I mentioned in my last post that we had permits to raft the San Juan river. Way back in March we snagged the permits. We didn’t get selected through the lottery, but after lottery recipients accepted or declined they released any extra permits. Quarantine had just started and we figured things would be better by June. As the weeks progressed, we began to realize there was a strong chance the trip would be cancelled. Noel was calling the BLM office…
I’m doing some Zoom workouts this next month while my work is closed. I’m even doing one for the whole family that I’m really excited about! Check out my work’s calendar for days, times, and links to the Zoom meetings. I’d love to see familiar faces there!
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Summer is a magical time at our house. Bedtimes aren’t as important, homework doesn’t exist, and there is so much possibility for adventure. Our kids also seem to be in this golden period of childhood. They have…
I love Easter the same way other people love Christmas. Easter is all about hope and joy and light and so often the outside world reflects that as we turn our back on the long, dark months of winter. Both the plants and our souls are revitalized. This year, Easter was especially tender. Lately, we’ve become more aware of our own mortality and our absolute need for our Savior. As we celebrated Easter our hearts swelled with gratitude for the resurrection that…
I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams…” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince Noel got three days of bereavement leave when his mom passed and we knew that we needed to use some of that time to decompress before heading back to regular life. Fortunately, Glenna’s funeral services were in close proximity to one of our favorite healing balms: red rock canyons. The day after…
“I’ve come to understand that there’s a good deal of value in the ritual accompanying death. It’s hard to say good- bye and almost impossible to accomplish this alone and ritual is the railing we hold to, all of us together, that keeps us upright and connected until the worst is past.” – William Kent Krueger, Ordinary Grace I’ll admit my attitudes on the celebrations surrounding death used to be a bit callous. When I talked about my wishes for my…
“Be kind because everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” – Ian MacLaren In the days leading up to Glenna’s transfer to inpatient hospice our kitchen sink backed up. The threads on the clean out in the basement were stripped making it impossible to open it and clear the pipe. This of course meant a trip to the home improvement store to acquire fun things like a reciprocating saw blade that can cut through cast iron. (For the record,…
Noel describes the day he and his mom flew to Colorado as one of the worst days of his life. For most of it, I was generally unaware of how traumatizing it was. The evening their flight departed* they sent optimistic texts to the family – pictures of them next to a moose statue at the Anchorage airport and reassurances that they were feeling calm. That night I wrote in my journal in anticipation of their arrival, “Buckle your seatbelt…
Before I jump into any reflective posts I think I need to set up the backstory. In true Audrey fashion, I’ve been concise, maybe too concise about everything that has transpired. It was the Saturday of our church’s fall General Conference when we found out Glenna (Noel’s mom) had lung cancer. She called Noel in between sessions of talks intended to uplift us and told him she’d gone to the ER earlier in the week because of severe neck pain….
Caring for my mother-in-law the last four months has been hard, but I’ve been so grateful to have my little family during all of it. We’ve leaned on each other and grown together. When I told the kids that their Grandma Glenna had passed away, I told them it was okay to feel sad. Ellen told me “I’m not sad; I’m happy.” When I asked why, she said, “Because she’s with Jesus and she’s going to be alive again.” I’m so grateful…