Over the years it has seemed to me that life is much like a river. During childhood we tend to be in the quiet, lazy part of the river, perhaps floating along on a raft. During adolescence, the current picks up a bit and then in early adulthood, it feels like we jump in a boat. That boat takes off quickly, and before you know it, you add things to the watercraft. It gets heavier and moves even faster. At times you wish for a break where you could pull over and rest a bit.
Before you know it, you are entrenched in relationships, children, jobs and all that comes along with these things. It feels like the boat is going faster and faster and no chance comes along to pull over to the shore. Then maybe in old age, the current slows a bit as we again hit the quiet part of the river.
When I was young, one of my favorite books was A Lantern in Her Hand. I read it many times. The main character had dreams as a young girl of marrying a doctor, moving to New York and becoming an opera singer. In reality, she married a farmer, had several children and did not become a singer. She often would say, "Please stop time just for a moment", but that never happened. Time keeps moving on and with it goes our lives.
So I wonder if after we have maneuvered our boat over miles of the river, surviving the rapids along the way (life), do we empty into the wide expanse of the ocean (death) where we may finally have calm waters and an end to the worry of time? Some thing to think about.
Thought for the day: Life is the sum of all your choices. ~Albert Camus
During spring break my daughter and grandchildren from Brainerd were finally able to come for a visit. Aubree has been asking to visit Baba's house for a long time. We started out with dinner in Woodbury to celebrate Tahnee and Olivia's 30th birthday. Then we made the trek to Wisconsin, and they stayed with us for three nights.
I told Aubree that if the sun came out she would be see rainbows in the house because I have a crystal hanging in the window as well as leaded glass windows. The sun did appear, and she was very excited to see rainbows on the walls, floor and even on her arm. Magical things can happen at Baba's house.
Ethan is into school buses right now, and we have a very busy road in front of our house. Every truck that went by seemed to be a school bus, but on Monday we did see actual buses.
The weather warmed up so we went outside to attempt to play in the snow. It was difficult because the snow was so deep, but we managed. Ethan likes to shovel so he worked on that. We made a trek to the local park where they used the slide and swings; Tahnee and Aubree made an attempt to slide down the hill but not too successful due to warm temps.
Grandpa Brian got into the scene by making a snowman with the kids and playing a game with Aubree.
So all in all, I think they had a good time at Baba's house. When we reached the Minnesota border on their way back, Aubree told her mom to turn around and go back to Baba's house Right Now!
So now whenever I see a school bus, I think of Ethan and of course, whenever those rainbows appear my thoughts turn to Aubree.
Thought for the day: Most grandmas have a touch of the scallywag. ~Helen Thomson
About a week ago I went to Woodbury to spend a week with Melody, my 8 year old granddaughter. Her parents were dropped off at the airport to fly to sunny Mexico, and we headed to the Mall of America. Most people who know me would surmise that malls are not my thing, especially the largest one in the country. We got parked and both of us made note of which "state" we left the car. Parking was not easy as I was driving my daughter's car for the first time which is quite a bit larger than my own. Melody remarked at how crowded it was and why didn't people stay home when the roads were bad. Good question.
Our first stop was the American Girl Doll store where I resisted the pressure to buy her some thing. Then we headed to the amusement park where she rode a couple rides before deciding to move on. The line was too long for the Mine Ride. A new attraction was Barbie's Dreamhouse so we definitely had to check that out. I am also not a huge Barbie fan, but when Melody and I are together that is put aside. We have watched numerous Barbie movies several times.
Let me just say that the Dreamhouse was very PINK and the theme song playing was Everybody Needs a Ken. So much for feminism.
After touring the kitchen and other rooms, we headed to the area where you could dress up, walk the runway, get makeup done and do Barbie's hair.
So that was it; we made it through the whole Dreamhouse. Outside was a Barbie VW Beetle. My next car? I think not.
We had some ice cream and for lunch had food court pizza. The last stop was the Underwater World. This was my first time seeing that, and I was pretty impressed. We managed to find the car and get out of the parking lot and made it safely home.
I am hoping I don't darken the doors of the Mall of America for awhile, but it was great to spend time with Melody, as always.
Thought for the day: We used to build civilizations, now we build shopping malls. Bill Bryson
