Happy Thanksgiving!

561.  Early morning walk in the foggy beauty of  Ft. Hunt Park

562.  The one I walk with in covenant love

563. The blessing of being with all these folks last night and more to come today...

564.  Becoming Gramma this year together with this loving Grampa (or whatever his name is!) to this precious baby girl.

565. Grace poured out on the cross on my behalf from the Giver of all good gifts....

And so much more 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Such abundance

542.  The good tired feeling after a long, brisk walk
543.  Home, just home, not splendid, as Meg says, but pleasant and quiet
544.  The last orange leaves fluttering down
545.  The carpet of rust on the front lawn, the oaks are shedding
546.  Bread now rising, ready to shape into loaves to take
547.  The smell of molasses, cinnamon, cloves
548.  Swish, swish of washing machine
549.  Rose hips on the window sill
550.  Pansies in the garden, hidden under the leaves just now, but ready to bloom all winter
551.  Hot water - so easy to take for granted but such a luxury, really
552.  Good walking shoes
553.  Feet that don't hurt
554.  A plan and encouragment from many corners to stick with it.
556.  Sisters-in-law and husbands, my children's aunts and uncles, and lots of cousins getting ready to gather!
557.  B and G about to meet their first great grandchild
558.  Adoring uncles - I can't wait to watch the boys with Clara!
559.  Girlfriends who are welcomed and loved by the whole family and who get to come for Thanksgiving!
560.  Coty's driving - I can relax and knit ; )

Thanksgiving - not just one day

520.  Long walks
521.  Husband who walks the whole way with me
522.  Anticipation of reunion
523.  Hands to knit
524.  Early morning quiet
525.  Family
526.  A long-time, all the way back to high school friend
527.  The ease of picking up every time we are together
528.  An adventure for M and friends who make it possible
529.  Sliver of a moon two nights ago
530.  Thick fog - I know it's hard for driving, but so lovely hanging over the fields
531.  Bright sun with soft fuzzy edges burning through the thick morning fog
532.  Good homemade bread
533.  Students who give lunch money to bring two special people together
534.  Growing baby girl and her amazing mom

535,  Surprise roses

536.  Babysitting son

537.  Finally meeting Catriona and the joy of getting to know, in person, a like-minded friend.

538.  A great class all about the brain, taught by Catriona

539.  Great students

540.  Learning by doing

541.  Church family fall bonfire fellowship

I so well remember a dear friend once posing this question...

"Thanksgiving, annual holiday or eternal lifestyle?"

Oh, that it would be more and more a lifestyle for me....

Stop, see, count...

510.  hot tea

511. bright, warm candle

512. basket with Bible

513. someone's crocheted beauty

514.  special swing

516. quiet chirping of woods' birds

517.  smells of fall
518. rain glistened oak leaves
519.  quiet

Lord God,
My mind raced this morning with 1000 things to be done,
and you quieted with the drip of rain,
the light of a candle,
the damp of morning and oak leaves,
with a moment to stop and see You in the littlest details,
the small gifts I might have rushed past.
And then, the whole day felt like a gift.
Thank you.

This time next week...

I'll be with...

these two college boys,

these two new parents,

and this sweet baby girl (woooohooooo!),

but not these two dear ones.  

They'll celebrate Thanksgiving together in Cairo.

We'll miss 'em!

Shhhhh.......

While much of the garden is doing this...
yellowing, dying back, and being buried under the leaves...

The microgreens and mesclun are popping up...

and the rose is still blooming!

Shhhhhh!  Don't tell them it's mid-November!

Sometimes things work out...

A few weeks ago, I mentioned bumps.  They happen.  Life is not always smooth sailing.  I am painfully aware of that at times.  We will always have trials.

Sometimes, though, things just work out.  The weather is good, the directions are correct, the tour is on time, there really is a parking place just across the street, and the train gets in on time.  Well, maybe the train doesn't always get there on time.  But maybe, even that was just fine because you had knitting and a good book.  Anyway, I am very thankful for how wonderful our trip to the northeast was a few weeks back.  Practically glitch-free, except for that last train ride that took two and a half hours instead of the scheduled thirty minutes.   But, I did get lots of knitting done!


I don't take it for granted that this is so.  I give thanks for....

472.  safe travels

473.  a sunrise to view as we drove north early in the morning

474.  helpful tour guide, admissions counselor, much learned

475.  correct directions, and yes, the parking place across the street

476.  enough time for a lunch of subs

477.  another helpful tour guide and seeing the promise and possibility for Matthew

478.  more correct directions, a stop for donuts, a memory of "how to get there" and a happy welcome

479.  John and Val, oh, we love them.  Such warmth, hospitality, fun, grace, laughter!

480.  early  morning walk and the ducks sound like they're laughing at me

481.  barking dog restrained - whew!

482.  another sunrise, this one over the water, while I walk on unfamiliar streets in Absecon

483.  more correct directions!!! and easy train connection into NY

484.  excitement stepping out into the hustle and bustle of the city

485.  finding our way, walking from Penn Station to Greenwich Village, such a fun time with the boys

486.  am I sounding repetitive - but I am thankful - more helpful admissions people, so much learned

487.  hot cider and scones in Union Square, watching the world go by

488.  happy rendezvous with Abbi..."we're over here...in front of the pumpkins!"

489.  a place to stay in the city, for free!  thanks to more Armstrong hospitality

490.  a fun dinner, a Chinatown excursion, sights and sounds, laughter and talk

491.  dessert treats, just grace and fun and getting to know one who is dear

492.  warm bed and listening to rain on the streets

493.  early Saturday walk, fresh bread, good coffee, the best company

494.  the wonders of Central Park's beauty in the middle of the city

495.  walking, walking, walking - some spits of rain, more laughter and good times with the boys

496.  singing umbrella salesman, juggler on a unicycle, avenue of trees, a black squirrel

497.  hearing the world as we walk the streets

498.  hot pizza on a rainy afternoon

499.  the refreshment of sitting, eating, talking

500.  the ease of navigating the city with the boys, really no glitches til...

501.  late train, but clean place to wait

502.  huge crowd, but we four stay together and get on the same train car

503.  long delay, but we have no deadline so we can relax

504.  angry traveler in another car, but those around us take it all in stride and find the humor in the situation

505.  late night driving with safe driving Andrew

506.  beds ready for us at Grammie's

507.  a quick visit on Sunday morning

508.  more safe driving, home again

509.  memories made

Training, Part 2

When you feel like your body has betrayed you, as I did when I first heard the RA diagnosis, you can feel somewhat powerless.  That's certainly how I felt at first.  I felt sad.  I cried whenever anyone asked me about it. I imagined years of pain, a succession of drugs, decreased physical abilities, and more. It was a discouraging time.

Thankfully, it didn't last long.  I started to read and talk to other people and realized that one of the very best things for people with RA is physical activity.  And then, for a little bit, I felt defiant.  I thought I'd start running again and just overcome the pain by sheer force of will.  It didn't work.  Running resulted in sore joints and painful feet.  I couldn't keep it up.  I knew my exercise would have to be walking.

And now a little background....

In Kenya, where I've lived, people walk.  In Cameroon, where I've lived, people walk.  One of my first impressions on arrival in both countries was of people walking.  Driving from the airport into Nairobi and years later, into Douala, I saw people walking everywhere.  Walking from the outskirts of the city to jobs in the city center; walking from a slum on the west side to the bus station 5 miles away; walking from home to the open air market.  People walk.

In Cameroon, we bought coffee from a man named Pa Shadrach.  If we needed coffee, we told our neighbor's cook, Joseph who would somehow get the word to Pa Shadrach.  Without fail, Pa Shadrach would show up on our porch very early the next morning, having walked for more than an hour to bring us our coffee.  Pa Shadrach was in his 80's and strong as an ox.  He walked everywhere.

In Cameroon, we often went to visit the families of our students who lived in neighboring villages. This meant, at times, walking for an hour and a half to reach their homes.  Once at our destination, we sat down to tea, coffee, or a soda quickly purchased from the little shop down the road.  We talked, met the family, were shown the coffee plants and beans drying, the orange trees and mangoes.  We sat some more.  Perhaps neighbors came to meet us.  Then, after a good long visit, we walked home.  Such visiting could take an entire day because we had to walk.

When I lived in a small college town in Massachusetts, I loved to see the family that walked together to and from school.  It was a walk of about a half mile for them and rain, shine, snow, or wind, the mom in this family would bundle up her children, wrap the baby in a warm blanket and tuck him in the stroller and walk to school with her children.  In the afternoon, she was always there at the school to meet the children when they came out.  They walked along home chatting about the events of the day, I imagine.  The walk to and fro was together time and must, I think, have been a sweet part of the day for that family.

Can you tell...I have thought a lot about walking.  I love walking.  Living where I do, I often mourn the reality of car dependent suburban living.  Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I had to walk to the store.  How would I think more carefully about my purchases if I could only buy what I could carry home?  How much would walking places slow me down and simplify the tasks of the day by limiting me to what I could do "on foot."

I think about things like walking to my sister's house, 35 miles away.  Someday I want to do that.

I think about walking across my state.  Someday I want to do that.

All of these thoughts have been rattling around for a long time.  Then I got the RA diagnosis.  Finally, about a month back, a simple invitation brought all of this into focus and launched me into this decision to train for a marathon....