Road in Retirement

Pretty Full Dance Card My last couple of blogs tracked my summer odyssey to Asheville, North Carolina but that’s not the only dance on my 2025 summer card. I was able to ride shotgun on several auto travel trips as well: to see family in Wisconsin, hang out with close friends in Duluth, and socialize with four other couples (our 20-year bike group) in Perham (Minnesota). But summer is waning, and my travel escapades will undoubtedly be limited for a while . . . maybe a fishing outing yet. Something Different this Summer The last two summers it seems were spent recovering from a botched deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery intended to help my progressing Parkinson’s Disease. This summer has been different. I have basically the same ailments as the last two years, but my spirit has more defiance against life’s ills, and my soul more courage to fight back against my plight. Chris has been saying these words a lot this summer, “Really? You want to go and do that?” And my answer has been, “...

The End of My Asheville Odyssey I end my summer odyssey story to Asheville, North Carolina (NC) describing several mini excursions which sound tiring, but actually led to some well-needed rest. God gives full approval to rest, even naming one day of the week as THE day to rest. Jesus rested at times from his heavy preaching schedule as in Mark 6 where after sending the 12 apostles out in pairs to preach repentance and heal the sick, he invited them on a minivacation to a secluded place to rest. My secluded place in June was Asheville. But first, we had to get there. Cinderella’s Carriage I know I sound like a broken record, but traveling with advanced stage Parkinson’s Disease is like going to war. We packed our gear and headed for battle; the airport. We took some lessons from our last vacation flight and streamlined to three suitcases, a backpack, wheelchair bag, a walker, and my wheelchair which gets checked at the airplane door. We planned as best we could for the 2:00 a.m. rise, 5...

Rock Let me continue to discuss my road in retirement in Asheville, North Carolina; and with the continued focus theme of God as an immovable rock. In Isaiah 26:4 God’s rock nature is described this way: “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is THE rock eternal." Chris has been looking for one last perfect rock for our two-year old landscaping that has been taking shape in spurts. The bigger the rock, the more issues getting it to a spot in our yard, but also the more permanent it becomes. God is the hugest of all huge rocks; infinitely permanent. When we go to him for our prayers, needs, concerns, and praises, he is always there. He is the penultimate of permanence or as Isaiah says, THE rock eternal .  Retreat One of our side trips in Asheville, was penciled into the itinerary as a possible “maybe." It’s called the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove. It sounds corporate, commercial and why would we go there? But when we arrived it became a more mysterious meani...

Asheville and Rocks For the last several months I have pestered my husband to go to Asheville, North Carolina—a bucket list item for sure. I will be logging excerpts from our travels there over the next several blogs, because we made it! But I wanted to start the epic journey with rocks. Yes rocks. Chris studied rocks for a living. Geologist. In geologic jargon, Asheville snuggles within the Appalachian, Blue Ridge, or Smoky Mountains; all the same and part of an old, tired mountain range. This eastern U.S. range was once prolific with steep slopes and high peaks like in the Rockies. But with the passage of time the peaks wore down, slopes eroded and now the entire range is smothered with fir, cedar, oak, maple and ash. Underneath this canopy of green; however, is still a foundation of fairly stable and solid rock. These mountains and their granite foundations are leveled down to such a degree that a nearly 500-mile long freeway called the Blue Ridge Parkway was engineered to rest upon...

Story Tellers For 19 years at or near the end of the month of May, I listened to stories. Sometimes I was actually a character in these stories; a primary, secondary, or simply a background person in the story. As a matter of fact, for several of those 19 years I actually assisted the story tellers; being an English teacher. The stories often involved young people encountering hardship, heartbreak, and struggles or challenges of all sorts; some of these tough times being the result of their own actions and other hardships brought upon the young story tellers by no fault of their own. The binding tie in all of these tales was the ending; all stories ended happily! Graduation Day Of course, I am speaking about high school students getting a diploma at a graduation ceremony. But the setting for all of the stories I was a part of for 19 years was an alternative high school that was designed to bring success to students in a nontraditional high school experience; Community High School in th...

 “Regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” The apostle Paul, Philippians 2:3-5 Encounters with the Christ When I was in college, I memorized the entire book of Philippians; that’s 4 chapters, 104 verses, and 2183 words if you’re reading the King James version. I'm not bragging; I did it during a crucial spiritual turning point in my life. The writer of that book, Paul the apostle was changed through an incredible encounter with post death and resurrected Jesus while traveling on a remote stretch of road in the Middle East on his way to literally send Christians to their death. He later wrote the letter to the Philippians while confined in a prison cell. I memorized Philippians because like the apostle, I too had met the risen Christ, not in similar grandiose fashion, but equally powerful in the quiet confines of...