I tell people all the time…”Self care is NOT selfish!” This weekend I took a little time for some self care and it felt wonderful. First was the old time music and folk dancing Saturday. Then yesterday, I took off early and drove over to see family in Grant and Pendleton Counties. The aunt that I cared for when I first moved back here from Colorado has been living with her brother, my Uncle Bud, for the last three years. She is suffering from dementia now and I am not at all sure she knew who I was. Which is probably a good thing because she doesn’t necessarily like me much. She was quite personable during our visit, which was nice.
I helped around the house…cleaning the kitchen and picking up. I took a chuck roast over and put it in the crock pot for them along with noodles and a pumpkin pie. They should eat like royalty for a few days on that. I shared pictures with them and we swapped stories for a while before I left to go to my cousin’s house for a while. I haven’t seen her since Thanksgiving last year so it was a long overdue visit.
As I was driving back to the campground late in the afternoon, I got to the top of Middle Mountain and saw this amazing tree. Actually, I saw amazing trees everywhere. But it was raining all day and very foggy on top of the mountain. I pulled over to the side and stood with my camera ready…just willing the fog to part long enough to capture the beauty of this lone tree on the mountaintop. It was well worth the wait, don’t you think?
The mountain sides look like a rich tapestry with everything from green to garnet, scarlet to sunshine yellow. It was mesmerizing and it was all I could do to keep my eyes on the road. Stunning! It’s this time of year that makes you hold your breath. In the spring, when the green leaves pop out, you know there is a long stretch ahead with lovely foliage. Then this time of year comes and we sit and wait for the proverbial “other shoe” to drop. Because, in a heartbeat it will be gone and the trees will reach for the sky with naked bony fingers grasping at the winter winds that whip through them.
So, till that time comes, I will gaze in wonder and will share that with you as I travel this path to see where it leads me. Today is a travel day for me. My next stop is the first campsite I have had without electricity so I’m going to rely on the solar to power me off grid. I can’t wait to see what I can still do in the camper without shore power!
❤️
“”Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.””
Isaiah 1:18-20 ESV
Ginny do you ever find it particularly hard when people show a personal dislike? I do; we’re taught as kids to ‘be likeable’–courteous, kind, thoughtful–and there is the expectation that others will show amiability towards us in return, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. I feel self-doubt in times like this. I know its a ‘different strokes’ kind of world, but I find it puzzling. Your thoughts?
I think I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve always tried to abide by the Golden Rule and there’s always this element of surprise when I find someone who doesn’t seem to ascribe to that same thought process. When I first cam back to WV to help this aunt, everything was fine at first then within ten weeks, I was at the bottom of her “like” list. I don’t think I had ever been her favorite person in the world, but two independent women living in such close quarters was difficult. Come to find out though, it was the beginnings of her dementia that caused her to lash out at me. I learned a valuable lesson in that. It’s not always about me. Good OR bad. ❤️
Beautiful picture! I wish we got fall color like that in Louisiana.
You are so right, self-care is important. It just seems hard to manage sometimes when I’ve got younger humans that I’m training to care for themselves!
I hear ya, dear one. Looking back…those that need it most, seldom get it! Be gentle with yourself. ❤️