiculous.

The four days of our trip flew by. Here are the highlights…

The Singing Shuttle Bus Driver

Jose, our shuttlebus driver from the parking lot to SeaTac Airport was so cool! He’s from Nicaragua and was singing a song from Ecuador. Jose said we’re all on this planet to help one another, and I said, “We’re all in this together!” He grinned and nodded his head and sang us his songs. What a great way to start the day. Here’s a youtube link to the performance he gave us that morning: https://youtu.be/ujz8FGhDqvI

The Flight Out

The flight out was a little rocky – there were a couple of big bumps that would have sent us flying out of our seats if we hadn’t been buckled in – but everyone was so matter-of-fact about it all. The man across the aisle from me was calmly eating his snacks, and watching a movie on his cellphone as our plane tossed and bucked. I thanked him for that, and he smiled back at me – completely at ease with our wild ride.

When we landed we found our rental car and let Mrs. Google direct us to Andrew and Christina’s place. I hurried ahead of Scott – eager to see our granddaughter. I peeked around the curtain and into the living room, and there she was! She looked up and saw me and her whole face lit up in a grin! She recognized me! Pretty soon she was toddle-running to the door and pretty soon I had her in my arms again. Oh joy! Oh wonder!

Grandbaby Stories –

The Pizza Story: I was reading a book to my granddaughter and there was a picture of a pizza piece in it. We’d just had pizza the night before and Grandbaby had bitten into a jalapeno – which she tried to blow out in the same way you’d blow out a candle. “Pfft pfft.” Now, as she saw the illustration of the piece of pizza, she pointed to it and pointed to her mouth and then said, “Pfft pfft.”

The Keys: As I was reading Good night, Gorilla to the grandbaby, I was describing to her what the gorilla was doing in the illustrations, “The gorilla stole the zookeeper’s keys and now he’s letting ALL the animals out of their cages, and look – they’re following the zookeeper back to his home.” Grandbaby pointed to the keys and pointed to the door and turned her little hand like she was opening the door with the keys. Christina told me that our grandbaby has been trying to open the doors with her keys, but it hasn’t worked out for her – she keeps dropping them. Later I joined Andrew for a walk with Grandbaby, and he let her carry his keys. When we got to the gate, he helped her unlock it. She was so proud and pleased with herself!

The Slide: Christina, and I took Granddaughter to the park. I helped Granddaughter climb up to the top of the slide and helped her get situated so she could slide down to her mum. When she got to the bottom she turned around with a big grin on her face, and pointed to me and then to the slide, letting me know she wanted me to go down the slide now. So I did.

A few hours later I was reading a book to her that included a picture of a slide. Grandbaby pointed to the slide and then pointed to me and then pointed back to the slide. She was reminding me that I had gone down the slide, too!

Ears: I read a story that included a bunny. I pointed to the bunny’s ears, and Marilyn pointed to her own ears, and then pointed to my ears and pointed back to the bunny’s ears again. She got up and toddled over to her mum and pointed to her mum’s ears and then to her grandpa to point to his ears. And pretty son Grandpa Scott was teaching her the “Head and shoulders, knees and toes” song.

Cool Bakeries

Andrew and Christina guided us on a walk to the Larchmont neighborhood where there were all kinds of cool shops and bakeries. We made a stop at Erin McKenna’s vegan bakery for some treats, and Danny, the cashier (and a good sport) posed for us behind her counter.

There was also a great little Mexican bakery, K Bakery, right across the street from our motel where we bought smoothies and little fruit-filled turnovers to begin our day. I loved the atmosphere in there – lively Mexican music playing in the background, and paintings by Mexican artists on the wall, and everyone friendly and helpful.

Visit with Our Niece and Her Family

Scott’s sister’s daughter, Kate, and her husband, Tan, live about half an hour from Andrew and Christina. We took advantage of this by paying them a visit on our second day in California. It was so good to see them again, and to enjoy watching our grandbaby playing with Kate and Tan’s little ones. Both Christina and Tan are of Vietnamese heritage and it seemed perfect for Tan to ordered take-out from a nearby Vietnamese restaurant. The food was great; the fellowship with family was dear; and watching the little ones playing together brought me a heart full of grins. It was a perfect visit.

A Trip to the Beach –

We spent our last night with my cousin, Laurie, and her husband, Roger, and their son, James. I hadn’t seen Laurie since my dad’s hundredth birthday six years ago and it meant so much to me to be able to connect with her again. Her daughter, Allison, came over with her young daughter and it was good to be able to be able to see them again, too, and get caught up on life.

Laurie brought out some old family photos that she inherited from her mom and some of our aunts, and we went looking through them together, talking about our family history, and sharing memories.

Our last day in California, Cousin Laurie drove Scott and I to the coast and I got to dip my finger in the Pacific.

We met these two very cool fishermen at a local marina. I asked Rafael if I could take his photo, and he had no problems with that. I asked him his name and he said Rafael, and then he asked me mine. “Karen, of course,” I said, grinning. He laughed with me about my name – successfully passing my “Karen Test.”

Philip was relaxing in his chair on the other side of the pier, classic rock playing from his e-bike. He’d overheard me introduce myself to Rafael and, smiling, told me I did that “right.” “You gotta have fun with it, right?” I said, laughing.

Philip told us that he once caught the biggest angel shark ever seen in the harbor – he said it was about five and a half feet long and four feet wide! He took a picture of it before it went back into the water. Philip also told us that we could find him on his youtube channel, “Honey Hole Trackers.” (Here’s the link to that: https://www.youtube.com/@HoneyHoleTrackers )

I asked Philip and Rafael if they were old friends, and they said they’d just met that day. I told them I had a feeling this was the beginning of a long friendship.

A Perfect Good Bye

The day before, when I’d said goodbye to my grandbaby before we headed to Laurie’s, Grandbaby had put her little arms around my neck and clung to me and sobbed, and I’d sobbed, too. I didn’t want our last goodbye before we left California to be a repeat of that. I worried about it. And I prayed.

We took a last walk around the block with Andrew and our granddaughter – posing under the golden autumn leaves of the gingko tree across the street, stopping to touch tree bark and wave to dogs going on walks with their humans. When we were done with our walk we went back inside Andrew and Christina’s home and read books. Andrew started beating on the toy tambourine that had been one of my first gifts to the baby, and then Andrew handed me the tambourine and he began to shake a rattle in time to my beats, and we sang and made a song together. Pretty soon Grandbaby started dancing to our song. Her dance was charming and filled my grandma’s heart.

When Scott started putting on his shoes, Grandbaby brought me my shoes to put on, too. Scott and I gathered our things to leave. Grandbaby reached up for a hug, and I asked her to kiss my cheek (I pointed to it), and then kiss my other cheek, too, and she smiled and put her little face next to me. We hugged Christina and Andrew goodbye, and then I transferred Granddaughter to Andrew and he turned her the other direction, and Scott and I slipped out the door. As we left, we looked up at their window, and Grandbaby was at the window with Andrew and Christina waving goodbye to us and smiling. We waved goodbye back and smiled and blew everyone a kiss. It was a sweet, joyful parting. Perfect!

The Flight Home

Our flight home was at night. Mrs. Google led us through Hollywood – we didn’t even realize we were IN Hollywood until we saw the Hollywood Museum sign. That was cool. There was heavy traffic getting to the airport, but once we got there everything went pretty quickly. There was no one in front of us at the TSA screening desk, and we got through all of that smoothly. We chatted to a delightful fellow passenger named Samantha in the waiting area – Samantha was going home to Seattle to be with her family over the holidays. We boarded our flight, buckled ourselves in, and two and half hours later we were back in the rain of Seattle.

Note: I did not lose my passport, my contact lens, or my hearing aids; I did not get sucked out of the plane; and I did not get sick. Love deposited me gently back in my home after a lovely visit with my family. And here we are.