Princess Ballerina

 

What a fun experience we had last week when we got to see our adorable grand daughter in a full production ballet of Hansel and Gretel at the Oregon City High School. Madison's favorite part was getting to play a skunk where she got to "spray" Hansel. All of the Woodland animals were adorable. I got to watch several rehearsals and I don't think they ever did that part of the dance without giggling. There were six little girls who came out one by one as a different animal. The last two animals were a skunk and a porcupine. All the girls would giggle when the skunk sprayed Hansel and then Hansel backed into the porcupine. Even the night of the performance they giggled as they skipped around Hansel and Gretel.

In the second act Madison was a cute little gum drop. She danced and skipped and twirled around like any little ballerina. She is really quite good.

As an added treat, Grandpa got to be an usher for her final performance. He wore his Tux to make her evening extra special.

Shallow Waters

When I was about 13 years old I almost drowned. I went to the beach with my girlfriend’s family one summer day in California. We had a blowup raft that we turned sideways so we could both hang on it together and ride the waves to shore. We had lots of fun riding the waves and then paddling back out to sea. I don’t know if the waves started getting bigger or it was just one wave, but one time…the last time…the wave flipped us over. If felt like something was holding me under. As I struggled to get to the surface I discovered I was completely upside down and was going further under until I touch bottom with my hands. I finally turned myself around, put my feet on the bottom and pushed up hard to reach the surface. I barely gasped for air when another wave pulled me under again. I don’t know if my life flashed before me or not, but I do know I thought I was going to die. I was terrified. I don’t remember if my girlfriend had as much trouble as I did or if anyone on shore knew I was in trouble, but somehow I managed to get close enough to shore to drag myself out of the water.

I don’t think I have ventured into the ocean more than to get my feet wet since that day so long ago. For a long time I avoided deep water of any kind. I tend to stay in shallow waters. It just feels safer that way. I have gradually gained confidence to swim in deeper waters again, although I don’t swim very often anymore. There is greater pleasure swimming in deeper waters, but it is still a little scary for me.

I think I have been spending my life lately in shallow waters. I have been afraid to venture into deeper waters, because I’m afraid. A few years ago I almost drowned again. This time it wasn’t the ocean that held me captive, but life. Actually it was mostly a failed business. At first we were having fun riding the wave of being business owners. We didn’t notice the waves were getting bigger until one finally flipped us over and took us under. We tried to come up for air, but found ourselves hitting bottom over and over again. Occasionally we would grasp a breath only to be hit again by another wave.

During that time our conversations always centered on the business. These were deep conversations that talked about very serious issues. Yes, we prayed a lot, but our spirituality was still lacking. We never discussed gospel topics, only work. When we finally managed to get close enough to shore to drag ourselves out of the business entirely we were able to start talking about something besides work. At first we continued to retell our story, but eventually we were able to start letting it go.

However, now I find myself in shallow waters. We have avoided any deep conversations about much of anything. Our talk is shallow and light. It feels safer somehow. We are afraid to delve deeper into thought and conversation because of all the pain it might bring up. We know there are other waters that are deep and pleasurable to swim in. We have started to venture into those waters and explore depths in ourselves that have been long forgotten. Spirituality is coming back into our conversations, although we still tend to stay in shallow waters. It is easier to watch a movie then have a deep conversation. We know we would gain great pleasure swimming in deeper water, but still it is a little scary for me.

Hiking

For someone who is not very physically active normally, I outdid myself two weeks ago. I think I am finally able to move again without feeling all the aches and pains that showed up when I forced my body to do something it rebelled against. I have to admit I surprised myself as well as those who were with me that I actually completed both hikes.

On the "celebrated" Memorial Day holiday of May 25th we went hiking with two of our children and their families. The weather was perfect. We packed a yummy lunch and met everyone at the South Falls park of Silver Falls State Park. We had a total of 6 adults and 7 kids ranging in age from 2 to 60. I was closer to the 60 year old.

We headed right out and took the nearly 5 mile hike slow and steady. The scenes were absolutely beautiful. The kids had fun running behind the waterfall or up the bank of the hills. It took all six of the adults to keep an eye on our adventursome 5 year old Erik. He wanted desperately to slid down the "hills" that ended in a long drop right into the river. Somehow the end of the slide never seemed to register.

We stopped a few times along the way to rest and snack. One place had a hallowed out tree stump that was about 16 feet tall. The boys, both young and old, had fun climbing in and on it.

The "end" of our trail before we turned around was a very long staircase leading to a beautiful spot where you could look back the way you came and see the beautiful falls. Grandma and Grandpa opted to wait at the top until the family came back. Grandma did venture down to the first landing where I could see a pretty good view of the falls, but that was as far as I was willing to go. Climbing back up was difficult to say the least. I never would have made it back up if I had gone to the bottom.

The trip back was just as beautiful, but hotter as the sun got higher in the sky. We finally reached the last leg. Unfortunately for me it was a very steep assend to the top of the trail. I know we didn't come down that way. The two year old had a nice cushy ride on Daddy's back the whole hike until we got to the last leg. Mommy decided she could walk for a bit. So there I was, watching a two year old walk up the steep path. If she could do it then I could do it. Besides I didn't really have a choice. I started up the path, huffing and puffing all the way. I stopped a few times to catch my breath, but eventually I made it to the top.

We headed to a nice grassey area for lunch and to let the kids play in the river to cool down. A fun time was had by all.

I could hardly walk on Tuesday, but by Wednesday I was doing my normal lunch time walk at work. I didn't walk as far, but I did go for a walk on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I'm so glad I did, because that helped me prepare for the hike on Saturday.


We took our Young Women to Silver Falls State Park for a 5 mile hike for camp certification. This time we hiked the North Falls. The hike ended up being closer to 7 miles and the pace was a bit faster. We saw 6 different falls and seemed to run to the next one. This time we brought two grand daughters with us. Alyson is 7 and Laila is 10. Laila stayed right with us and would stop to smell the flowers and take pictures with Grandpa. Alyson wanted to be in the lead. I told her she had to keep me in sight, but that didn't last long. Grandma was one of the last ones and she wanted to be one of the first. Thankfully the Young Women girls decided to keep an eye on her for me. They even had a hard time keeping up with her.

Again, after the long hike we headed to the grassy area by the South Falls and had a picnic lunch and let the girls play in the water.

Amazingly enough I didn't feel nearly as stiff after the second hike and was able to walk "normal" when I went to Church on Sunday. However, I was depressed that the scales didn't reflect a single pound drop off after both hikes.