Monthly Archives: May 2020

Adventure, Inspiration, Travels

An Unexpected Event

Memorial Day Weekend May 23rd-2020

We woke up to a beautiful morning. I took my 10 mile bike ride and thought to myself I’d bet Larry would enjoy a motorcycle ride today—somewhere local since it was suppose to rain at 1 PM. He loved the idea so we decided to visit our friends in Palatine, Carol and Chris Benson. Chris was working on scraping the house to prepare for painting.

We were on Rt.68 (Dundee Rd) near Deer Grove Forest Preserve on our way home. We were heading straight and had the right of way when a car making a left turn out of the Preserve collided with us. At first I thought we’d miss him but the next moment Larry and I and the bike were on the ground with bike parts scattered all over the road. My prayer was that we would not get hit by another car. My hip and leg hurt but I was able to walk to the curb where some wonderful people greeted me and wanted me to sit in their car. I chose to lean against a fence instead, and put on my mask. I was concerned about Larry, who has had two past back injuries. He was standing by the bike in the street and I wanted to make sure he was OK. His thumb was out of joint but he pushed it back in. He was scrapped, had a swollen hand, and some surface wounds. I had heavy gloves on and we both were wearing our helmets. Our helmets were dented, but without them we would have suffered probably for me a broken chin and for Larry, a head injury.

The policemen, Tim and Eddie, did a great job making sure we were OK and gathering all the information they needed. We both had up to date insurance. Tim said he hated seeing motorcycle accidents since he has one too and loves riding. The young man who hit us was so sorry and told us he did not see us driving straight ahead when he made the left turn. It was his first time being in an accident. Haven’t we all at one time or another had a situation where we came close to an accident but fortunately were able to avoid it. We walked into the ambulance and the paramedics checked our blood pressure and asked if we wanted to go the the hospital. We decided our injuries were minor. They too were very professional and caring. The Bensons, great friends, took us home and were very comforting.

Reflection

We should have reconsidered going out on Memorial day weekend in a populated area.

In the past, we have taken trips to WI on back roads.

Warning to others—accidents often happen close to home and wearing the proper motorcycle gear is important at any time.

We thank God that we are here to embrace another day—hopefully wiser.

We are both so thankful for our wonderful friends and family.

Inspiration

A Sunday Reflection may 20

I woke up this morning to the sound of heavy rain and I began to grumble forgetting that I had just enjoyed two days of sunshine and outdoor beauty. Then it came to me. “I’m not any different from the children wandering in the desert complaining about the manna God gave them.” It’s Sunday, a day of rest, and I should be happy to have some time to write, to read and to reflect.

Voices are shouting over the internet, the TV and the newspapers. Each voice is shouting, “Follow Me. I know what we need to do during Covid-19.” And yet as I reflect on this rainy morning what comes to my mind is all the grumbling the Children of Israel did while wandering in unchartered deserts. The Voice that did come in clear was, “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10.

As I gaze at the picture of my granddaughter drawing pictures of birds, I think of verses in Matthew 6 – Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount “Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they . Who of you by worrying, can add a single hour to his/her life?”—-“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

I hope you find peace today and hope for the future, compassion for one’s fellow human beings, thoughtulfness and prayer for our vulnerable demographic and appreciation for essential workers, respect for teachers who care deeply for their students, and for students who now treausre their teachers, and finally love for your families, friends and your Creator.

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7. A sound mind—not a grumbling heart while walking through the maze of unchartered waters.

Complex Issues

Better Days are ahead

Hi Everyone,

How are you all doing in our lockdown? It is May 11th and we are in Phase 2. We have been shut in since March 26th. People seemed to do quite well in Phase 1 but now the herd is restless. I am too. I do well when the days are warm and it’s not raining and I can get out. But yesterday, Mother’s Day, was hard. Fortunately, we saw family, Julie and Geoff and kids, on Saturday. We sat in their backyard at a distance away from one another and enjoyed seeing their new puppy, Mauve. But no hugging, nor eating each other’s food. We did enjoy great conversation and the joy of seeing one another. Julie and Geoff live in Chicago where there have been 1,000 deaths due to Covid-19. Following the rules is necessary for survival.

I came home with tears in my eyes knowing we could not hug each other and that school, childhood friendships, etc would be different for my grandchildren. But we need to be patient and resilent in these days working on finding new ways to connect and to even thrive.

It rained all day yesterday—so no walk outside. I recorded some songs on the piano which I posted on Face Book, spent time communicating with friends and family on line and worked on planning my week. We are getting quotes on landscaping our backyard and going through and discarding those items we no longer need.

Larry has been dealing with back pain and I work on his back by popping in the verebrate. Larry is 6′ 2″ and I’m not quite 5′ so I actually stand on his back to do this procedure. He loves to stay busy and after reading the Tribune decided to make a banana cake and bread in our breadmaker. I have been trying to cut down on carbos from my diet, but with Larry as a baker this is impossible. How can I not have a hot piece of bread with butter when the delicous smell permeates the house. This means that I’ll do a lot of walking today and exercise on Zoom with my teacher friend, Rose, in her program called Get After It. Now I need to modify my exercises since my teacher is much younger than I am. But I do what I can and love connecting with her and her young daughter, Heleyn.

A Wonderful Backyard Party Last Year 2019

God has given us hope and encouragement by helping us focus on others rather than ourselves in these unprecedent times. There is always some one to reach out to with words of encouragement, acts of kindness or just a listening ear. Last time I took a walk a stranger smiled and said, “It’s so good to see people again.” Yes, we need one another as the song says, “People who Need People are the Luckiest People in the World.” I find seeing children playing freely with puppies by their side and parents behind them gives me hope for the future. And our land and air quality is improving. These are the positives of staying home.

Almost every morning, my daughter from Montana, sends us a series of jokes. Larry continues to play practical jokes on me like putting his size 12 shoe under my pillow when I lay down to sleep. He always pleads that it wasn’t him who put it there. It mut have been an intruder. And we laugh a lot about ourselves and how we need each other to find our lost items and to finish each other’s sentences these days. Our favorite words are “What” “Where” and “When.” Physically, laughter triggers the release of endorphins that cause a sense of well-being. Studies have demonstrated that children laugh on average more than 300 times a day. We adults only laugh a dismal 15. Times of levity are important.

I encourage everyone to write and reach out to someone new each day. Writing is a catharsis for me as is playing the piano and working on my Spanish lessons. I guess I’m saying having goals for each day is very helplful. I can be thankful for so much and be cognizant of my neigbors nearby.

A pleasant vacation memory.

The sun will shine today. I have wonderful food to eat and a husband who loves me, Zoom meetings to attend, social media to connect, the joy of seeing flowers bloom and trees developing their foliage. I can look back at pictures and sense a well of happiness for the days of freedom in the past when we didn’t think of family and friends as being a carrier of a contagious deadly disese. We have wonderful scientists who are working on a vaccine. We have doctors and nurses who are saving lives and need our encouragement. Although the future looks bleak, better days are ahead and we will get through this time with new appreciation for things we once took for granted