Contemplations

Lots of things got different!

Posted on March 12, 2017by sue boardman

Hi! I’m Luther. The new kid.

I’ve been here about four weeks now. My new sister, Sarah, has been coaching me on the blogging thing. This is not something I knew about before.

There are lots of things I didn’t know about before.

Sarah says just say the things I’m comfortable with. I guess Mom will take care of something called spelling.

I came from a place called a puppy mill. It was a sad place. I think I missed out on a lot.

I didn’t know how to live in a house. I was hungry all the time but didn’t know how to let people give me treats. (Now I like treats a lot!)

I like people but I haven’t always been sure they’d like me. Or take care of me.

Then, lots of things got different. I rode in a van with some more dogs and a really nice man driving. We rode and rode and rode. We got to a place that wasn’t so cold. I stayed with some nice people in two different places called foster care. They loved me and fed me and started to teach me things and were patient with me.

One day, Mom and Dad came and got me. I didn’t want to get in the car because cars are scary but I got used to it pretty soon. And it smelled like other Newfies, which was nice.

I have a house. And a deck. A bed all my own. Something called aromatherapy that smells like outside and is supposed to help me relax. And two sisters. I like them both a lot. Phoebe has been getting better from something called surgery so she hasn’t been able to play much but I know she will soon. Sarah and I like to lay on the deck. (And bark at the dogs next door!)

There’s a lot to learn! Mom has a plan.

They love me, even though I can’t see very well. Mom has nice friends called Vets who will help figure out what I need.

Here’s what I know so far: Love is a good thing. I’m safe, here. They really will keep feeding me. Sometimes I’m still scared, and that’s ok. I can walk on a lead. And wag my tail. Those toys like big ropes with knots last better. My stuffed animals keep falling apart. I think Mom does something magic when I’m outside to make all the fluffy pieces disappear!

There’s a thing here called a TV. Sometimes, Mom laughs when she watches it. Sometimes, she cries. The other day, she cried when they were talking about something called refugees. She asked me to come closer and rubbed my ears that special way she does. Then she gave me a very gentle hug. Not too tight. Just nice. I wagged more.

Sometimes, all this new stuff makes me really tired. I just go take a nap when I’m tired, though sometimes I have to snap my teeth like I’m catching bugs and bark first. Mom says that’s ok, too.

I think everybody likes me just the way I am! And Sarah says I’m a good blogger. I think that’s part of my new job. Helping to talk about the things that matter.

I hope you’ll talk about the things that matter, too, wherever you are. You never know who’s counting on you!

Thanks for being here…

Love, Luther

Contemplations Grandmothers

Babies Help!

Posted on March 9, 2017by sue boardman

Truth?

I really, really, really do not like paperwork. I do not like it one bit! (This is me trying to avoid the h#te word.)

Despite my firm grasp of the alphabet, filing is not one of my favorite pastimes. I put things where I’ll be able to find them again and forget where that was. And there’s just so much of it!

I like paperwork even less when official agencies and authorities are involved. I have noticed, though, that into each life, some of these occasions must fall.

Today was one of those days. The birthday gift that keeps on giving… a hot date with the Division of Driver Services, slightly overdue. It was easier back in the day when all of this driver’s license nonsense could be accomplished, at least in Georgia, at a local Kroger store. When fewer documents were required. Sadly, not so much any more.

Contemplations Grandmothers

Life Lessons from the “Chopped” Kitchen

Posted on March 5, 2017by sue boardman

I watch a lot of Chopped on Food Network. Not as much Chopped as West Wing, but it fascinates me. First, there’s the whole process of opening up a basket of random-esque ingredients and figuring out in 20 or 30 minutes of TV time how to turn them into something past edible and headed in the direction of delicious.

I cooked a couple of meals like that in San Diego last summer. Unfamiliar kitchen. New friends with a tangled web of food needs. Five big bags of groceries purchased by someone else who was, blessedly, a great deal more benevolent than the Chopped folks. A grill I didn’t know how to use. And, on the first night, about 2 ounces of olive oil to feed 12 people!

Amazingly, it all turned out great! And I have to admit, I felt a bit like I’d just won Chopped.

Then again, the whole mystery basket – vs – clock thing isn’t the only thing that intrigues me about Chopped.

Contemplations Grandmothers

Am I talking to myself?

Posted on March 1, 2017by sue boardman

I’ve been reminded, lately, of the old saying: “When the student is ready, the teacher will come.”

In my world, there have been teachers falling from the skies!

The glitteratti cast from my recent trip to Sister Giant…U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, James Forbes, Jean Houston, Marianne Williamson, Michael Lerner, William Barber, Cenk Uygur, first year Congressional Representative from the State of Washington Pramila Jayapal, and on and on.

More familiar friends like SARK & Dr. Scott Mills & my Planet SARK writer buddies, Anne Lamott, Walter Brueggemann, Frederick Buechner, Todd Jenkins. You get the drift…

If you need a good book, look up some of these folks!

And, a bit closer to home, huge dogs and mighty mini women.

Contemplations Grandmothers

One (big) change and an invitation!

Posted on February 26, 2017by sue boardman

If you’ve been reading along for a bit, you’ve heard me tell the story about my high school biology class and the project that involved trips to the beach and setting up, balancing, and maintaining aquariums. The big thing I learned was that one change in a system changes everything.

This is my life at the moment!

Luther is our one change. Our newest rescue Newfie. Young. Shy with moments of boisterousness. Clueless in many ways. Increasingly mouthy. Omnivorous. (Inhaling what falls in his bowl. Treats. Gnawing on toys. Pillows. A couple of attempts on quilts, which is a non-starter around here. The metal legs on a table near my chair.)

Phoebe is still recovering from surgery and doing really well on the four-footed injured-reserved list.

Sarah, on the other hand, is our everything changes girl. Explanation to follow. First a memory.

Twenty-seven years and two weeks ago, I preached my senior sermon in the chapel at Columbia Theological Seminary. It was quite a day.

The morning began with tornadoes in the area. Dave, who was 10 at the time, had to go to school dressed as his favorite book character. Being a bib overall kind of mom, I was hoping for Tom Sawyer. Or Huck Finn.

Contemplations

Do You See It?

Posted on February 20, 2017by sue boardman

The photo, above, is of a folk art piece I’ve had for years, by an artist named Paul Flack. I have quite the collection. Or fetish, if you prefer.

This piece hung, for 10 years, or so, high on a wall in my studio space, kind of out of the way. Until just recently.

I’ve been moving things around. Furniture. Art. Quilts. All in a Feng shui inspired sense of what’s next in my journey. A few weeks ago, these particular angels moved to the north wall of my studio space. The wall of the future. Lower on the wall. Closer to the traffic pattern.

And then I saw it. Just to the left of the lower angel’s head.

Do you see it? The navy blue blob. It’s a Newfoundland dog.

Really.

In the future.

Contemplations Grandmothers

…the world will know peace

Posted on February 13, 2017by sue boardman

The year I was in the fourth grade, my grandparents came to Chicago to stay with my sister and me while Mom and Dad went to Florida for a meeting. When my folks came home, Granny pointed to me and proclaimed, “This child can’t see!”

It seems she had noticed that I sat close to the TV and squinted a lot, especially when I was reading, which was most of the time. Apparently a conversation with my teacher confirmed Granny’s diagnosis. This being ages before one-hour opticians, it took about two weeks before I had my first glasses.