Louisa and I

For some odd reason, I feel a very strong connection to Louisa Mae Alcott. Little Women has always been a favorite book, and I have seen the movie a couple times. A couple years ago I read a nonfiction book about Louisa and her father, Bronson Alcott. In fact, I finished the book the day I was sitting at my father's bedside as he was dying. She and her father had a tight bond throughout their lives; in fact, they died within 48 hours of each other.

Our book club, Serendipity, read the book by Geraldine Brooks called March. It is a fictional account, based on real facts, about the father of Little Women. It portrays what may have been happening in his life while his wife and four daughters were at home. The book weaves the fiction of Little Women with the real life of Bronson Alcott. It was quite fascinating. This past September I was able to visit Louisa Mae's home (Orchard House) in Concord, MA. Within minutes of arriving there, I was in tears. I don't cry very easily so it's puzzling why there is such a strong feeling with her. We stood by the tiny desk where she wrote Little Women; she wrote 14 hours a day teaching herself to use both hands in order to get more accomplished. We visited her grave site along with those of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson (also favorites of mine). To think that these people were all friends makes me wonder what kind of energy must have been permeating their surroundings. I sure wish I could have been there.

Thoughts for the day: The emerging woman will be strong-minded, strong-hearted, strong-souled, and strong-bodied....strength and beauty must go together. Louisa Mae Alcott

I'm not afraid of storms for I'm learning how to sail my ship. Louisa Mae Alcott

Women and Duluth

Four years ago we started a tradition of having a fall weekend for the women of our family. Of course, with the birth of Myles, a male was added. Our first year was spent in the Brainerd area celebrating the upcoming wedding of Olivia and Joel. After that, we have met in Duluth and stayed in a hotel where my niece, Lindsey, gets a wonderful deal. Each year the number increases as more babies are born.

Usually when we are together as a family, it is a holiday setting so there isn't much time for visiting and bonding. The time is instead spent preparing food, eating and cleaning up. So this weekend is a good time for us to reconnect. My granddaughter, Melody, has been to each one. At the age of four, she looks forward to it.

We dine out, walk along Lake Superior, shop, play games, etc. This year we rented a bicycle for four and peddled along the lake shore. One of our favorite stops is the caramel apple shop. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

It's a lovely tradition and one that I hope continues for many years.

Thought for the day: Women need real moments of solitude and self reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away.

Welcome to the World, Aubree!!

Well, the pregnant lady is no more. Aubree Kay Flowers arrived in the world on Sept 22nd, 2010. I received a phone call about 2:30 a.m. informing me that they were heading to the hospital. Sleep escaped me after that so I pondered whether I should get in the car, head to Brainerd and just skip a morning of work. After realizing that babies don't arrive that often and with Brian telling me to just go, I did. So I was able to see and hold Aubree within thirty minutes of her birth. Since then I have been to Brainerd three times and had to hold myself back this weekend. Grandma doesn't want to miss the changes that occur so rapidly in babies. It's almost like you need a "fix".

So now I am grandma to two; time will tell how many more will arrive.

Thought for the day: Every child begins the world again. Henry David Thoreau

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for. Unknown author

Our only hope? Really?

For the past year or so I have often passed, while driving or walking, signs that state "Prayer, America's Only Hope." The thought always bothered me, then saddened me and finally angered me. To actually believe that the only hope our nation has is prayer is so short sighted and untrue. Not that I'm knocking prayer or saying that it doesn't have a place; I'm just stating that there is so much more.

Is there no hope in our future generations of children, scientific and medical advances, knowledge that is always evolving, love, compassion, newborn babies etc, etc, etc. It actually angers me to think that there are people who actually believe that unless we all fall to our knees and pray to God to redeem us, that we have no hope. I realize this is a reaction to Barack Obama's slogan of hope; however, I still think it is a wrong statement. I certainly don't pin very many hopes on Barack Obama except the small hope our nation experienced by actually electing a man of color. Perhaps our greatest hope lies in actually investing as much in education and infrastructure as we do on our war machine.

This nation has endured the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the practice of slavery, the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement and many other upheavals. It may not always be an imperial power (which would be a good thing), but we do have hope.

Thought for the day: Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all. Emily Dickinson

Autumn Days

This is my fourth season of blogging. I started in January in the dead of winter and have been through spring, summer and now fall. There is some thing about the smells of fall that invoke memories more than any other season. Some of the times it brings back to me are:

Raking leaves and my kids jumping in the piles

Going back to school

Harvesting on the farm

Picking apples

Making apple cider

Carving pumpkins

Drying leaves in the pages of heavy books

Fall church suppers

Even though this season is all about the dying back of trees, flowers, and plants, there is a profound feeling of life in the air. It's as if nature is saying if I have to go, I'm going out with a blaze. I am glad to live in a place that has four distinct seasons as it seems to make me more in tune with reality and the seasons of life.

Thought for the day: I trust in Nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility; Spring shall plant and Autumn garner to the end of time. Robert Browning