It's coming....

I smell it in the air in spite of the rain & clouds!

I see the signs all around me!

I know it's coming!

Spring!!!!!!!

Grief

Tomorrow is the 2nd Anniversary of my mother's death. And it has been almost 2 1/2 years since my Aunt Mary died. I miss those two ladies. They have always been such an influence in my life. I thought the passage of time would lessen the sorrow but some days I think I feel worse than I did immediately after their deaths. I recently read this in a wonderful novel called "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand"

"It surprised him that his grief was sharper than in the past few days. He had forgotten that grief does not decline in a straight line or along a slow curve like a graph in a child's math book. Instead, it was almost as if his body contained a big pile of garden rubbish full both of heavy lumps of dirt and of sharp thorny brush that would stab him when he least expected it."

That expresses how I feel perfectly! I do smile thinking of them together in Heaven!

It's a tough job!

Here's where Matt is spending his time these days. Pretty rough life taking the lift to work and snowboarding home at the end of the day! He also loves being around the search and rescue dogs. The one in the picture is Lilly who is looking for her ski patrol owner!His schedule is work for 4 days and then spend the next three days riding the mountain! What a nice life! It is really beautiful there!

Graduation

On Saturday George and I went out to the Guide Dog School to watch a graduation ceremony.

The guide dog puppies are born in whelping kennels in California. When they are about 8 weeks old they are given to 'puppy raisers'. These dedicated volunteers keep the puppy for about a year. During that year they are house broken, taught good manners, and basic obedience. The raisers take them everywhere they go to socialize them. You may have seen puppies in the grocery store or at sporting events with their distinctive blue jackets that designate them as 'Guide Dog Puppies'. Just about the time the puppy is becoming a well mannered dog, they are recalled to the Guide Dog School to begin their formal training. About 70% become guide dogs. The rest are known as 'career change dogs'.

Six visually impaired people come to Boring, Oregon for a two week intensive training to learn how to work with a guide dog, as well as how to care for their new companion. They live in the dormitory with their dog and learn to work as a team. On graduation day the 'puppy raisers' are briefly reunited with their dog. Then during the ceremony the new visually impaired owner comes onto the stage from one side and the puppy raiser brings the dog to center stage from the other side and hands the leash to the new owner. I think those who so unselfishly raise a puppy and then give it away are truly unselfish people. I was very touched by the whole ceremony.

You could see the emotion on all the faces as they expressed their thanks and love for the 4-legged members of the group. This cute high school girl was allowed to take her dog to school everyday. She told a great story about leaving her dog asleep under her desk in a class while she went to the bathroom. She heard a commotion in the hall and went out to see her puppy running down the hall to find her with her teacher in hot pursuit. According to her, more people in her high school knew the dog's name than knew hers! The new owner is a preacher and a college counselor. This is his third guide dog.

In this case the puppy raiser was a first grade teacher who also brought her puppy to class every day. Can you imagine how that would be in first grade? This new owner is also a preacher.

Two high school girls raised this beautiful dog and her new owner is a medical transcriptionist. Another dog went to a stay at home mom. The young woman in the dark suit is the master trainer who works with the dogs and new owners.

Guide Dogs for the Blind is a well run program that does a great service for so many. I'm so glad I get to volunteer there.

Corner office with a view

Matt has a new job and this is his 'corner office with a view'.

He's at Big Sky Ski Resort near Bozeman, Montana working as a lift operator. It's a dream job for our snowboard crazy son! I knew we had created a monster when he was in afternoon kindergarten and we went before school to pick up his new skis. He said, "Mom, let's skip school and go skiing!" He's been crazy about snow ever since.

Looks like a beautiful place! And they've gotten six new inches of snow in the last few hours.

And another 'once in a lifetime' game!

While Matt, John and Scott were here in Portland, George took them to a LA Lakers/Trailblazers game. It was a super exciting game and went into overtime. The Lakers won.

We seem to keep giving our sons these 'once in a lifetime' sports experiences. When we were in Washington DC they got the 'once in a lifetime' chance to see Michael Jordan. Now they've twice had the 'once in a lifetime' chance to see Kobe Bryant.

We can also mention the 'once in a lifetime' chances to see a World Cup Game. Let's count...Scott has seen one, Matt has seen one, Johnny has seen two, George has seen two, Mary has even seen one! Who is missing from these 'once in a lifetime' World Cup opportunities? Poor old Mom! I say Brazil in 2014 for Mom's 'once in a lifetime' chance to see a World Cup game!