Pam’s Blog

Throughout my life there have been a lot of people I admire.  There is one that stands out in my mind more then anyone else.

Her name is Betty; and I want to be just like her when I grow up.

Betty is a wonderful human being. She has two daughters around the same age as I am.  This past August she ran a triathlon!!! She lives her life to the fullest. Betty is the most generous person I have ever met.  I am not sure I can fully describe her warmth and giving heart.

Betty opened her home and her heart to me and my family.  She has given us more love and support then I can describe.

When there was a mouse running around my kitchen and I was totally freaked out she let me come over and hang out with her – just cause. She hosted my graduation party when I got my Masters Degree.  When  I had to fly back to MD for my grandmothers funeral she opened her house and even loaned me a car so I could get around with my kids.

Betty is easy to talk to  and she is an excellent listener. In all my life I have never met anyone quite like Betty.  I love her open personality and warm heart.  I love her kindness and how she inspires people around her.

And it’s not just me she treats like that.  She hosted the wedding of one of her daughters friends. She hosted an intern from England at her house for a year. She turned her basement into a warehouse for all the schools lost and found, washing drying folding and sorting all the clothes from an entire school district to be given out to the homeless and needy in the area.

I can’t imagine the world without Betty.  Not only does she serve the community and help those around her she encourages everyone in her life to get involved as well.  This involvement enriches the people who are helped and the people who are helping.  And Betty acts as the catalyst in many cases.

Yet Betty never judged.  She held her convictions but she was not the type of person to hate those who didn’t share the same convictions she did.  In fact I can’t imagine Betty hating anyone – ever.

The truth is I want to be more like Betty.  I want to have her strength of character and her generosity of spirit.  I know my life is richer for having known her and I hope that one day people will say that about knowing me.

So, when I grow up I want to be Just Like Betty.

Thank you Betty for being who you are and for being such a wonderful part of my life. Know you are in my thoughts and prayers often.  I look forward to seeing you next time we’re in Maryland and I hope one day you can come and visit me in Seattle.  Love you.

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I have one single goal this weekend.

CLEAN THE HOUSE!!!!

This means do the laundry, clean the living room, kitchen, bathrooms and master bedroom, plus clean the litter box. (Poor Nyk is exceptionally tolerant of a messy litter box – Shadow never was.)

For some reason the house has gotten really messy over the past week or so. I think it’s because I was out of the house two weekends in a row and then this week either the kids or I had a cold all week.

For whatever reason the past three days I have been really stressed by the state of the house.  It’s just a mess.

Part of my problem is I don’t know where to start.  I mean I’m really not sure where I need to begin to get everything done in a logical methodical order.

So I guess I just have to get started.

I love goals and checklists – Xavier takes after me that way.

I think in part I will make this happen by bribing the kids.  I think I’ll pay them to help me clean the house….

hmmmm….

we’ll see if it works.

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I saw my podiatrist again today – we have a standing date every three weeks now.

We have decided that eventually I need the surgery on my ankle.

I am holding off for now.  The six to ten week recovery on crutches is very intimidating.

How do you take care of three children while on crutches for six weeks.

AND I won’t be able to drive because it is my right ankle.

To make everything just a tiny bit more complicated – as of right now Jason will be loosing his insurance in January so our family will be without health insurance.

What to do what to do?

Well, for tonight I am sitting with my feet up.  I got a cortisone shot in my right foot and it is still really hurting tonight.

Happy Friday everyone.  I hope everyone has a wonderful and happy weekend.

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Sometimes decisions come in to your life that there just doesn’t seem to be an obvious answer to.

Jason and I are facing one of those decisions right now.  It is a big thing and while to some on the outside of the situation the answer may seem obvious the truth is for us the situation is complicated and the question difficult.

At the root of the decision we need to make is this one truth… at least in my opinion.

God brought us to Seattle to serve, to live out the mission of Love God and Love People.

The question of how best to do that looms in front of us.

What sacrifices are we willing to make to do those things?

Does doing those thing require this type of sacrifice?

How will this decision affect the kids?

Can we live on the result of these decisions – financially speaking?

(the answer to this is probably not – I would have to find a full time job in order for us to survive with this decision- again while this might make the decision seem obvious  it doesn’t.  I mean when we decided to come to Seattle we knew that was probably going to be the case – we knew we would be taking a major pay cut to move here. We’ve been lucky so far that we haven’t had to take that pay cut, but if it’s time to do it now then we might have to face that fact with acceptance. )

I sometimes wish we had a road map – showing us where different decisions would take us.  What will happen if we choose route A and what will happen if we choose route B.  Is one better then the other – or is it just two different roads that eventually lead to the same destination.

Anyway – we need to make this choice – and at the moment I am full of uncertainty over which is the best path to take.  Please consider praying for us for a few minutes over then next week as we prayerfully consider these choices.

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So Friday a week ago I was back at the doctors about my feet – we see each other every three weeks now.  He put me on another two week course of anti inflammatory’s. He also gave me a downgrade. 

I am now in an ankle brace rather then a big old boot.  Oddly this is not because my ankle is all better.  Rather it is because the boot wasn’t doing all that he wanted it to do and so he wanted to give the ankle support without all the inconvenience. 

So where does that leave me – who knows.  I go back to the doctor next Friday and we will see how things go from there. 

The good news – after six long weeks I am able to go back to the gym – Hooray.  I started back last week and went three days.  I was surprised by home much I had lost in the past six weeks and I am working slowly to regain some of my stamina.

Happy Monday everyone.

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Below is a short piece of fiction by a friend of mine Christine Brant.  She is a writer here in the Seattle area.  You can find her blog at her web site.  Enjoy.

The Window

Christine Brant

I hated the house. As I entered I wanted to cry. The rest of the family spent hours studying pictures before the move, I refused to look, sneaking only glances. Constructing in my mind what I thought the house would be. Reality rudely intruded on my imagination. It smelled of disuse and emptiness, cold trailed my steps. This was my new kingdom?

Disbelief grew with each new room I inspected. I traveled up narrow stairs. My body brushed the door frame as I entered the room on the top floor. Here I caught my first glimpse of the window. The too long curtain lay on the floor. Plush carpet hushed my footsteps as I padded across the cavernous space. The temptation of sunlight around the edges of the curtain drew me in despite my mistrust.

Old glass nested in a painted wood frame behind the curtain. As I moved between the two dust stirred and I sneezed. The door clicked shut behind me; I was alone in this yawning space. I allowed a cry to escape. How could this happen? How could my hopes go so wrong?

I turned my gaze out the window; it sat so close to the floor I didn’t have to shift position. Awe infused me. I could see forever. Windows in our old home showed one thing. More houses each one the same. Here though…

Mountains loomed furthest from my view. White tips visible over the rough edges of trees; they reached for the sky. Clouds journeyed through the expanse of blue shaping and remaking their form as they traveled; giant cotton balls waiting to be captured.

Closer, through a divide of trees, bare in the late winter sun, light sparkled and glinted off water. The illusions created by the skipping light had me moving to catch the dancing mirage, and then retreating back. Sitting still and gazing out again at the enormous variety that met my gaze. Trees filled every open space some naked of their summer glory, others clothed all year in needles. They towered between and above the houses.

I was amazed by the number of roofs I could see from my perch. Birds and squirrels moved from trees to housetop, I looked down on it all. It was empowering.

Not just the height but also the breadth, there was so much to see. In our old neighborhood everything sat in neat tidy rows. Here the landscape lay loose and scattered. Houses half hid behind trees, peeped out from bushes and appeared around the bend of hills. I could see them all, below me.

I relaxed; sun warmed me through the glass. My soft cries shifted into a rumbling purr. Sitting, hidden from the emptiness of the room by the curtain, I tucked my tail around my paws. I watched a blackbird perch on the eves of the roof across from my new throne. The tip of my tail twitched. I was home.

This was my new Kingdom.

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