Category Archives: family

ashes to ashes

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My sister’s family stayed during a voluntary evacuation yesterday. They have three pets and no family in the area, although the family of friends did offer them a place to go. So far the fires are in the distance and they are safe. About half the people in their neighborhood have stayed behind. The local police department is doing a good job of keeping them informed with an automated phone system and they will also drive up and down the streets with bullhorns if they have to evacuate. Their cars are packed and ready to go. Those are my brother in-law’s footprints in the ash on their driveway. Everything is covered with a thick layer of the gray dust. Carrie said it makes her sad to see that blanket of ash, knowing that some of it came from other people’s homes.

the view

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My sister e-mailed me this photo. As of yesterday afternoon they were still in their home and had taken in friends who had to evacuate their neighborhood only four miles away. This was the view from Carrie’s backyard. I haven’t heard from her today but I imagine they had another sleepless night.

the marine

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Earlier today we had a family dinner for my nephew Charlie. He just completed boot camp and he is now a Marine. That’s Charlie and my dad, Lee, wearing his old Air Force hat. When Charlie left tonight my dad hugged him and tried to tell him how he felt, but he couldn’t find the words. What do you say when you see your grandson standing in front of you, so tall and brave and strong ready to serve his country? We love him, he knows that. We are all very proud of him, he knows that too. What he doesn’t know is that when his grandfather looks at him he sees eighteen years, forty years, seventy years, a lifetime that is quickly passing by, and a lifetime that is new and still unfolding. He sees the little boy and he sees the man he has become. There simply are not enough words or enough hours in a day to say what a grandfather has in his heart on an afternoon like this. But that’s okay dad, the tears in your eyes said it all, don’t worry, Charlie knows, he knows.

mom & dad

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I haven’t been posting much because it’s been a little hectic around here. My parent’s (and their two dogs) moved in with us on Wednesday. There’s a possibility that the plumbing and furnace problems they had at their house this past winter are making them sick so we siblings decided they should hang out here while we investigate that angle on my mom’s serious lung problems. It’s been a bit of an adjustment for everyone (including the dogs) but we seem to be getting into a pretty good rhythm now, changing old habits and making new ones. The jumble of emotions we are all going through right now are so overwhelming that we try to just get through the next hour, that much we know we can handle. The photo is of my parent’s on their wedding day fifty-one years ago, for better of for worse, they’ve had both as all married couples do, with the betters far outweighing the worse. We’ll figure this out, do what needs to be done, for better or for worse…we’re in this together.

remembering dad

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This is a photo of my daughter Lizzi and my father-in-law, Hank. I took out the background and color in Photoshop and I used the oily blender in Corel Painter to give it a brush stroked effect. Lizzi is twenty-four now and Hank passed away seven years ago. I still think of him often, and I will miss him and remember him fondly today. Happy Father’s Day all.

wacom portrait

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I’ve been playing with my new Wacom pen and tablet. I took a photo of my daughter Lizzi and “painted” over it in Corel Painter. Fastest portrait I ever painted! There’s no substitute for the real thing, the smell of the paint and the way it feels in the brush, but I have to admit, this was pretty fun and there’s no clean up! If you click on the image you can view a close-up of the piece and see the brush strokes. There’s so much to learn that it’s a little overwhemling, maybe I should take a class?

my mom

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That’s my mom Carol and her brand new great-granddaughter, Aryielle. My niece Christy gave birth to her this past Thursday, on Friday my mother celebrated her 73rd birthday, and on Saturday we took her to the ER because she has been having terrible shortness of breath. She has congestive heart failure and is now in the CCU while they try to figure out how they need to treat it. Not one of our better Mother’s Days, although the new baby has brought us all joy, especially my mom. My mother had no history of heart disease but the shortness of breath has been present for some time and she kept thinking maybe she was just getting old, or it was a lung problem like COPD, a condition a doctor once told her she may have. The point I’m trying to make is this, if you or someone you know has been experiencing shortness of breath and made lifestyle adjustments because of it, shortening an evening walk, letting your once perfect garden go to weeds, buying fewer groceries because it’s too hard to carry them in, sleeping on more pillows at night so you can breathe better….go to the doctor and demand to be screened for congestive heart failure. My mom went to the doctor last week but because she didn’t have all the warning signs her family doctor did not catch it. We finally took her to the ER hoping they would figure out what was going on, and thankfully they did. We hear a lot about heart attacks in the media but the onset of congestive heart failure is often insidious, yet just as dangerous to the health of your heart. My mom is having a heart cath today so they can see what might be causing her symptoms. I wouldn’t mind at all if you could send some prayers and positive energy our way.

the eyes of love

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That’s my daughter Lizzi and my father in-law, Hank. The picture was taken at an ice festival twenty-three years ago. Lizzi’s grandpa passed away the year she graduated from high school, it will be seven years this May. Sometimes, when I look at a photo of Hank, I still feel a mixture of anger and sadness that he is gone. The funny thing is, when I first met my husband I wasn’t all that taken with my new father in-law, I thought he was a bit of a grump! But he’s one of those guys that really mellowed as he got older, or maybe it was me who changed. Maybe when you grow to love someone you start to see them differently, maybe love allows us to see past the rough edges that life’s lessons have left behind, allowing us to see the into heart and soul of our loved one.

When I was working on one of my books a few years ago, I had an Aha! moment. I was struggling to understand intolerance and wondering if it was really possible to be blind to the physical differences in people. I was at a store shopping when I suddenly could see the spirits of the people walking by, it was like a door had opened and the physical aspect of their person somehow dissolved leaving behind a kind of dancing, colored light. I know it sounds strange, and it was, but it was also an amazing thing to see (and no, I hadn’t been drinking or smoking any illegal substances!). It only lasted a few moments, but for those few moments I felt such an affection for those imperfect, yet beautiful souls, and I was thankful for having been given such a gift. I believe it was the answer to my question, and the answer was a resounding yes, it is possible to look beyond our differences if we choose to look at one another through the eyes of love.