For some reason, I miss my mom the most in the fall. I remember her so very often.

Today I began fall cleaning. I love cleaning out drawers, adding new drawer liners, organizing, and preparing for the long winter ahead. Today I even ironed hankies. Hankies that were my mother's and my grandmother's. Little pieces of linen embroidered by precious hands. Small squares of fabric with a crocheted edge made by hands that were always busy. Hankies that have grown old with more than one lifetime of sorrows and joys.

And now they are mine. One of the hankies my mom carried at her wedding almost 59 years ago. I think I remember which one, but I am not completely sure. And there is no one left to tell me.

As I ironed I remembered back to my mother teaching me to iron. She had the method way before Martha Stewart put it in her book. First the collar, then the yoke. Sleeves next, then the body of the shirt. I learned to iron on some of the very same hankies I ironed today. And pillowcases. They were the tough ones! Heavy cotton material. You had to spritz them with water, then wait a bit. (Of course, they had just come in off the line, not from the dryer.) When you ironed them, they had a very clean, hot, cottony smell that no one has yet successfully duplicated in a candle. You just had to be there.

There are some traditions that should never be forgotten. Hankies are one of them.

I’ve been thinking. Why do I go to camp? Is it worth all the work and effort and time and strength and money that we put into it? Why don’t we see more results?

 

Since I began working at RHMA, the Lord has been teaching me to take things slower. To take things one at a time. I’m sure my personality type – let’s get this done, do this, this, and this – is a product of my generation. We are not the kids who sat on the front porch and chatted with our neighbors. Who could sit and watch the grass grow. (Watch it grow! I’ve got to mow it!)

 

Task focused. That’s me.

 

But God has been changing that. I am in a job now that values people more than the bottom line. It’s been five years and I am still trying to get used to not feeling guilty because I am talking with a volunteer or a missionary when I should be working!

 

God has given me a special friend who takes me to task about slowing down. And, we’ve had some very pleasant chats on my deck – even though I can see the weeds in the garden, or the flowers that need to be watered.

 

God has been teaching me to take things slow. Look ahead and see what the results might be. Take a moment to think before responding.

 

I’ve even started playing a computer game which makes me stop and think. (Imagine that!) If I rush in and do this, this, and this, I often lose. But if I look at my options, consider them, and take it slowly, I often win.

 

So, I shouldn’t be surprised that God takes things slowly (or at least in my opinion, they are slow). In God’s timing the seeds sown this year at camp may reap a bountiful harvest in a year, or two, or more.

 

I’ll always be a ‘list’ person. I have a list of things to do for the house, a list for the garden, a list for work, a list for camp, a list for church, a list of my lists. But, I’ve learned to write on my lists things that will slow me down.

 

Wash windows

Vacuum rugs

Pay Bills

Sit on the deck and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation

Wash dishes

Laundry

Read a few chapters

Write articles for newsletter

Praise God for friends and family

This was a weekend full of work, but also full of joyful moments with the Creator. While cleaning out the garage, the little ground squirrel who had been making his home in the garage this winter, tried to run in, then out, then away. Pesky little things, but you do have to admire their speed, their beauty (those stripes are adorable as well as the color combination) and their all around cuteness. Mine appear to have tunnels and quick escapes lined up. My favorite is when they run through the downspout extension that has fallen. Think they have fun in there?

As I sat on the deck steps, a little brown wren daintily search for seeds. So small, she easily moved under the Missouri primrose, around the violets, and through the sweet peas. She didn't seem to be afraid of me - or perhaps she was truly hungry. Later in the day I was reading on my deck and heard the trills of two wrens. Searching with binoculars, I discovered that the old white birch tree has become a duplex! The sparrows have taken over the top floor (where Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird lived last year.) and the wrens are enjoying the lower apartment on the backside of the tree. I walked around to try to find their nest. Mr. Wren stayed right there on the limbs watching me. Not till I reached out to see what was in the hole did they begin to squawk at me. Quite the chatter going on. So, respectfully, I walked away. I love wrens.

I also have a silly robin who has built her nest under the bird house on a platform - not at all hidden from view or even sheltered. Last Sunday there was one egg. Tuesday there were three. She sits on the nest, but when I drive in, or walk around she flies to the crabapple tree (which is in full bloom) and chirps at me. Like it's my fault she built in the heavy traffic zone? When I took the camera to get pictures both robins went crazy! When the babies hatch, I'll have to watch my head! Whoever is sitting on the nest eyes me everytime I walk to my garage, back out the car, or take out the garbage.

Other surprises of Spring is that the tiny Redbud tree I planted last year is leafing! It made it through the rough winter. Larkspur have flown away from the flower garden and landed in the melon patch. Perhaps I'll keep them there. Randomness. I've decided that my herb and flower garden must remain random and I shall enjoy the show. Poppies and Larkspur are the main culprits, but the violets and Missouri primrose are trying to keep up. Oh, and the Chamomile and Dill. The Mist Flower and Cup Plant have returned as well. This is a surprise as I wasn't sure they would make it! The Bee Balm is spreading, and I hate Charlie. He's a creep! The yellow rose bush is apparently a climbing rose. I really should save those tags.

Sunshine in my soul, sunshine on my shoulders, sunshine on my face - a great weekend.