The Best Part of Summer, 2012

This summer, for the first time in my life I left the continent of North America and headed across the Atlantic for Europe. Our plan was to spend a couple of weeks with our beloved friends. In planning the trip, we said simply that we wanted to see their life, their joys, their favourite places, meet friends and family....see how and where they spend their days. We knew on some level they loved their country, but I don't think in their descriptions, they ever did it verbal justice. I still can't get my head around this and I am at a loss why. The trip was so far beyond my wildest imaginings that I don't know where to begin. We traveled through seven provinces over dykes and rivers, through river channels and forest roads that defy description. I don't know what I thought Holland would be, but it was a delight on every front. And having such perfect hosts was a gift I'll not ever forget.

I will try over these next few blog entries to describe what we experienced...

After a sleepless ocean-cross night, our friends fetched us from Schiphol in Amsterdam and drove across the country to the east province of Overijssel, to their home in Nijverdal. I was speechless. Even in a sleepy haze, the colour of the countryside, and the vast differences in the architecture was astounding. The first few houses I saw with thatched roofs I thought must be touristy places, storybook houses. But no. The houses look like that.



Brick and Thatched Roofs....the Dutch call them "Peat" roofs. Notice the woven willow fence to the left.


On that first night when we sleepily explored the town of Nijverdal two things stood out...I saw brick roads and brick houses. There was more brick than I was accustomed to. And I was stunned by the Dutch practice of perfect gardening. Every plot of land, whether outside small rowhouses or surrounding larger properties was manicured. Careful, artistic clipping of hedges and flower placement was evident wherever we looked. Hydrangeas of colours I'd never seen before took up whole front lawn areas. Woven fences sat at property lines and the biggest surprise of all was that small farms not only rubbed up against town boundaries at the outskirts, but were interspersed in neighborhood spaces. All land is used. I got the impression that the Dutch take no land for granted. They don't have the wide open spaces we take for granted in Canada, so they seem to demonstrate a love of what land they have.



A small farm around the corner from our friend's townhome. An interesting storage system for hay.



Summer 2012

Every time I sat down to write this summer, I was overwhelmed with the enormity of life. The time off from the busy school year was not the leisurely progression of one event to the next that I anticipated. The days were full. The basement called. The boxes of detritus that had been pitched into the storage room with the door hastily closed behind them now called in a whiny voice…sort me! So for what seemed like days on end, I sorted through boxes and closets and drawers and heaved six garbage bags to the curb and five to Goodwill.  Still unable to part with a smaller wardrobe (kept with high hopes or delusional thinking), the closets are still crammed. But drawers emptied quickly and leftover boxes are now labeled and stacked.  I had other aspirations as well…I would paint all the doors in the house and scour the mudroom. Nope, didn’t happen. That seemed too formidable. In the midst of all this, I planned for a new school year, and managed to do four paintings. (pictures not walls.) And two other big things..... more to come!

And What Is With The Animals?

    Driving down the street in my own residential area at 5:30pm today, I came across a fox eating a live squirrel on my neighbour's front lawn. Now that's something you don't see every day! Zooming for the camera in this intense humidity, I worked up quite a sweat. I did approach the fox from the car, windows down, AC blasting. No way I was going to get out of the car. I'm not that brave. But that fox was only about 10 feet away and seemed completely unconcerned by my presence. Is it the heat that has caused this animal to promenade the front lawns of our street?

We're Having a Heat Wave, A Tropical Heat Wave...

        Summer. Yep, it's here.  Forty-two degrees celcius -  the humidex today and for me, it is just too much.  Yet, I am one of the blessed ones. I have an air conditioned home and car and my classroom has a window air conditioner that takes the edge off if nothing else.

        Have you noticed how everything seems more exaggerated when it's this hot? My students are much louder when these days come upon us. They seem to crash through doors and bang lockers and converse louder over the roar of the AC and I have to top them to get their attention. These sweaty-faced rascals have come to the near end of the school year and they are like greyhounds straining at tightly tethered leashes. I can hardly wait to set them free....free to cope with this heat in swimming pools and camps, at their grandparents' houses and on camping vacations with friends and family. And as the rope slackens, I too am free. Long postponed novels and stretches of time to study and write and paint...time will be my own for a period. The heat is not a long-sought-after thing for me. But breezy summer days are upon us and I intend to spend as much time as possible out-of-doors this season.

Perigee moon

Side road darkness
Monopod at ready...
There she is!

17% bigger and 30% brighter
Nothing disappoints here

A united quest; A shared moment
Perigee of the heart
On Woodbine.

Supermoon, May 5, 2012

Accusations

Can you imagine how Jesus felt when day after day, he was accused....by the religious leaders of his day, neighbours He grew up with, and the angry in the crowds who followed? When He stood before his accusers, the Pharisees had no trouble drumming up those who would lie to suit their purposes. In the face of it, Jesus didn't defend Himself, He didn't plead His case. He knew who He was; He knew His destiny. What courage, what tenaciousness to stand in the face of trickery and deceit. 


On a very small level, this week, being falsely accused, I saw a tiny glimpse of what He must have felt. Unlike Jesus, I plead my case. I did not remain stoic in the face of this trial. I spoke with those in authority over me. I worked with the accuser to get to the reasons he felt this was necessary. And at the core of it all, I could actually pray for this young boy, who in a rage over being corrected on an assignment, felt he could liberally vent with a personal, vindictive slur against this old teacher.  How in the moment children live! If only they could see the hours we spend in the middle of the long nights wondering how to best encourage them, the evenings spent pouring over their workbooks and essays, trying to squeeze out marks and making labourious decisions over final grades, ever trying to be fair in our dealings and assessments. 


And isn't that the way? Like children, we cannot see behind the scenes and into the hearts of those who hurt. When someone rants out a verbal attack, he will never have enough information to judge rightly. He is in the moment and doesn't have all the facts. The Pharisees were "blind guides", completely without truth when it came to the identity of Jesus. Here they were, the leaders of the synagogue entangled in laws and traditions and couldn't recognize the Holy One standing in front of them. So they accused.


I learned something this week. Accusations, in whatever form, can be met head on with truth in quietness and trust of the One who can be our Champion in any situation. When guilty, best to admit it head on. When innocent, best to pray for those who accuse and try to bring closure with forgiveness and truth. 

Elusive Words

There are words here, deep inside,

but I can't find them.

They peak from rough edges of stone walls,

but glancing once, twice,

gone as a vapor.

Are there keys, both brass and gold

In sodden pockets?

How to reach them

Digging once, twice

Only to find holes, absence.

In quietness and rest

Hope

Hope for change

Open doors to misty vistas

Now clearing where words appear.