I live in West Virginia most of the year. My grandchildren live in Colorado, so I needed to create a ritual for each one…something they could look forward to, and cherish the memories of, for years to come. When I’m visiting, I spend one full day with each doing just what they want to do. And, since the first sentence my twelve-year-old granddaughter uttered was “Shopping for shoes!”…she and I headed for the mall for our “Girl’s Day Out” yesterday. It was a beautiful outing, she got exactly what she wanted for Christmas, and we had several hours of quality time to re-establish bonds that are stretched by time and distance.
This is my fourth Christmas without Mr. Virgo. I first told this story just nine months after he died while we were looking at a travel trailer to take us into retirement. This has been my most widely shared story ever. It is a story of love and loss and hope. I’m posting it again today. Feel free to share it with others who may be feeling the sting of loss on their first (or second or fifth or…any) holiday without their loved one.
My good friend and fellow “Rancher”, Gina Corbin, is featured in Janine Pettit’s goRVing blog! I remember just before Gina’s first trip towing her little camper to Blackwater Falls State Park in Davis, West Virginia. We were chatting online and she said she wasn’t sure she could do this. I told her she was going to do fine and she would pull into that campground “like a boss!” And…she did! She told me later that was the tipping point for her and she would do this no matter what it took.
I met a young couple at the hot springs a couple weeks ago. There are several pools and I hopped in the first one I came to as it was so cold coming out of the locker room. As I am wont to do, I struck up a conversation and within moments, the young man remarked on my energy. He said there was a certain “light” about me that radiated. I replied that it didn’t come from me…it was God within that shined through me. I only have two jobs…love God and love people. If I do those two things, everything else pretty much works itself out. And, if I’m doing those two things correctly, it shows.
“Little” is nine-years-old but her soul is ancient. This is my deep, insightful thinker. My wise comforter. She was five when Mr. Virgo died and it was her sensitive, thought provoking wisdom that touched my heart more than all the comforting remarks put together. She’s spiritual and we talk about God and Jesus and heaven. We really “get” each other.
My dear friend, Janine Pettit, interviewed me in September when we were camping at Beaver Creek State Park in East Lebanon, Ohio. In this episode, we discuss lessons I have learned along the way and how the Sisters on the Fly saved me in my grief. I speak about two of my fellow Sisters who impacted my grief journey in the most positive ways. Have a listen ...you always learn something new about camping, and life, from Janine's wonderful podcast series!
You haven’t lived till you attend your twelve-year-old granddaughter’s middle school choir concert. Seriously. Those kids were so great…funny, sweet and gawky in their awkwardness. They’re like new foals…all feet and legs and eyes. They duck their eyes and bite the inside of their cheeks in the supreme act of standing…alive…in front of…(gasp)…PEOPLE! People who are looking at them. And taking pictures of them. And um, you know, like…smiling at them and stuff. It was classic. It took me back to those years when her mama was doing the same thing. Well, not exactly the same thing. My daughter stood on a stool and “put on a show” to anyone who would sit still for five minutes. As a theater major, she lived for the spotlight. But her older daughter? Maybe not quite as much. I love her brilliant wit, her doe eyes, her modesty.
The cardinal is West Virginia’s state bird. I love watching the flash of red when a male cardinal comes in to the feeders or flits among the branches of the shrubbery along the creek on the farm. There is nothing more beautiful than a radiance of cardinals resting amongst the red berries on a dogwood branch in the snow. The mama cardinal is a little duller color than her mate, but still shows a lovely dusty red.
One more week till Christmas. Where on earth did 2016 go??? My granddaughter had a swim meet yesterday and afterwards I went to the mall. I was hard pressed to find a parking spot. First off, we got about 10" of snow overnight and the temperature was hovering at 0 when I left for the swim meet. It didn’t warm up out of single digits all day yesterday! I walked around the mall for hours, mostly people watching and getting some much needed exercise. My phone came alive with texts from friends all over the country. It was fun to catch up with so many people.
