Contemplations – Page 110

Doesn’t that just wonder you?

Posted on June 12, 2017by sue boardman

First, let me just say that Oregon is fabulous and, if you haven’t been there, I’d highly recommend it!

The weather in Portland was, mostly, lovely. I saw lakes and mountains and rivers and waterfalls and places where many of those things come together, which is a wonder for this Mid West/South East girl. I had lunch in Washington State, adding yet one more to my list of states visited.

I have crossed through “Tsunami Hazard” zones (Who knew?) and over Humbug Creek, East and West. I even discovered the Museum of Whimsy in lovely little Astoria, OR. Really!

One particular highlight was a visit to Fort Clatsop where the Lewis and Clark expedition camped in Oregon Country during the winter of 1805-06. The model of the original fort left me feeling awed. I’m not sure I could have camped there for half an hour!

Everything being contextual, the only things I really knew before about Lewis and Clark were that they embarked from Missouri and they were accompanied and supported on their journey by a Newfoundland dog named Seaman.

Now, though, I feel some of what they must have felt centuries ago. Mostly the forest.

Hushed. Primal. Upholstered in whiskery moss. Living. Breathing.

A treasure not just as a teaching tool, but as a silent call to cherish and heal our planet.

Contemplations Grandmothers

The Prom

Posted on June 8, 2017by sue boardman

Once upon a time, nearly 30 years ago, I went to the Prom.

Oh, I’d been before. The usual high school events. Awkward dates. Social pressure. Anxiety.

This was different!

My second year seminary classmates and I decided we needed some fun after a pretty intense year filled with, among other things, Hebrew.

We got permission to have a Prom, reserved some rooms, and hired a DJ.

Then we started spreading the word. Lots of people were excited. All of them asked what to wear.

The response: “Dress creatively!”

Contemplations Grandmothers

Non-stop to the Rabbit Hole

Posted on June 5, 2017by sue boardman

Bill and I were on the road so early Sunday morning that even the Baptists weren’t up yet. With the girls’ birthstones around my neck and a jacket of many pockets, we headed for the airport and the 10:00 am flight to Portland. Or, more likely, the mythical Rabbit Hole.

Large portions of the Delta terminal are under construction. The lighting is oddly eerie. Rather like a low-budget sci-fi film. As usual, in Atlanta, the place was teeming with the sleepy, the harried, and the lost. And no hard-boiled eggs.

As a veteran people watcher, I’d say a bunch of athletes, folks excited about a cruise and, maybe, just maybe, a few others of the rabbit hole type.

Contemplations

Opening Up Choices

Posted on June 1, 2017by sue boardman

Little changes can make huge differences!

Recently, we’ve been playing furniture Yahtzee again. It’s a Feng shui thing.

For a while now, the only chairs in my studio space have been my marvelous Relax Your Back chair and a cool desk chair Bill camps out in. Oh, and three dog beds!

I’ve been seeing coaching clients in the family room. In theory, it was a good plan.

In practice, not so much.

Contemplations Grandmothers

Let’s Begin With Remembering

Posted on May 29, 2017by sue boardman

One of the things I’ve been pondering lately is the notion that things have the meaning we give them.

Holidays are a good example. Memorial Day is, perhaps, an especially good example. This is a place in our culture where food seems to be deeply involved in meaning. Consider for a moment the many folks who, in the course of our conversations over the last couple of weeks, have asked questions like, “Is it still Memorial Day if I buy the potato salad?”

Or, “My grandson is allergic to watermelon. What do we do for Memorial Day?”