Grace Notes
As I typed “October 28” at the top of this editorial, my stomach did a flip and my heart went a-flutter. How is it possible that we are just a few days away from November? Which can only mean that December will soon be upon us, along with winter and cold and ice and cold hands and feet. I don’t mean to be a scrooge, because I love Christmas, especially in the sense that it is intended to be, as in celebrating the birth of Jesus. But it is no longer my favorite time of year because of what we have made it: with too many things going on, too much that has to be done that is “in addition to” the ordinary, such as decorating, planning, buying, wrapping, cooking, baking, traveling, etc. And then there’s the ‘Deer Ones here at the Sentinel, which no one outside these walls understands the effort that goes into it. Every year I set out to “simplify” Christmas, but it just never turns out that way. Maybe this is the year that I’ll figure out how to do that.
There are going to be shortages on many things this holiday season, they say. But don’t panic, they say; just get started now and get your shopping done early. Shelves are already bare in many instances, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Just seeing photos of all the freight piled high on ships that have dropped anchor out in the ocean at every port of entry, with more cargo ships on the way. I should have been a truck driver when I grew up—they are now making more than most any other profession. I’m thinking Christmas may “naturally” simplify itself!
Last weekend we visited my dad at Bethesda Nursing Home in Goessel. I feel bad for him because his experience is just not at all what he knew from when my mother was there, in pre-Covid times. We have yet to see his room, except through his window from the outside, looking in. He feels very lonely and says he has been there long enough; he just wants to go Home, as in that Heavenly Home. Dad’s health is really good for age 95, and he can get around just fine, always using a cane for confidence. He eats his meals in a large dining room, but each person has his or her own table, and they are spread out at least 6-ft. apart, so it’s difficult to visit with anyone. There are no church groups going in now for programs like they used to, and people don’t sit around and visit much at all. It makes me sad.
Hurray for the Minnesota Crossers who shared a photo of themselves standing in the Pacific Ocean! If you remember, at the end of June we met Erin Dietrich and Chris Rea when they came through Stockton on their quest to walk across the country from Cape Henlopen, Delaware to San Francisco. Eight months, 3,600 miles, only one flat tire, but unfortunately, also one broken foot. These kids have been so fun to follow on their Facebook page after they left Stockton. I had not heard anything about them or their walk across America before they came in our front door, but I feel like we are dear friends by now. It has been an amazing trip with amazing stories to tell for years to come. The story they wish would not have been included was “The Broken Foot” story; which, if it had to happen, at least it didn’t happen until they were very near the end of their trip. But because of her injury, the group took advantage of a ferry from Vallejo to San Francisco that cut roughly 50 miles off the trip—the only miles on their cross-country trek that they did not walk. Nothing, not even a broken foot or stuffing Erin (wearing a boot) into one of the strollers, could dampen their enthusiasm to finish the trip. Chris and Erin have now purchased a 2003 Subaru Forester, complete with car top carrier, for their trip home. They will drive close to the route they walked, seeing some sites they missed and catching up with some of the folks they met along the way. They are not sure how far east they will drive before heading north for home—Minneapolis, Minn. They knew it would be a major culture shock to jump on a plane and fly home, and this “soft re-entry” to life will give them a chance to think about the question that they have no answer for: “What do we do now?” I hope Chris and Erin and their little Subaru come through Stockton in a few weeks. It would be great to see them again and congratulate them in person!
