8 Cool Things About Having a Visitor

Sharing your life, your favorites, the world through your eyes with a guest has its challenges as well as its rewards.  I’ve had a lot of company these last weeks, and as Rachel (Rae) from Scotland and I share our last full day, I’m already thinking back.

Here, then, a list of things cool about sharing with a guest to your life:

1. The fun of sharing regional favorites, like Five Guys, sweet tea and fried chicken from the gas station.

2. Heading to those places you love but seldom get to – Cooper’s Rock, Valley Falls, and  Natural Bridge, to name a few.

3. Luring her in to your own obsession with all things Star Trek, ending up with both of you humming together the Star Trek Voyager theme music at dinner.

4. Laughter.

5. Finding your amazement at the things she doesn’t like that you just love – who wouldn’t love fresh tomatoes with mozzarella, basil and a little balsamic?  Why, it’s positively unAmerican.  Oh.

6. Seeing your world through her eyes, realizing (again) just how loud we Americans of the U. S. variety can be (are); noticing our craven love for salt (who knew there even could be too much salt on movie pop corn?); having to warn that our hot water is not an inexhaustible supply (why will we not adopt the U. K. way on this?); rediscovering that a coffee maker is mysterious if you’ve never used one before; explaining that you’re safe in a car from a Mama Bear; remembering how much you love fire works; having to explain who the people of your people’s history are – what each tribe holds so dear of its past is but so much unknown data to those of another tribe.

7. Showing her the magic of the nighttime in summer and watching her see lightening bugs for the first time – pure magic.

8. Rediscovering how very much we are all alike and how very much we are all so different – all at the same time.

Best Valentine Ever

So I hate Valentine’s Day as an event.  I’m not a card curmudgeon or some sort of purist about St. Valentine.  There’s just too much painful history there lurking in the recesses of my mind whenever February 14 rolls around on the calendar.

This year I took a different tack and sent my family Valentine gifts – something I haven’t done since the kids were kids.  It felt good and right and done in advance, I could and did retire the day from my consciousness.

So it was that yesterday I was vaguely aware of the day as I went about my pastor duties and that was good enough.

At Mark’s funeral, I mentioned the cruel irony of bidding a husband farewell on Valentine’s Day and then spoke about how life is not a Hallmark card.  That was my observance of Valentine’s Day, and that was good enough.

In the evening, I visited with Cindy and Brenda to prepare for Guy’s funeral this afternoon.  We sat at Cindy’s kitchen table and remembered Guy as Kirsten came to sit for a moment on her mother’s lap and left, returning to give her grandmother a green duct-tape purse, which I admired greatly.  Off she went again, only to return some time later with a bright pink duct-tape purse for me, which she then filled with candy from her own white paper bag filled with cards and treats from her school Valentine’s exchange.  I loved that custom when I was in school and was delighted when Kirsten shared with me, with the very special bonus of a new purse.

Coming from West Virginia as I do, I’ve long known duct tape is the solution to the world’s problems.  I’ve made an emergency belt out of duct tape, after all.  But a duct-tape purse?  Now that’s special – for yesterday, it mended a wounded heart.

I'm on Craig's List

Living in the country, being on my own and older now and being the preacher, I am the recipient of many random acts of kindness, although they aren’t really that random, especially this time of year.

It’s harvest time in the mountains.  Cucumbers are about done, and so are zuccinis.  But there’s still lots of squash and tomatoes and peppers.

You might be tempted to think I am a gardener.  But I’m not.

What I am is the beneficial recipient of the fruits of the labors of others.  Neighbors, friends and congregants will drop off at the odd time various vegetables from their gardens.  I am so grateful to them all – for thinking of me and including me.

One of my ‘angels’ is Craig Smith.  Craig always (so he claims) has more food from his garden than he and Belinda can use.  And so he comes by every so often to the neighbors with buckets filled with goodies that we get to pick through, taking what we can use.

We both spent our morning, Craig and I and lots of others, at Edna Mae’s funeral.  I came back to the computer and Craig to his garden.  And so here he came again, this time with green and jalapeno peppers added to the largesse.

I don’t know how I got on Craig’s list (I didn’t have to sign up or enter a password or anything – all I had to do was be here), but I’m sure glad I did – glad to have such kind neighbors.  Craig’s the kind of guy who would keep Edna Mae stocked with fire wood.  No fuss, just kindness.  That’s how the folks around here are.  No fuss.  Just a lot of kindness.