Can't Say Goodbye

     RIP Richard.  "Say good-bye to me, but not to the thought of me." 
I do not like goodbyes.  I never have.  I'd prefer to think of it as see you later.  That's what I told Daniel when he had headed off to Afghanistan for a year.  And also to Britney when she left for two years of missionary work in Guatemala.  My last words to Richard, two days before he fell, "You boys stay out of trouble.  See ya later."  (He and their son Adam were on their own while Marj was in Wisconsin at a horse fair.)   

     After feeding at Marj's and chores here, I spent the remainder of Saturday morning working on last weeks blog.  Dan headed out with Val mid-morning to take her back to Aurora.  See ya later Dan and Val.  This is one of her graduation photos.

      At noon Joe and I met Courtney, Mike and Nan (one of the boarders) at Wellgreen Farm.  We turned out the horses and in short time got the 17 stalls cleaned.  Back here for additional stall cleaning, a nap and shower, and we were ready to go to Richard's visitation.  Joe was a few steps ahead of me going out the door, and discovered that Amiga and Zorro were in the yard. He had left a gate open, so they decided the freshly mowed lawn looked more appealing than the over grazed paddock.
                                                     They ended up going down the drive
and along 150 towards Beck's.  Joe got them to turn South back towards the railroad tracks. I had slipped out of my heels and into my muck boots, opened the stretch fence and joined in the corralling of horses.  At one point Zorro ran out into Becks field of newly sprouted corn and laid down and rolled in the dirt.  Finally getting them in, we were hot and sweaty from the 85 degree temperatures, but 30 minutes late to meet Courtney and Mike.

     There was a huge crowd at the visitation, resulting in a 1 1/2 hour wait to give the Gilmore family our condolences. This is a testimony to the number of people who knew and loved Richard.  An unbelievable number of flower arrangements adorned the casket and front of the church.  There was also a great slide show of Richard's life.  The celebration of his life and knowledge that he is in Heaven with God for eternity helped ease the pain of losing him from Earth at such an early age.  See you later Richard. 

     Marj had this painting "Living Life" on display at the visitation.  She bought it at the horse fair the day Richard fell.  It's message emulates their lives.  Little did she know that she would be displaying it today at this occasion.  It is such a good tribute to Richard who lived just like it suggests.  It really touched my heart so I had to share it. And it's message is one I hope to aspire to.
I got permission from the Bonnie Mohr Studio to display this if I included her contact information:   Bonnie Mohr Studio, P.O.Box 32, 10454 160th Street, Glencoe MN 55336, 320-864-6642, http://www.bonniemohrstudio.com
Here is a better view of the painting and the verse:

       "Life is not a race - but indeed a journey. Be Honest. Work Hard.

     Be Choosy. Say "thank you", and "great job" to someone each day.

   Go to church, take time for prayer. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh.

    Let your handshake mean more than pen and paper. Love your life and

     what you've been given, it is not accidental ~ search for your purpose

        and do it as best you can. Dreaming does matter. It allows you to

                 become that which you inspire to be. Laugh often.

      Appreciate the little things in life and enjoy them. Some of the best

   things really are free. Do not worry, less wrinkles are more becoming.

    Forgive, it frees the soul. Take time for yourself ~ Plan for longevity.

             Recognize the special people you've been blessed to know.

                                  Live for today, enjoy the moment.

     From the visitation we headed to Bob and Marge's retirement/moving
                                        reception/send off.  It was good to be able to
celebrate our friendship with them, but bitter sweet knowing they would be 13 hours away. After that, many of the Stretch crowd moved on to the VFW for some dancing with the Biscuits and Gravy Band.  I had a fun time, as I always do, when dancing is involved, but really struggled with the mixture of emotions flooding my heart.  I broke into tears several times.  When life is so good with beloved family and friends, it is hard to say good bye to them, knowing there will be a void that was once filled by them.

    Getting home after midnight, with a quick moving of cows off the pasture and a checking of the horses, it was nice to hit the bed.  But sleep escaped me.  Images and thoughts of time with Marj and Richard as well as reflecting on having Bob and Marge moving so far away did not allow my brain to shut down.  I was also thinking about the
future of our three children and what
life would deal them.  I am so proud of what they are doing and have done with their lives and pray for them each to continue to prosper, be healthy and safe. I got this photo of Britney off Facebook, taken this week during one of the devotional times.  It is so nice to be able to gaze at her picture and chat with her on instant message.

                                                     I was awake at my usual 5 am but
very tired... numb really.  I knew I needed more sleep, but it was time to get up and go about my daily chores.  Feeding and watering all the livestock here and at Gilmore's, I was back at my computer by 7:30, enjoying tea, while catching up on Facebook and e-mails.  In less than an hour I hit the couch for a morning nap.  Sleeping till after 11 am.  That was more like finishing my night's sleep than a nap.  I needed to get going on a bunch of grading because it was going to be a full afternoon.
      Dan, Joe and I met Courtney and   
Mike at Eastview Christian Church for Richard's funeral service, which was very nice.  We drove back to Downs, where Richard was buried with military honors.  Then back to the Church for a tastey meal and family time.  We said our good byes and headed to our respective homes, reflecting on life and death.  I hoped to get back to some normalcy but knew it was going to take a lot longer for Marj and her two sons.  Photo of  Richard's grave two days later.   

     The storms that blew through overnight did not help me get back to a normal night of sleep.  I plan to continue with morning chores until Marj gets her feet back on the ground.  And as a family, we will also go over on Wednesday afternoons to clean stalls. 

     Before going to growth group, we ran into LeRoy to pick up these eight baby chicks from fellow teacher Nick who hatched them for the AP Bio Class.





Abbey thinks they are great fun to watch.  I have been holding them regularly to get them tame for easier handling and showing.

     I will raise them for a few weeks.  Then they go to Eliot for a 4H project.  He is the one I got the little Phoenix chickens (Tiny and Steve) from last spring.  Which reminds me... Tiny had been missing for a week, but came out of hiding on Sunday.  But we haven't seen her since.  I think she has a nest under the corn crib that she is sitting on.

     Tuesday morning I took some time to chat with Marj, originally going up to the house to ask a question about the horses.  At school, I noticed that some students are already getting bored with






the rat dissection and kind of rushed through it.  I'd like to rush through it, and the rest of the year.  :-)  I ran to Farm and Fleet on the way home to get baby chick starter feed.   These two geese were visiting the coop.  Better them than a hawk I guess. I hadn't intended to scare them.

     I helped Nan bring the horses in and get them each in their own stall.  It really is a two person job.  It kind of reminds me of one of those fast play

card games.  As the horses come trotting in, you have to get the right horse in the right stall.  If you aren't quick enough to open the door, you miss your opportunity and they move on.  And if you don't get the door shut behind them, they come back out.  Horse sorting was way more fun than grading papers, but once home it was a job I had to attend to for too long.  

     Nan covered morning chores at Wellgreen and Joe took care of them here because I had to leave at 6 am in the morning.  I bought donuts to share with the science department in celebration of my last "Late Start Wednesday".  (The kids go late, but for me it is early.)  We sorted through  at least a thousand microscope slides getting them all organized. 

     Dan, Courtney and I did stall cleaning at Wellgreen without Joe because he had headed to Michigan for a few days of golfing.  Courtney and I rounded up the horses and got them each in their designated stall.




     Tess, a different boarder, had gone way out in the back pasture to feed her horse an apple, and discovered some broken fence that she told me about, so Courtney and I went out to look it over.  I called Nan, and she reported to Marj who then came out to take a look.  We helped Marj remove all the broken twisted wire that was the problem.

    
     Back home I had to finish cleaning Zorro's stall.  Courtney helped me get the horses and cows in and feed.  By the time I ate and showered, it was 8:40... not much time for grading... too bad, so sad.
             
     Heading Out! 
     See ya latter. 
Marj took this photo of Roni and I over a year ago.  Late Thursday afternoon, I finally made time to ride Roni, for the first time in two weeks. Just as I had turned him up Becks' lane, Lisa called me, wanting to know if I wanted to join her and the boys for a ride around the "neighborhood."  So Roni and I were off to the Wiggings'.  The four of us rode back in this direction.  When I turned to head home, Roni really started rushing.  I kept a tight reign, but his front legs were going like crazy.  I thought, "Man, if I give him a little head, we are going to be out of here."  I was a bit frustrated, somewhat nervous, but laughed at him several times because he really is kind of funny getting so worked up.  He would calm down temporarily, but then start his fast,
high stepping front leg work again.  It helped to have him behind Lisa's horse (Mark), but I could tell Mark was annoyed.  Once to our property Roni slowed down.  We rode around the perimeter and because it was getting dark, had to head to our perspective barns.  I took Roni straight to the round pen and rode him hard for about ten minutes.  Then we headed back down the drive.  He listened, was willing and respectful, so I got off and walked him back to the barn.  Notice the barn swallow in this photo of Roni turning to look out of the corn crib.  I am glad to have these bug catching swallows back.  I love their graceful flight and friendly chatter.

      I was so glad to see Friday come.  It was an easy teaching day...
I collected lab reports and gave a test.  I put an essay question on the test, so now have tons of grading over the weekend.  What was I thinking?




     Once home I opened the paddock gate to let the horses into the grazing pen of lush grass.  I started on this Blog post, but decided it was too nice to sit inside.

     So I headed out to a lawn chair with my grading, set up by the temporary, roped-off grazing area.  At first the horses were leery of me sitting there.   View from my chair...




     They soon decided it was okay and were grazing within feet of my chair.


   
   

     It didn't take long for me to get bored with the essays and I fell asleep.  Brother later woke me up chewing on my toes.     


     It's that time of year when our students say goodbye and move on with their lives or watch other loved ones do the same.  People graduate,
retire, relocate,

and in Richard's case... pass from this life.  When loved ones move on, we turn the page to the next chapter in our lives. I like to think it's not "Goodbye," just "See you later!" There are many more good times to come here on Earth, but even more so when we get to Heaven.