Reflecting

I have been cleaning one of the flower beds this afternoon and this morning I transplanted a few little flowers in the greenhouse that had taken their sweet time in coming up.  These activities always give me time to think, sometimes that is a good thing, sometimes not.
 
As I was digging around in the dry soil of the flower bed and moving the soil back to where it belongs after the obnoxious pocket gophers went through it, I was thinking about the devastating floods in the lower Ohio River Valley that I had been keeping track of for over a week.  I was glad my garden was still in tact and thought about all those who had lost theirs.
 
  First, let me say that there is a reason God planted me here, I have no desire to live by that much water, but I love visiting that area and that is why I am interested in keeping track of what is going on there.  We have been through the area that is flooded and I find it sad to see the acres of farm land we have seen, underwater.  Even though we comment that we know we might see it that way some day.  The day has arrived.

I have also been checking in on the Paducah flood wall several times a day.  The Convention Center is its own island now, it sits on the Ohio River side of the flood wall, not within it and I have never figured that out. 
   I always look forward to going to Paducah.  Perhaps it is that we leave the leafless trees, the brown and nearly lifeless flower beds, last year's fields of decaying corn stalks and wheat stubble in CO and as go east and we enter Missouri, spring is unfolding.  There will be a few red buds left and as we travel further east, the dogwoods are usually blooming.  Their lovely, white flowers remind me of dancing fairy lights, tucked in among the other trees.   

Last year's trip to Paducah ranks as # 1.  We were able to view Hollis' outstanding exhibit, "Imagine Hope" at the AQS Museum, I ran into two ladies from a class I had taken at the museum several years ago, met up with  friends who I have gotten to know through the Internet and we all had a picnic lunch on the AQS grounds and had supper with them that Friday night before attending the Ricky Tims performance at the Carson Center, plus I was traveling with good friends.   

  I did receive word from Joedy that a friend died That Friday night, after we returned to the place we were staying, I received word from Joedy that a friend had died that day.  I knew that Darryl had been diagnosed with cancer 3 weeks prior to that and was not doing well when I left, but it was hard to believe as I had just seen him the previous August when we had our 40th class reunion and he looked fine. 

  The other thing that occurred that Friday night was a visit with a woman who I had never met before.  She and other members of her family were getting together that weekend to visit with her sister who was dying of cancer.   Little did I know that night, that I would come face to face with that very thing 11 days later on May 4th.  Tomorrow will be the day my sister called me and told me she had cancer.  Julie died 5 weeks later. 

  So with all that reflecting today on people and places and how quickly things can change, I am reminded that I should take each day as it comes and enjoy it.  Thank God for the blessings He has bestowed upon me. Do my best to ignore those people in my life who are demanding and selfish and not allow them to drag me into their unhappiness and dissatisfaction with their life.  And remember that it could always be a lot worse and pray that it never is. 


This bleeding heart always greets me when I return from Padcah and it is especially pretty this spring.  The butterfly was given to me by sister a few years ago.