STAYING PUT

I’m going to be distracted from my garden for the next few weeks.

So I won’t be posting about my garden.

But I’ve found a few “draft blogs” that aren’t necessarily about gardening.

They are more about my small town life.

So here’s a post written last Christmas

No pictures.

Just thoughts.

 

I’ve lived in the same town

For a little over 42 years now.

In all honesty I’ve never moved around a lot.

After all, being born the daughter of farming parents

And marrying a man whose chosen career is to be

A small town attorney

Means I’m likely to put down roots

Deep roots.

Generally, farmers and attorneys

Don’t move around much.

And that’s been fine with me,

Good actually.

I like being connected

To my friends

To my church

To my community.

I’ve loved the years of watching Elliott and his friends

Grow up

And now raise their own families.

That familiarity

That security.

For me it has worked well.

There are natural pitfalls.

My personality loves tradition

Doing things the same way year after year.

I’ve literally had to fight myself

To be more open to change.

Something I work consciously on

As I grow older.

I DO NOT want to be the person

Who always wants things done the same way.

So today when Andrew spoke about the irony

of the traditions of Christmas

when actually God sending his son

Was the greatest change in history.

I had to smile.

But now I’m learning

The real challenge of staying put.

In the past few weeks I’ve been to more funerals

Than in the past few years.

Friends are preparing for the hard fight

Against gruesome diseases

While others are experiencing devastating

Emergency medical challenges.

If I had moved around the country every few years

My life would be oh so different.

Sure, I would learn of these life altering changes

But from afar.

I wouldn’t be looking into the faces of people

On Christmas morning

Who I know are facing loss.

It’s not that I wouldn’t care.

I would.

But it would be caring on a different level.

My 24-year-old self was certainly not conscious

Of the choice we were making

When we planted ourselves deeply

In this place.

Had I known how difficult this stage of life can be

Would I have made another choice?

I can say with absolute certainty

That for me

I would not.

Yes, the past month has been tough.

For the whole town.

And considering my stage of life.

It’s not going to get easier.

But the friendships that are here.

The years of raising kids together

Working through the various ages and stages

Of adulthood.

Have created friendships

That often don’t even need words

To know how much we care.

We can and do go days

Sometimes weeks

Without seeing each other.

Yet we are here.

Through the years

Through it all

Staying put.

Gail