RAMBLINGS..................June 2010

By Diane Sawdon

Driving home from Fresno today, I tossed around all sorts of ideas for this Ramblings in the “fleshy tablets of my mind.” Great word image----one of my high school Spanish teachers used to say that all the time. How I remembered it, amazes me. I think, most of the time, he was referring to our teenage lack of gray matter. But I digress. Almost four hours in the car is a lengthy amount of time for the mind to wander. One of my conclusions was that I had to approach this in a positive state of recollection. I felt the last few months have been sad, gloomy and negative. So here goes..........

If you follow my written mind bending at all, you are aware that our Sacramento daughter has been involved in a house hunt for her first home. I am delighted to say that after twelve months, fifteen days, and involvement in three Short Sales, she is no longer a “property virgin.” Yes, I stole those two words from HGTV. She is a home owner!! The little yellow house of her dreams is now her own. So proud of you, daughter of mine. You hung in there when I would have loudly marched in the other direction yelling and screaming all the way. Now the real fun begins---making it your own refuge and retreat from the outside world. As I have said before, home is where your story begins.

Our Fresno daughter completed her doctoral thesis in December of last year, but this past month she returned to Texas Women’s Univerity for the official Hooding Ceremony and to receive her official degree. She was able to achieve this while holding down a full time job, giving birth to three children and being the wife of a very understanding husband. So proud of you, other daughter of mine. You really do have the perseverance, commitment and tenacity of that “wholehearted bear.” You will always be my “ Dr. Pain.”

After almost six weeks in a convalescent home, my Mother was moved to a wonderful Board and Care Home here in Nevada City. This was my dream for her and she seems to be enjoying her new lifestyle with six other “girls.” It has been a long two months, but seeing a smile on her face has made the journey worthwhile. Keep your fingers crossed that this will last. 

Okay, enough tooting of one’s own horn. I just want to share this one last thought. As many of you know, I work at a nusery part time. May was a horrid month for nursery stock. Mother Nature would not let go of Winter and kept blasting Nevada City with cold temperatures, rain, snow, hail, sleet and wind. Frost tender plants need to be covered at night. This routine went on for way too many nights and on one of the last evenings of this habitual task, we were as water weary as the plants. We were soaked, cold, and not too even tempered. Just when you think you cannot drag another frost cloth around behind you to lay upon the tender plants, a moment from the pages of a Hollywood movie script occurred. We looked at the horizon and the saw the most magnificent rainbow glowing in the sky. It seemed like a singular message sent directly to us while we stood in the rain in awe of those fragile colors splashed across the sky. Finally, just maybe, Mother Nature was going to release Old Man Winter. 

I do hope June continues to bring blessings to all.........