debbieburton.blog

Are We There Yet?

What parent hasn’t heard this question from their impatient child on a family road trip? It’s hard for kids to wait. Sometimes it’s hard for adults to wait. How many times have you felt impatient when traffic slows down to a crawl? The older I get the more I realize life is all about waiting. Human beings stand in one long line waiting for their turn. We experience waiting in lines at stoplights, the grocery, or theme parks. And most of us have let out a sigh of frustration when we take a number at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

I think ninety percent of my life has been spent waiting.

Here’s a list of seven things I’ve waited for this week:

For a prescription to be filled by the pharmacy.
For our carpet to dry after being professionally cleaned.
For our car’s hitch to be repaired so that we can pull our camper.
For my poison ivy induced rash to stop itching and go away.
For updates to be installed on my phone.
For more people to follow my blog.
For cooler temperatures. (A desire of many Floridians in October.)

That’s all I can think of at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll come up with another list by next week. Sometimes delays result from my own choices. But delays which involve wait time usually depend upon people or forces beyond my control.

Does waiting frustrate you? I admit I have a hard time waiting. Here’s a great quote from Joyce Meyer:

“Patience is not simply the ability to wait… it’s how we behave while we are waiting.”

When I was forced to wait for my prescription to be filled, I became angry. How dare the pharmacist go to lunch when I need my medication? Then I realized, I’m hungry, too, I think I’ll grab a sandwich while I wait and do a little shopping. Taking a break and eating something helped me accept the fact the world doesn’t revolve around me. I was able to be polite when the pharmacy staff took my order.

Sometimes I try to take shortcuts to decrease my wait time. If you’ve ever used the WAYS App while driving, you understand how the navigation system reroutes you around road congestion.

But taking a shortcut isn’t always the best way to deal with decreasing wait time. For instance, if the mechanic leaves a few steps out when he’s repairing our car, we could encounter a possible disaster on the road.

Stop and think, has the end result of anything ever improved because you hurried? Generally, the answer is no. Hurry makes us more anxious and accident prone. We can’t take ten days of antibiotics in one dose and hope we will get better faster. Physical healing is something we can’t rush.

Arnold H. Glasgow said, “The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.”

How do you deal with wait time?

Thank you for reading my blog, which by the way is a great way to pass the time when you’re sitting in a waiting room.

Souvenir Picture

The click of seatbelts

secured our bodies for transport.

As the Malibu’s engine accelerated…

we stared at the road ahead.

Not talking.

Not ready to accept

the expiration date stamped on our vacation package.

Both of us knew that Grand Junction

marked the intersection

of Adventure Avenue and Mundane Road.

In the rear view mirror,

the snow-capped San Juan Mountains

taunted us all the way to Montrose.

A vast panorama,

impossible to box up,

mail home,

or stuff in a suitcase,

jumped into ur Chevy

and hitched a ride.

My poem, Souvenir Picture, first appeared in Time of Singing, A Journal of Christian Poetry, Vol. 43, 2016

The Dream

You and I

step into the boat.

It teeters

until we find our center.

Within the crystal current

minnows dart below.

Emerald leaves of aspen trees

wave a warm hello.

Soon canyon walls close in

narrowing the flow,

we have no oars, the rapids roar

nowhere else to go.

Yet, laughter bubbles from within

as the wet jets play.

The current carries the two of us

in our little boat…

forever.

Do You Like Your Job?

Most people would agree there are things they like and dislike about their job. In my featured photo I’m shown working at my desk when I taught third grade. I look happy. Maybe this was taken on a Friday after school dismissed!

Now that I’m retired, I look back on my career with amazement. How did I do it? How does any teacher manage to fulfill all the expectations of the position? The only way I survived was by learning how to multi-task. Somehow teachers take attendance, listen to morning announcements, and keep an eye on the class all at the same time. Like a jack of all trades, a teacher fulfills many roles.

On Labor Day, we pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. For most workers our jobs are the most important thing in our lives. After years of working at the same job, we begin to identify ourselves by our career. When introduced to someone, we ask, “What do you do for a living?” This pattern continues during retirement, “What did you retire from?”

It’s difficult for people to retire because it’s hard to imagine a life without work. Some feel like life will have no purpose or meaning. I’m often asked, “So what do you do all day?”

“I fill my days in much the same way I did during summer vacation. The big difference is I never reach a date on the calendar when I start to feel anxious about school starting again.”

We confuse the value of our work with the amount of money we receive for it. When I stayed at home to care for my preschool children, I received no income, but the experiences we shared were invaluable. Our “self-worth” should not be dependent on our level of income.

Do you feel undervalued at work? Comedian George Carlin said, “The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity.”

Too bad Mr. Carlin seems to have forgotten, the butterfly once was the caterpillar. If I work at something with all my heart, I feel content knowing I’ve done my best, even if no one else seems to notice.

One of my favorite scriptures reads, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23,24 NIV

Engaging in our work changes us. Our “on the job experiences” teach us new skills. By trial and error we learn new ways of problem solving to accomplish our goals. Eventually we discover that like the monarch, we can fly!

Happy Labor Day!

If you’ve enjoyed my musings about work, please subscribe to be notified of future posts. Thanks!

Opening the Door of the Imagination

Have you ever wondered what the door to your imagination might look like? If I could create such a door, it would be similar to the one in my featured image. This is the door to creativity, a place for writers and painters. Inside is a library of books, works of art, and maybe even the internet!

Where do you receive inspiration? Many people find it in nature, listening to music, or spending time with God in prayer. If you’re a creative person you know the importance of taking time to breathe in. By taking time to inhale the creativity around us, we become more creative.

Author, E.M. Forster wrote, “In the creative state a man is taken out of himself. He lets down, as it were, a bucket into his subconscious, and draws up something that is normally beyond his reach. He mixes this thing with his normal experiences and out of the mixture he makes a work of art.”

So what keeps us from accessing these places beyond our reach? For some of us it’s the busyness of life. For many of us it’s fear. When we are unsure how the finished product will look, or how it might be received by others, we quit even before we begin. We never access the areas of the imagination beyond our reach.

Some people experience writer’s block. This might happen when we rely too much on ourselves for ideas. If we step back and take time to do something which inspires us, we can find new inspiration. A wonderful book to read on this subject is The Creative Call by Janice Elsheimer.

Where do you get creative ideas? In your sleep? In the shower? When you’re taking a walk? Sometimes when we allow our minds to relax fresh ideas come to the forefront of our brains. I love the “Aha” moment!

Writing is not just about hitting the keys. It means taking time to recharge and reenergize ourselves. It means taking time to play and imagine like we did as children. Make a bucket list of places you might go to for inspiration. You don’t need to travel far. Visit a local garden or gallery.

The door in my feature image was created by Colin Woley. It’s part of the Enchanted Fairy Door Exhibit at Leu Gardens in Orlando. This whimsical exhibit will delight your imagination. The tiny doors are placed in various locations throughout the fifty-acre garden. The exhibit is on display until September 23, 2018.

Gold Fever

“The desire for gold is the most universal and deeply rooted commercial instinct of the human race.” Gerald M. Loeb

As the elevator dropped one thousand feet into the Mollee Kathleen Gold Mine, I took a deep breath. What if get stuck down here? After a two minute ride, the elevator opened and our guide welcomed us. I was inside a mountain, just like the old time miners who worked here one hundred years ago.

What is it that drives people to mine for gold? What makes them search the deepest recesses in the black darkness of the earth? Valued by all civilizations, gold is golden. In addition to being rare and portable, gold never corrodes.

After Bob Womack discovered gold on his property near Cripple Creek in 1891, the Colorado gold rush began. During the next nine years the population of the town grew from five hundred to 55,000. Unfortunately for Womack, he died a poor man. After squandering his money on alcohol, he never saw his fortune come to pass.

The same year Womack discovered gold, Mollie Kathleen Gortner took a walk. She sat down to rest and noticed an interesting rock formation. Using another rock, she broke off a sample. It was pure gold laced with quartz. She became the first woman in Cripple Creek to discover gold and strike a claim in her name. Her family operated the mine for over fifty years. The Mollee Kathleen Gold Mine Tour is America’s longest continually operated gold mine tour.

Lucky for us, our tour was conducted under electric lights. The early miners pounded their way through rock by candlelight. Our guide demonstrated the evolution of mining tools throughout the 1900’s. The work was extremely dangerous for little pay. Seventy percent of the workers attempted to steal gold, but few succeeded.

The Mollee Kathleen Mine, together with other area mines, produced over ten billion dollars of mined gold. The old timers carried out the large pieces of ore. Significant underground deposits remain which are now being surface mined by the Newmont Mining Company near Victor.

The Newmont Cripple Creek and Victor Mine offers public tours of its’ modern mining operation. Unlike the old time miners, Newmont’s employees are geologists, engineers, and environmentalists. The ore goes through a process of being crushed then leached with cyanide. We took a tour of this operation as well, and learned the company pours anywhere from seven to twelve bars of gold a week. Each bar weighs sixty-five pounds and is worth one million dollars. The company is required to restore the land to the way it was before the surface mining began.

The Colorado gold rush of 1891 still continues on Battle Mountain. After all, “gold is money; everything else is credit.” J. P. Morgan

A Cruel Joke of Nature

First of all fellow Floridians, do not fear. The sun is shining today and no hurricane warnings are upon us. But it’s August, and we all know the next two months can be dicey at times. Dangerous weather damages Florida communities every year. As an Orlando resident, I’m fortunate to live in an area that hasn’t experienced the wrath of very many hurricanes. The worst storm I can remember happened in 2004 when Charley came through.

Still, I’m aware of the tough times communities encounter when their power is out for days. This poem, entitled A Cruel Joke of Nature is dedicated to you.

When Charley came to town

the city lost all power.

The stagnant, stifling air

Weighs heavy every hour.

Mornings with no coffee

No bacon, no warm toast.

Yet, inside the kitchen…

the smell of rotten roast.

The radio is silent.

My phone is out of juice.

The TV screen is blank

and Google sheds no truth.

I snuff the candles out

to rest upon my bed,

Swatting at mosquitos

Which whine around my head.

A Cruel Joke of Nature

this taunting serenade.

Escaping to the shower,

I think I’ve got it made.

My triumph is short-lived

Icy water hits my side

The bugs attack my legs

There’s nowhere left to hide.

Illuminated world

Advanced technology

Unequal to the storm

which brought me to my knees.

Pikes Peak, America’s Mountain

Pikes Peak has inspired people for hundreds of years. I first learned about “America’s Mountain” after my mom and dad visited the summit forty years ago. I’ve always been curious about Pikes Peak, and wondered how it came to be so famous. My husband became interested as well, so we booked an excursion with Manitou Springs Adventures.

Taking a jeep excursion is a great way to climb the mountain, especially since the Cog Railway is closed. Bear, our guide and driver, expertly maneuvered our jeep through all the twists an turns up thirty-eight miles of highway. My husband and I were free to enjoy the scenery while we sipped the complimentary bottled water and munched on trail mix. (Protein and water prevent altitude sickness.) Throughout our drive, and during rest stops, Bear gave us plenty of time to take photos. His narration provided me with a plethora of info about Pikes Peak. For more information follow my links.

Pikes Peak stands at 14,115 feet. It ranks 31 among the tallest peaks of Colorado.
Zebulon Pike led the first American exploration to scale the mountain in 1806. Unfortunately, he never made it to the summit because he started in November. The harsh Colorado winter forced him to turn back.
Edwin James was the first American to reach the summit in the summer of 1820. Good planning, Ed. He called the mountain Pike’s Highest Peak out of respect for Zebulon. Eventually the name was shortened and the apostrophe dropped.
People can hike to the summit on the Barr Trail. It generally takes from eight to twelve hours to get to the top.

The view from the summit is so spectacular it inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write the song “America the Beautiful” in 1893.
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is an annual high speed car race which began in 1916. This year Romain Damas broke the record by climbing 4,720 feet in under eight minutes. He drove an electrically powered vehicle manufactured by Volkswagon.

Several Big Foot sightings near Pikes Peak prompted the locals to post a sign on the highway warning visitors to be on the alert. At this pull-off Bear took our picture doing what he called “The Big Foot Shuffle.”

After we arrived at the summit, Bear gave us ample time to look around, take photos, and buy souvenirs at the gift shop. He bought donuts for all of us from the Summit House. Bakers use a special high-altitude formula to overcome the challenges of creating a cake donut at 14,000 feet. Served up warm and fresh, Pikes Peak donuts are a real treat. Since Bear drives two tours a day, he’s one of their best customers.

Thanks for everything, Bear!

The Bird is the Word

Yes, that’s right, bird is the word for today. I used to underestimate birds. Maybe that’s because they’re so small and numerous. Oh, there’s another bird flying by… big deal. My ambivalent attitude ended when my husband started using a Nikon Coolpix Superzoom camera. Initially he bought it to photograph larger wildlife. But he needed some practice, so he started zooming in on birds. After all, birds are all around us.

Fast forward to our recent Colorado vacation. We attended our first bird watching event in Great Sand Dunes National Park. I discovered bird watching is a relaxing way to spend an hour or two. Of course, in order to see birds one needs to be an early riser, which might leave a few people out.

The main point of birdwatching is to identify birds. In order to accomplish this goal it’s important to pay attention and listen. Wow! Those two things might leave a few more people out. But if you challenge yourself to watch and listen at the same time here are the five elements necessary to identifying birds.

Size
Color (which includes individual markings)
Habitat
Flight pattern
Song (when walking in a dense forest it’s hard to see birds in tall trees)

Resources are available to help anyone get started. Our guide recommended a book, Sibley’s Field Guide to Birds, for either the Eastern U.S. or Western U.S. depending on your location. And as you can imagine, there are iPhone apps to help you learn the songs of birds. If you are interested read this review for more more information. Our guide recommended using bird call apps responsibly when you are in the field because they can disturb whatever birds might be in the vicinity.

During our bird walk I learned to identify the call of a chickadee.

In addition to attending a bird watching walk, anyone can set up a bird feeder in their backyard to watch birds at home. During our trip to Colorado we saw numerous hummingbird feeders at restaurants and hotels. After several encounters, we identified different varieties of hummingbirds and discovered some are very territorial. One kind, the Ruby-throated, hid in the bushes until the Broad-tail hummingbirds settled at the feeder. The Ruby-throated bird rushed out of its hiding place. It perched on top of the shepherd’s hook, then buzzed all the other birds until it had the feeder all to itself.

Enjoy my video of the cut-throat competition among hummingbirds.

I must say my first attempt at making this video was cut short because one aggressive hummingbird buzzed me!

Bird watching is an educational family friendly activity. Now you know why the bird is the word. If you like birds check out my previous post Cardinal Virtues.

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Vernal Falls

Trudging up the mountainside

following the trail

Climbing high with every step

hope my feet don’t fail

Although the way is difficult,

the cool breeze is my coach.

The towering trees above me

applaud my slow approach.

Now I’m getting closer

I hear the rushing roar

I smell the fragrance of the pines

My heart begins to soar.

The water is before me

It sprays against my face

A rainbow rises in the mist

to speak of heaven’s grace.

Abundant life is here

Fresh green moss abounds

My weary spirit is revived

Ready to go back down.

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