Snow Day!

How fun! Promises of snowstorms and school closings keep the airwaves abuzz. I remember blizzards of the past when we couldn't dig out for days and the stress and woes of the day seemed to melt with each shovel of snow.

The media loves it. They build up a big storm on the news for days, then when anything less than 2 feet hits, they blubber and backtrack. If they are lucky enough to be right, we are inundated with stories, pics and reports. My favorite is when the reporter and a single cameraman are set up along the highway, reporting on the traffic and accidents. Snow is blowing and their usually perfect hair is whipping around toboggans and scarves. What a visual!

My family back east thinks I spend the winter in frozen tundra. I think the media has a deal with ski resorts to mention Denver as often as possible when discussing snowpack in the mountains. Vail, Aspen and even A-Basin are much higher than the Mile High City, but what a great winter resort promo to bring it up regularly. We declare 300 days of sunshine a year, and even a blizzardy day can end up with sunny blue skies by the afternoon.

I hope not this one, though. There's something peaceful about watching the snow fall on the brown earth and sidewalks. Something clean and fresh. And in there somewhere, maybe a bit of that feeling we had as kids when the radio would announce "Schools are closed today..."

Ellipsis...

... I'm the Queen of Ellipses. Merriam-Webster says an ellipsis is "the omission of one or more words that are obviously understood..."

I won't claim that I'm "obviously understood" - in fact, the way I ramble on most of the time, you might need a roadmap to figure out where I'm going with a topic. It is fun, however, to head into a thought and then just leave it hanging on the end, as though something more might...

See what I mean?

Family Time

It is so rewarding to set aside time to spend with our family. Family can take on many different looks -

• There is the immediate family, those around you each and every day.


• We have our extended families, perhaps across town or across the country.


• There are those we choose as family, relationships we've grown over the years.


• Each of our communities is a family of sorts, with us as members.


• The workplace can be a family, although it might be classified as dysfunctional. Not all family members have equal footing in this sort of grouping.

Whether your family is across the room or across the ocean, it needs tending and nurturing to grow into a healthy relationship. And as you would tend a luscious tomato plant, the attention you show it will come back to you in many fruitful ways.

In October this year, I've been privileged to enjoy three distinct types of extended family gatherings:

Two of my dear friends and I formed a "Puzzle Pod" a few years ago. We love to do jigsaw puzzles together, so after adding a puzzle to several outings a year, we finally decided to have weekends away to do nothing but catch up and puzzle. We catch up until the wee hours, until puzzle pieces are only blurry props in our woven tapestry of talk. Warning - never mistake a puzzle piece for a Wheat Thin!

Last week I returned from an annual retreat in Aspen, where people come from all over Colorado, the country and the globe to celebrate the music and the man, John Denver. Each family member has his/her own motivation - love for the environment, love of JD's music, love of any folk music, maybe even love of Aspen in the fall. Together, though, we form a warm, friendly group of people who see one another once, maybe twice a year. We catch up on everything from children to global warming. Pretty cool!

And this weekend I'm fortunate to get to spend time with my niece in Sacramento. We catch up over a cup of coffee and a Scrabble board. This is a long family tradition. My sisters and I teethed on Scrabble (and jigsaws, too, now that I think about it). Each of my sisters introduced Scrabble to their children, and now I find myself, from time to time, across from a dear niece, swapping stories of life as we create fascinating new words on the board. As with the puzzle warning above, however, never confuse a Scrabble tile with a Wheat Thin....

Whatever your family dynamic, work it, enjoy it, grow it. Write letters, email, hug. You will find the rewards to you and the other family members far outweigh any time you've taken out of your hectic day.

On Being Rude

Did you ever notice how people will sometimes make a comment that is negative or unflattering and then laugh a little to indicate they were just joking? They aren't joking! Believe me. It's their way of saying whatever they want and then diffusing it before you can reply in like fashion.

Well, I'm done with that. It's not my nature to be rude, but perhaps I need to begin treating people as they treat others - sort of like a reverse Golden Rule - Do Unto Others As They Have Done Unto You. If that is how they want to communicate, then I'm more than happy to speak their language.

I was with friends the other day, one of whom is from New Zealand. She has a rich, lovely accent - very proper. She was providing information to another friend, and he blurted out in the middle of her explanation - "Speak English!" I punched him and admonished him right then and there.

There was another situation with a group of people where I had waited my turn to speak to someone, and once we were chatting, another person came up and totally interrupted us so that she could get a picture. Obviously her presence was more important than mine. As I moved away she said she didn't mean to interrupt, to which I said, "Well, it's a little late for that!"

We need to treat one another with respect. When they are deserving of our respect, it isn't so tough. But the real challenge is to treat everyone, no matter how rude, boorish or obstinate they may be, with that same level of respect. That's why I'm rethinking the whole thing. You earn respect, I give respect. You treat me with anything less than respect - I'll follow suit.

Bloody October

Not a good title, is it? It is a name my family has adopted for October, since it seems to be a difficult time for us each year. When did it begin? Although there might have been isolated incidents prior, most likely 1983, the year my sister and mom both died. My oldest sister died of cancer that October, and my mom, filled with grief and despair, followed her a few weeks later.

Since then, each October has it's own drama, from work challenges, a break-in at our home, a devasting snowstorm that broke several trees, to other deaths. My dear brother-in-law died one October day. Two years ago, one niece's husband was killed in an auto accident in late September and was put to rest in October.

This year, already, my family has felt the angst of Bloody October. Another niece was over four months pregnant and found out on Oct 1 that the baby had died. She had to endure a forced labor and many hours (and days to come) of loss and sorrow. Yesterday I learned there is a memorial next week for a dear friend's husband, who was killed in an auto accident the end of September.

Is all of October filled with grief? No, we don't let it. There are several birthdays we celebrate, and sharing time with the living is a blessing all on its own. Since John Denver's death in October 1997, I have made an annual trip to Aspen for memorial/celebration/retreat. The people I have met from that experience are among my dearest friends. Other social and environmental activities have branched off from that so that my year is filled with joy and well-being.

Still - it does cause one to put their head down and hope we make it through the month intact. The light at the end of the tunnel? Thanksgiving! With the end of October, we can officially welcome in the holiday season and the crisp, beautiful snows of winter.

From the Archives - Prairie Dog Whole

Prairie Dog Whole

Soft, brown, docile
Community, home, family
Sentry stands, warning bark
Only a fox nearby.

But What Goes There?
Backhoe moves in
Crushes the earth
Castles of plywood reach to the sky.

Man takes up residence
Sips wine, watching the sunset
Wonders why the city got so big
And what became of the eagles and hawks.

Prairie Dog spirit quietly barks
Don’t you understand?
They could not survive without us –
We are all part of the whole.

Rita P. MacLean - 2003

Surely Goodness and Mercy...

Aren't those such comforting words? Even if you're not Christian, Jewish, Religious or ... whatever, those four words and what follows - "shall follow me all the days of my life" - must be one of the most powerful blessings a person can receive.

I've been reciting "The 23rd Psalm" obsessively, nearly as a mantra, since July 2004 when a friend of the family died just after his high school graduation. Even at that young age, a life well-lived. One of the times I fell into darkness and depression. As the years passed and I traveled more high and low roads, King David's words have wrapped themselves around me.

Another phrase in the Psalm I didn't understand for a long time was "...Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." Didn't get it, didn't understand. One day in a study course, I happened on someone's explanation of this, and it has stuck with me. In sheepherding, the ROD pushes away, and the STAFF (or crook of it) pulls back in. Pushing me out of my comfort zone, pulling me back in for protection. Wow!

So may you be blessed today in your journey of life, knowing Surely, that Goodness and Mercy follow you too.