Homeless Connect

Bob and I had a good day as part of a community wide effort to assist our homeless population. "Homeless Connect" events have been held nation wide in many cities and counties and this was the first one held in Bellingham/Whatcom County. The idea is to connect homeless folks with various services including dental, vision, medical care and even hair cuts and veterinary care. About 300 volunteers served around 500 clients. The people who decided to make this happen worked extremely hard and organized an amazing event. I was in charge of handing out free bus passes for follow up appointments and Bob was a guide who helped clients get from provider to provider. I was able to visit with several volunteers and their stories were so interesting. Although there has been some decrease in the national homeless numbers in the past few years, the fear now is that the economy will erase those gains. We who have a decent roof over our heads are blessed indeed! It was wonderful to be associated with such caring people who are willing to work so hard for those in need of such vital services.

Listen to your body...reduce the stress

As I dragged my bleary eyed body out of bed this morning (am I getting that lazy?) and drove to yoga, I began thinking of all the reasons why I really love my yoga classes. Carol is my weekday instructor and her guiding words are just right to wake up the body and face the day. Today as she said, "Listen to your body...reduce the stress", I felt those words were indeed one of the wonderful benefits of yoga. It is special to be practicing an activity that is thousands of years old. With some of the stretches, I have gotten to feel muscles that I didn't know existed! Another benefit is the constant striving for balance...the ying and yang...the stretch and relaxation, the breath in and breath out. On Saturdays, Melissa instructs us to challenge ourselves when we can, but also to be mindful of limitations. Again, a life lesson we face each day. Yoga classes end with everyone saying in unison, "Namaste". It means "the light within me recognizes the light within you". Wouldn't it be a better world if we could say that to each other more often?

I'm right behind you!

Today is my dear friend/adopted sister's birthday. Geri and I have been friends since 1986 when we met on the Ped Mall in Iowa City during the annual Art's Festival in June. Our husbands worked together at the VA and ran into each other that night. Geri and I clicked immediately and wondered why our husbands hadn't gotten us together sooner. We had both arrived the previous fall and spent our first Iowa winter wishing for a good friend. That first night we learned we were nurses and our second born sons were Ste"ph"ens. As the years passed, our lives paralleled over and over as we raised our kids, lost our siblings, shared in our first born's weddings, and became grandparents. Geri is traveling in Southeast Asia today with Mike, her Stephen, and his girlfriend, Song. This is the first time since we've met that I'm unable to call and sing "Happy Birthday to you"! Since our friendship is so close, I know she knows I am thinking of her today and am close by in spirit as she enjoys her travel adventures. Another one of our life coincidences is that our birthdays are within 3 weeks of each other, mine being 2/17. As you notice, she is the big sister and her wisdom, love, and guidance to me is one of the greatest blessings in my life. So, Happy 55th birthday, dear Geri...I'm right behind you!

Thank you, Sensei

When I started taking yoga classes last year, I jokingly called my teacher my "sensei". Since then I've taken classes from 5 different instructors and they are all sensei or teacher to me. Sensei has a spiritual sound to me and although yoga can be very hard work, there is a certain spiritual aspect to the practice as well. My first instructor, Kim, was a great teacher to start with. He was calm, patient, and focused on stretching and the various yoga poses. I immediately fell in love with the practice and was happy that I didn't wait until retirement to begin. My daughter-in-law, Angie is a yoga instructor and I'm thankful for her encouragement that got me interested.

When we arrived in Washington, I took several classes with Angie and her sister, Jen. Through them,I was introduced to a more rigorous practice, but loved the workout and sore muscles after that proved it was a great workout. I'm not close enough to attend their classes on a regular basis, but it is wonderful to have a sensei in the family who can answer my questions and suggest help with poses.

During the process of joining an exercise club, the yoga classes available were a big determinant for me. During the week I work with an instructor who has been teaching since the 1960's. Carol told me that when she first came to WA, yoga was considered so "out there" that she had to call her classes "stretch and fit". Carol teaches a very gentle yoga and at first I was disappointed. Now, I love the breathing and gentle stretches that I do twice a week with Carol.

My disappointment didn't last with Carol as I started power yoga with Melissa on Saturdays. Actually, I thought I would die the first class, but I kept showing up and gradually I've begun to keep up more and more. I still have so much to learn, but it is great to have this new challenge in my life.

So, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of my senseis for their guidance and care: Kim, Angie, Jen, Carol, and Melissa...Namaste!

Momentous

During the 50 and 60's when we were growing up in northern NJ...

A Black family tried to make a go of it in the apartment complex where I lived, but moved out after intense pressure...

Bob lived in a lake community that had a policy of needing to be "accepted" into the place,which was code for "no Blacks need apply"...

Martin Luther King, Jr. was considered a "dangerous man"

African Americans in the south had separate EVERYTHING...

many people I personally knew felt that "Negroes" were somehow not the same as us whites...

But also...

The voting rights act was passed...

The civil rights act was passed...

Martin Luther King, Jr became recognized for the amazing leader he was and eventually we would have a federal holiday to celebrate his life...

And now...

I am cognizant that racism still exists, but we've come a long way as a nation...

I have lived to see something I did not think would happen in my lifetime...Barack Obama,a Black man, has been elected president of the United States of America. What a momentous day indeed!!!

A Nice Surprise

When we moved to the Northwest, we imagined cloudy days all winter long. Steve told us about "sun breaks" and we were hopeful for glimpses of sun that would get us through until summer. We are not sure if this is unusual, but this weekend has been sunny from morning to night, with no clouds to be seen. The Sehome Arboretum is on the border of the Western Washington University campus and our hiking book stated that they had a tower you could hike to that had beautiful views of Bellingham. Attached are some pictures Bob took after we climbed the tower. The town in the foreground is Bellingham with the Cascade range in the back. There is another view of Mt. Baker and finally a view of Bellingham Bay. We like these surprises.

Whatcom Falls

The other day someone mentioned to us that we should get out to Whatcom Falls Park which is one of the local parks in Bellingham. The recent snow, rain, and subsequent snow melting has caused the Whatcom Creek to be inundated with lots of water and as a result, the Falls in the park are a beautiful site to see. Today was a nice, sunny day and we decided to check it out. We were not disappointed. After our walk, we drove around and found the perfect spot to take a panoramic view of Mt. Baker and it's surroundings. Sometimes we just feel like pinching ourselves...are we really surrounded by all this beauty!!!

It's a Small World- Part 2

A few blogs back I wrote about the interesting connections you find among people you meet when you move to a new area. Today we met a couple who just moved here from Iowa City, which is about as small world for us as you can get. We were visiting with some folks at a Newcomer's Club morning coffee and in walked a couple who said they were new and had just moved here from Iowa City in October. We spent the rest of the morning comparing our IC notes and found some people we knew in common. The funny thing is that I've been meeting lots of new people lately, feeling a little overwhelmed by the process and mentioned to Bob that maybe we could skip the coffee today. He felt we should go and lo and behold, we had a great time. One of the comforting things about meeting people who have chosen to move here is how much they love it and I find that it reinforces our decision to move here as well.

I continue to be thankful for so many things in our lives. I'm most grateful for the friendliness of the folks we've met thus far. Today was a good day. We found the perfect chair for this one space we had left to decorate. And...(oh,no, I'm going to mention the weather again) we had a beautiful sunny day, could clearly see Mt. Baker, and had a nice walk along the water. Pure bliss!!

Book Clubs

I recently joined two book clubs. One is associated with the Newcomer's club of Whatcom County. Last Friday we discussed Midwives by Chris Bohjalian. I believe I've read all of his books and always enjoy his take on moral dilemmas. I read this book about 10 years ago and it was interesting to read it again. I usually don't reread books, but I'm glad I did with this one. It was as fresh and exciting as the first time around. We had a great discussion and I was pleased to meet the interesting and welcoming woman of this group.

The second group is associated with our church and it was decided at our first meeting to use book club kits from the Bellingham library. Each kit has 10 books and discussion guides that book groups can check out for 5 weeks. They have about 70 titles and are a great money saver for people who love to read. We are now reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I'm not sure if I would have finished this book without being part of the club. But, these clubs help you to stretch beyond what you would usually read and the perceptions of your fellow readers are always interesting.

When I lived in Iowa City, I was part of an Adult Ed course through the local community college and we read the classics of the Bronte sisters and George Elliot. I loved reading these books, but what really made them special was the guidance of our retired professor, Janet, and the impressions and comments of my fellow students. Book clubs were just beginning to be popular then and thanks in part to Oprah, they are now seemingly everywhere. In fact when we first moved here and I saw how many book clubs there were to choose from, I was overwhelmed.

I am excited that I have joined these two groups. One of my most favorite activities is reading and discussing books. Now, I'll share this with new friends as well. Hooray for Book Clubs!!

Weather Report

Before deciding to move to Bellingham for retirement, there were lots of discussions of the pros/cons of living here versus Iowa City. We had narrowed our choice to these two areas because the most important retirement criteria for me was to be within driving distance of one of our kids. My thinking was that if we were not near at least one, then we would end up traveling alot to see them both.

Iowa City was a known quantity, as we had lived there for 15 years and visited frequently since leaving in 2000. We first heard of Bellingham in the "Where to Retire Magazine" and it sounded intriguing. It was a university town and about 90 minutes from Steve. Also, being the size of Iowa City was another bonus as that met another important criteria of mine. Although the northwest is known for it's rain, the summers are pretty spectacular. Cool, dry, 70 degree days are what we experienced on our first visit to Bellingham a few years ago. What was not to like? Still, Bob and I wrestled with our decision and knew that visits during several seasons were the best way to gauge the weather patterns.

On each visit I was pretty obsessed with the "weather" question. Anybody we came in contact with got the same grilling from me, "So, what do you think of the weather?". Of course the people here are pretty self selective as they have chosen to be here. And, all in all, their answers were "It's not that bad and you just don't let the rain stop you...besides, there is the beautiful summer to get you through winter".

I became a weather junkie the year before retirement, checking each day to see whether it was raining or cloudy in Bellingham. The question of how we would deal with all the clouds was ever present. People we knew gave us lots of input. Some knew categorically that they would hate the incessant cloudiness, while others said it wouldn't bother them a bit. Bob remained hopeful because as he saw it, we wouldn't have the "awful bone chilling cold" that we had lived through in South Dakota and Iowa.

So, we ended up in Bellingham and are now living through our first winter. Of course, a visit is always so much different than actually living somewhere. I am happy to report that so far the cloudiness hasn't been as bad as I had imagined. It is comforting not having to deal with the cold, ice, and snow (well, we did have that terrible snow, but we're hopeful that the reports of "this is so unusual" are correct!). Some of you are probably saying, "Just wait, this is just their first winter there", and you may be correct. I guess what I've learned through all my worry about the "weather" question is that there are so many other blessings to be thankful for and that worry seems a little silly now. And, there is always summer to look forward to.

But, for now, we are dealing ( by we, I mean the folks of the Northwest... we, thank goodness have not been affected) with FLOODS AND RECORD RAINFALL. Ah, well, tomorrow is another day. The weather forecast? Sun breaks for next week...yeah!!!

It's a Small World

It always amazes me to find interesting connections wherever we go. In church last Sunday there were three such interactions that made me think, "yes, it is a small world". When you are new, there is usually the conversation about where you are from. That is always a loaded question for us as we've been all over the place. Our time in Iowa came up with one woman and she told me about her brother who was a physics professor at the University of Iowa. He had just retired before the terrible murder there when the disgruntled physics student killed his professors and himself. The memory of that day came flooding back to me. She commented that her brother could well have been targeted that day if he had not retired.

The second walk down memory lane involved an interesting conversation with a couple about a trip to Arkansas they made with Elder Hostel. Arkansas was our first move with the government and our sons were born there. It was such fun to visit with them about Eureka Springs and Silver Dollar City. Again, memories came flooding back about our adventures there long ago. We were just starting out on our journey of life and had the wonderful hope of youth.

Finally, we were visiting with a couple and found out they were originally from St. Louis, our last home. And, we ended our day reminiscing about our time there. St. Louis was the perfect place for Bob to end his VA career and I met terrific friends. I loved my job and we were close enough to visit Iowa frequently.

It was great to share these conversations on Sunday. These new connections woven with old connections just made my heart feel good. Years ago, the concept of "Six degrees of separation" became very popular. The more people I meet and engage with, the more I believe it.

Blessings!!

I have two exclamations next to my title as we are blessed with two beautiful granddaughters, Hannah, aged 4 and Lizzie, aged 1. Bob grew up with 3 brothers and I had one brother and we put in our order for girls when we were expecting. We ended up with our sweet boys, Pete and Steve, and they have grown up to be men we are so proud of. But, there was always this yearning for a girl and now we have these darlings in our life. We also have two great daughter-in-laws. How lucky can you get?


Proud Papa Bob & Grandma Kathi


Aunt Angie & Uncle Steve


Mom & Dad