Walking - It makes a heart healthy

Yes, I know, another post about walking.  How can I possibly have more to say about walking?  A dozen years of regular walking and most of that time with my neighbor and friend, leaves me with lots of memories.   Walking about three miles, as many days as possible, has made my heart healthier.  It has also greatly improved my mental health. 

The past weekend was full of rain and stormy weather.  The weekend of the tornadoes that devastated Minneapolis, MN and Joplin, MO.  Our family spent time in the basement hiding from the severe weather or closely watching the radar to make an escape to the basement.  But in the evening of Sunday, the skies cleared allowing an opportunity to go for a walk and visit with my walking partner.  We had a lot to catch up on from the weekend!

We made our way down the familiar road, dodging a few left over raindrops and avoiding mud puddles.  As we walked we caught up on the activities of the weekend.  Exercising our bodies, improving our physical health simultaneously improving our mental health.  I am so thankful for my dear friend - M, her listening ear, observant eyes, wise thoughts, and witty sense of humor.

We turned the corner on our familiar loop.  Mid-step I stopped, gasped, and pointed at the most incredible rainbow.   We both stood in awe at the incredible, vivid rainbow that looked as it ended in the field just mere feet away.  We then spotted the second rainbow.  Knowing I usually carry my phone that is so fancy as to have a camera, M suggested I take a picture. 

Peer closely at the end of the rainbow, it appears to end just there in the field behind the shed.  We did not spot a leprechaun nor a pot of gold, not even a pot of Skittles.  :)

M then thought we should have a picture of the two of us with the rainbow in the background.  It turned into a laughing, silly activity as we both battled the phone camera to capture our desired photo.  Below see our results.... 

"Uh, did it take, um wait, oh yeah, oops"

We made several more attempts to capture this desired photo, amidst much laughter...  here is our next best result:

Clearly, we are technology challenged!   But we have healthy hearts and saner minds... I think.

And we forgot the dog in the picture.  Ha!

Conflicts in Marriage

How do you handle a conflict or difference of opinion in a marriage relationship?  That has been my challenge recently.  My beloved and I approach most things in a completely different manner.  We do not think in the same way.  Sometimes we will arrive at the same conclusion but just as often we do not.  Both of us must articulate our thoughts to 'make our case' to each other.

It is said that opposites attract!  That is true in our relationship.  Hubby is an engineer, very systematic, logical, linear, and thorough in his thought process.    He is very knowledgeable and articulate.  Usually what comes out of his mouth has been thought out before it is even considered to be uttered past his lips.  He can analyze a situation and usually has very valid points for his opinion (even if I happen to disagree with him).

I am very scattered in my thoughts.  I have a tendency to latch onto one idea or statement.  I do not think thoroughly or sequentially.  Next to hubby, I often feel like my head is full of fluff and stuff.  I just do not have the same ability to analyze as he.  His depth of knowledge and ability to quickly learn is not my gifting but I make up for it in enthusiasm.   I can visualize the final product but not so much  the steps that it takes to get there.  I am quick in my thought process and just as quick to speak it. 

So very different.  It makes life interesting.  While pregnant with our oldest daughter, we renovated her bedroom.  It was completely gutted to the studs and rebuilt.  Many minute details and decisions have to be made in remodeling.  This can lead to some intense conversations between my beloved and I.  One particular decision was a light/ceiling fan fixture for the room.  We spent most of the pregnancy looking at countless fixtures.  Trying to find one we both liked.    Now to the above thought process add pregnancy hormones.  You can imagine the fun we had during that time!!  Finally we found one and it is likely to never come off the ceiling. 

Remodeling is difficult in the best of circumstances.  It has tried our relationship and marriage.  I remember telling him I never wanted to build a home.  Instead we bought an old home that is requiring remodeling.  UGH!  Have I mentioned the endless decisions?  Hubby has taken things into his own hands and not even given me the opportunity on quite a few of the details.  Most of the time I am okay with this but not always - - depends on the mood, I guess.  The best solution he has come up with is to narrow the selection down to 2-4 choices.  I then am much better able to make a decision.  Although, more than once I have frustrated him with not liking anything. 

Our  most recent discussion item hasn't been in remodeling or construction.  Although that process has helped us both learn how to talk to one another.  This time it is over life and home management and planning.  Again, we approached it from opposite directions.  And again, we struggled to find common ground and understanding.  And again, it took time.  Yet, we are making process.  Slowly but surely.

It really is about listening and compromise.  A marital relationship requires humility, selflessness, listening , and respect.  I rediscover over and over again those qualities will always keep the love alive.  Without those things in your relationship, love is squelched and has a difficult time flourishing.    (*wink* Hiring a designer to help in the remodeling process is also a marriage saver.)

Walk, walk, walk part 2

My neighbor and I are resuming our regular walking schedule now that the roads are not ice and snow covered and the temperatures are a bit milder. It is later than usual this year with the extended winter and we are not as hardy as we were in our younger years. O-dark hundred is not as dark with the summer equinox approaching. I am now returning home as dawn is approaching.

I realized that my inky dark days on the road are over. When we started our walking journey all those years ago, there was only one house and a swamp between my home and hers. The trek to her house was sometimes very black on moonless, cloud covered mornings. As the years have passed three homes have been built on that stretch. One of these new homes has a security light on the garage which is on all night long. Sadly, it's light pollution dampens star and planet gazing, but a full moon can have the same effect! But it does provide light along the path to meet in the pre-dawn darkness.

We have walked in all kinds of weather. Our goal is to walk April through Thanksgiving. Some years were mild and we could walk as early as March and as late as December, other years have been colder and snowier ending our walking before November or delaying our start in the Spring. Sometimes illness or injury interrupts our walking. But we strive to exercise to keep our hearts healthy and the pounds off.

The challenge is identifying the weather at 0-dark hundred. To make that quiet phone call to cancel due to rain or lightning has been spotted. Other times it is rather obvious when thunder rattles the windows and lightning turns the night into day. There have been days when I walked out the door into rain to turn around to make that phone call and crawl back into bed.

We laughed one year as we each gave the other rain suits and ponchos as birthday gifts. Rain is usually our biggest weather challenge. We have walked in lots of rain: misty, drippy, downpours, scattered drops, intermittent, stormy. Neither of us are fond of lightning and try to avoid being out in it but sometimes it sneaks up on us. I am not fond of thunder either, makes me jumpy. Where's there thunder I figure lightning is nearby too.

We have monitored the skies, watching storms in the distance. We try to determine the direction they are moving and gauge if we can make it. There have been a few deliberate walks in the misty rain. And there has been at least one mad dash as we ran, caught in a down pour. We carry cell phones these days in case we have mis-judged the weather but I don't recall actually calling for a rescue pick up. We haven't melted yet, just been soaked to the bone.

Our other challenge is snow and ice. Half of our walk is on a gravel road without a shoulder. We have tried different boots, ice grabbers for our shoes, walking sticks to help assist us on the slipperiness. But really the danger comes if a car were to start sliding, there is no where to go. So we usually avoid walking in these conditions, especially in the dark.

O-Dark Hundred has it advantages. Usually the winds are calm before dawn. Even cold mornings can be quite pleasant without the wind creating a wind-chill. Cold air clears the atmosphere and the stars are all the more brilliant. Warm, humid summer days are much more tolerable before the sun rises adding to the heat index. Early enough to usually avoid the bugs which come out in swarms upon sunrise.

Living in the upper mid-west does have it's challenges with the weather. We have been known to have all four seasons in a day. This year we had snow two days one week followed by humidity and heat with severe storms the next week. We have learned to walk in all sorts of weather and to keep an eye on the sky.

Grandparents - too few memories

I lost three quarters of my grandparents in my childhood and the other on in early adulthood.  I have felt a little cheated.  Being the youngest in my family and born a little later than my siblings, I have been jealous of the extra time they (my siblings) had with our grandparents.  Some of my peers have their grandparents or are just losing them now.  They have had the opportunity to know their grandparents and heritage.

My paternal grandfather passed away when I was just eight years old.  I have a few vivid memories of him.  He lived on the family farm.  I never knew the farm to be operational as he retired, sold the cattle just prior to my birth.  Grandpa was a big man.  Very tall - well over 6 feet, broad shouldered, and big feet.  (How would I know he had big feet?  We moved into the farm as a family following his death and I found his size 13 shoes!)  He seemed a giant to my little eyes.   I only knew of Grandpa to wear overalls.  The stripped, train engineer overalls.  He had at least two pair maybe three that hung on pegs.

 Not very old by today's standards as he was 70 at death, I remember him to be lumbering and leisurely in his movements, never in a hurry.  He gave me whisker rubs; pushed me on the tire swing; took me to town in his pick-up that he never drove over 40 mph; fried Thuringer Summer Sausage in a cast iron pan with a huge pat of butter; paid me a penny for every box elder bug I killed with a pair of pliers and deposited in a tin can, with the expectation those pennies go to the orphanage fund at church; and he sat in a stool chair by the window in the kitchen just behind Grandma's chair.  I remember his final gifts to me on that last Christmas, a teddy bear and a watch.  He died just a few weeks later during a bitter cold January.

My maternal grandfather passed away when I was 14.  He was the opposite in stature to my other grandfather.  Short and round, his growth stunted following a train and car accident in which he was a passenger in the car as a young boy.  His health was not very robust in my childhood, but I think he must have been busy, fast moving guy in his younger days.  That is how I would perceive him anyway.  Rather cantankerous and growlie, we grandchildren ran around his lawn chair or his recliner out of reach of his cane.  He had an interesting feature of a double thumb on one-hand.  He always wanted to play the thumb game which of course he won easily with those two thumbs.  He would holler "Ma!" to get Grandma's attention and stomp his foot at the dinner table indicating he was ready to start dinner.  He had lemon drops candy on his dresser which we children would snitch.

My paternal grandmother passed away when I was 15.  She had a significant influence on me.  I can't really pin point why that is exactly.  I have been told by many a person as I grown older that she was a special lady, a prayer warrior, and a living sermon.  Maybe I was intrigued by her as I moved into her home when Grandpa died.  She moved into the nursing home as she was crippled by rheumatoid arthritis and needed considerable assistance.  So crippled I never knew her to stand, always seated in her chair, limited in movements as the arthritis robbed her of her mobility.  I never once heard her complain about her circumstances but she did talk to me a lot about the day the Lord was going to heal her and she and I were going to play some ball - baseball that is and she would drive the pick-up.  She loved the Minnesota Twins and faithfully listened to their games on the radio.  She always had a radio at her side. 

In her home, she sat in a chair at the kitchen table, placed there by her loving husband each day.  She was next to the window overlooking the screen porch where all visitors entered the house.  She had next to her, her beloved radio, writing utensils, telephone, and I am sure a plethora of things a young girl takes little notice.  Moved into the nursing home she still had her radio and an envelope of dimes in which to give me to buy a bottle of soda down the hall.  The nursing home gave her greater mobility of a wheel chair and outings to see the Twins in the Metrodome!  Sometimes Dad and I would pick her up in that old pick up and strap her chair (with her seated in it) in the bed and bring her home for the local parade or picnic.

She was rather short in stature, a small woman.  Beautiful, white crown of hair and deep dimples in her cheeks.  She often spoke of the Lord, His return, and her faith in His ability to heal her.  I really believed that I would not have a chance to grow up and have children because Jesus' return was imminent.  It IS imminent but as a young girl I did not understand the fleeting of time. 

Her death is a prominent memory.  She was ill and failing.  Again, young by today's standards at 75.  Cancer had taken my grandfathers and cancer was claiming her too.  In those days the big C word was usually a death sentence as there wasn't much hope for cures or remission.  It was the last day of April and it was snowing.  All of the adults were by her bedside while I was instructed to wait in the family lounge of the nursing home.  There were large windows that I watched the nearly six inches of snow fall.  I knew she was gone when my dad came to find me carrying her radio. 

I have many impressions of this lady that are difficult to put into words.  Yet she impacted my life so significantly in a short time.  In short she was a prayer warrior and I am certain that her prayers continue to affect my life and family today.  I am positive she is playing ball with the apostles and disciples today in Heaven.

My maternal grandmother lived the longest in my life. Passing away at 85 years old, she is the only grandparent of mine that my children had the opportunity to meet.  Her memory has quickly faded from their memories as they were young, preschool and kindergarten ages.  She was a sprite of woman with a lot of energy.  Sitting on a pillow to see over the steering wheel and the seat pulled as far forward as possible as she drove "Bessie", her car, into town on errands.  She owned a lake shore home and had her beach open to us all summer for our enjoyment.  There were always cookies, usually two varieties, on the counter and Popsicles in the freezer.  We usually left with a treat of Smarties candy on our way out the door.  She tolerated wet, dripping, soaking swimmers traipsing through her small home to use the bathroom.  I'm sure it must have been a challenge as she was a neat freak.  I imagine she was continually mopping up after we traipsed back out to the water.  She tended our sunburns with her aloe plant and always had extra towels and swimsuits on the ready.  She loved her flowers and birds faithfully tending and feeding each.  I remember her love of Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal that visited her feeder and her loathe of the squirrels that would rob her birds of food.  Oh - that brings a memory of grandpa hunting the red squirrels.  They both had a keen dislike of those squirrels.

All taken too early in my life to really glean valuable ancestral information from any of them, with the exception of my maternal grandmother.  To hear their life stories, to hear how living was for them - through droughts, monsoons, economic depressions, wars...  To hear their testimonies of meeting the Savior.  I feel cheated for myself and my children.  My husband too.  I think they were cheated in knowing me and my family as well.    I look forward to an eternity in heaven with them to get to know them, hoping each are there awaiting our arrival.

Tapestry of Prayer

I have been pondering a lot lately.  Many events are taking place world wide as well in my own life.  Change is a part of life and I don't always take change well.  Although I recently admitted to a friend that I sure do instigate a lot of change for someone who doesn't like change.  There is a paradox for you. 

I commute my daughter to and from school each day, the 25 minutes in the car each morning and afternoon leave my mind to wondering.  This morning I was spent time thinking about prayer and praying for one another.  Prayer is Biblical.  Jesus prayed, He prayed for others.... me in fact, He taught us to pray, He instructed us to pray for one another, He even instructed to pray for our enemies. 

It led me to wondering about all these prayers.  I fail to understand how God hears and answers all these infinite number of prayers offered up each and everyday.  But I have faith that He,the Alpha and Omega, is ever present, ever hearing, and can hear all and see all.  I also have faith that He always has been and always will be - - yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

So I went down a rabbit trail of wondering as to what our prayers might look like in a tapestry. 

Revelation 5:8 (NIV) says that our prayers are an incense: 

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 

But what about a tapestry?  Do our prayers make a tapestry?  Woven in colors in a person's life or the world's existence.  I picture prayers of forgiveness in crimson red as they are covered by Christ's blood shed on the cross; bright jewel hues of praise and thanksgiving; beautiful and brilliant neons of obedience; intense and deep colors of prayers cried out in anguish; a rainbow of pastels of petitions in seeking God; clean and bright white prayers of righteousness; and purples with indigoes of the prayers of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.    My mind has created a lovely and beautiful picture of colorful prayers woven together.   I just wonder if there is something like that awaiting for us to view in Heaven; to show us how God has worked it out in our lives.

I anxiously await Heaven, to meet Jesus face to face, bow at His feet and profess my thanksgiving to bridging the gap of separation between I and His Father, granting me access to this wonderful place called Heaven.  I want to meet so many people of the Bible such as Ruth, Esther, Mary, Mary's parents, Paul, to name a few.  My list of those that I can't wait to be reunited with is lengthy and include grandparents and friends.  To have an end of pain and sorrow, to live the fashion that God intended before sin.  I am so anxious I can't stand it at times. 

For now I must satisfy myself of what the Bible tells me of Heaven.  But a girl can dream a little, can't she?

Complain? Maybe Not...

This morning I woke up to March like weather.  Temperatures in the 30s, cold, snowy, sleety, rainy, cloudy, dreary weather.  Much like yesterday.  One would not suspect that it is the beginning of May. Oh, there have been a few days of teasing that Spring is here but they are few and far inbetween.

Now, it is not many degrees below zero or even below freezing.  Well, almost not below freezing, this morning's 31 degrees in technically below freezing.  I am not shoveling the snow, as family in western ND is doing after their May Day blizzard.  I am not wearing a parka, gloves, hat, scarf, long underwear, heavy socks, and boots to go out the door.  Yet, this is getting old, this winter like weather.  It is dreary, it is wet, it is cold.  Our already short gardening season is shrinking. 

I have been considering complaining.  And I could complain I suppose.  Yet, my perspective has been tweaked just a wee bit. 

You see:

 I could be sand bagging and pumping water, fighting a flood.  Instead, I am heating my house with hot water based heat.

 I could be standing in shambles of a home following severe storms and tornados.  Instead I am dusting and vacuuming and shoving my junk around my already over-stuffed house.

I could be hearing the weather forecast under a storm watch wondering if it is now my turn.  Instead I am just wondering if Spring will have a chance this year.

I could be living in a shelter and wondering how to recover from a tsunami that has destroyed my whole way of life.  Instead I am praying for those affected.

I could be  fearing the next tremor will strike bringing down already unstable, shaken structures I call home.  Instead I am writing this blog atop solid footing (I think).

 I could be looking to the sky praying for rain to end the drought.  Instead I am seeing rain in my forecast and watching the grass turn green.

I could be scrounging, looking for  my next meal, worried about my children's malnutrition.  Instead I am on a diet trying to lose too many extra pounds.

I could be living under oppression.  Instead I still live in the best country in the world, even if I am scared for our future.

I could be mourning the death of loved ones lost to illness or tragedy.  Instead I am hugging my own near and telling them I love them.

My perspective has been tweaked.  I really do not have much to complain about where the weather is concerned, or really anything else for the matter.  Going about my day thankful for the opportunity to clean, diet, wear a sweatshirt, and hug the ones I love.