Life in the Slow Lane

Contemplating life, faith, words, and memories

It’s Almost Here! — December 23, 2020

It’s Almost Here!

Today I’m not only talking about Christmas as I declare “It’s almost here!” I’m also thinking of the end of 2020. Thinking of it as the “year that was” should feel good.

And with those thoughts, we can move ahead into 2021 with hope and anticipation of better days ahead.

This Christmas season will be different for many of us. Traditions set aside for safer gatherings. Perhaps one less in that family photo or at the table. Inability to visit and cheer those housed in nursing facilities or in the hospital. And likely many more. If we love as Christ taught us to love, we are willing to accept these inconveniences.

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Rainy Autumn Days — November 25, 2020

Rainy Autumn Days

Rainy autumn days arrived in the Pacific Northwest with bluster. With them, they brought winds that tossed colorful leaves everywhere. Our maple tree left our driveway looking like a leaf mosaic. Bob took the photo above on one of his daily trips to our mailbox last week.

With the change in our weather, the last weekend in November upon us, and new COVID restrictions on Oregon activities, it must be Thanksgiving. Things have tightened up with Continue reading

Freedom — July 4, 2019

Freedom

Today is the day we celebrate America and our freedoms. There are many things I could write about our country and its freedoms, but none as beautiful as the following poem by Walt Whitman. I Hear America Singing encompasses the entirety of who and what America was when Whitman penned these words in 1860.

I Hear America Singing

 
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
 
 
Source: Selected Poems (1991)
 
4th of July

 

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