Sunrise in October

Looking back I realize I focus a fair bit on sunrises and the changing seasons! Oh well, maybe I am easily entertained as I get older!

But from our 'vantage point' I do see number of sunrises and these do mark the changing seasons. In the midst of winter, when there is the least amount of sunshine I am usually 'on with the day' when the sun comes up. In June, on the longest day I am not about to observe the rising sun! I am blissfully ignorant of the hour of dawn! But in the spring and fall I am often having my coffee and toast as I sit in my chair watching the sky. And these days it is spectacular without a doubt.

Sometimes I think about the earth turning, wondering how many times it has gone around one whole revolution. I think about the fact that there are no bearings or axles or gears to wear out. I realize the earth is probably 'wearing out' but the fact that it never changes course, never speeds up or slows down really intrigues me. Maybe I am just easily awed!

The sunrises also make me wish I was a painter, an artist. I look at the layers of color, the blend of colors, the random scattering of clouds that constantly change shape and color. I take pictures sometime but even that doesn't really tell the story. Actually, a sunrise is just one of those things one has to experience and observe to get the full impact I think!

So, as your busy day starts, take a few minutes to just watch the sky and be enthralled with the beauty before and as the sun peaks over the horizon. You won't be sorry and it just might remind you of the wonder of life.

Thankful for life

Last week was a week of tragedy, of grief. Two funerals to attend, two young men, both 21. Circumstances hugely different, both in life and in death. But at Thanksgiving I saw in a fresh way how thankful I am for life, for the ability to get up each morning, to experience what each day holds. Some days are pretty daily, regular, ordinary. In fact, that is life.

I don't have much else to say but I will share a picture that in its simplicity reminds me to be thankful for life.

Credit for the photography goes to the Father of these two!

My Mom

Today, October 3 is my Mom's birthday. I don't always remember so I am not sure why it dawned on me today. It was 25 years ago last May that she died and today I miss her. Not the gut wrenching sorrow that came when she died but I just miss her.

I was only 34 when she died and I feel as though I didn't really "know" her. I was too busy being a Mom myself, lived far enough away to not see her that often and never knew that I was not getting to know her.

She came to Canada from Denmark, in her early 20's, to marry her high school sweetheart. That 'sweetheart' had changed or else she had changed and she knew right away she would not marry him. I wonder now what went through her mind when she recognized that she would not be getting married and here she was alone in a new country! I will never know....

She worked for the Ostergard family in Dalum for a number of years before meeting Dad at the Danish-Canadian club in Calgary. She never talked a lot about those years but when she did it was with such positive, happy memories. Mom was not always a positive person so it must have been a good experience! We are told that she was known for her horse riding abilities in the hills around Wayne and Dalum. I wonder, I wonder...... I will never know.....

Farmers

I am the daughter of a farmer. In our 'other life' the JD salesman and I were farmers. Well, I was the farmer's wife! I didn't do a lot of actual farming especially in the years of babies and toddlers. But later I did get to run the combine a few times and would move machinery when called upon. I made huge mistakes, plugged the combine, closed the wrong gate when moving cows late one hot summer evening, got the pick-up stuck in the huge puddle..... etc.

Back to the main point: farmers.

I think I understand a little of what they deal with, weather: machinery, CWB, price of cattle, fertilizer prices, spray prices, weather, falling grain prices, did I mention weather???? But it is interesting how different farmers deal with all these things.

After one especially dry winter the snow was falling. The JD salesman pointed this out to a farmer who was complaining about the lack of snow. "Yes, it is snowing," he said "but it is such a dry snow." Oh my!!!!

This has been an especially challenging year, weather-wise, for the farmers in Alberta. But some choose to see the glass half full. Like the one who told the Salesman the other day that the wheat is only feed grade but the good thing is there is twice as much of it! After ANOTHER shower went through the other day a young farmer said ''Maybe tomorrow .......'' with a big grin.

I think it is the same in whatever 'profession' one is involved, even mothering.... how will I choose to view the obstacles that are in the way.

So to you farmers and farmerettes out there..... happy harvest. See the good, enjoy the good and view life in the fullest way possible!

By the way, we are thankful to not be farming any more. It was great when we were in it, a great life to raise a family. We want other people to keep farming but we are getting too old for the pressures and the time involved.

Now what will I say about JD salesmen in a few years.......

This really has been a random post!