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It's Time

12/14/2020

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     My Grandmother Davis died. We shared stories and laughter during the wake and after the funeral church service people went home. The next day I knew where Grandma’s key was hidden and went inside, and just stood there. I was not remembering since we shared before and I was not focused at the ancient well-made, polished, and cared for furniture and things. They were not antiques to Grandma as it was just decades and generations of New England items of daily use. Grandma’s artistic and whimsical style, creatively organized and neat was not for a showcase, but the extension of who she was. Surprised I felt her essence, warm and almost like a hug from someone well-loved feels. Mer was quiet beside me and I whispered the feeling. He was accepting and not surprised. I went the next day and it felt the same. The 3rd day I went in and although the furnishings were still there it felt empty and cold. That essence feeling was gone. I never went back, and the house was bequeathed to the chapel she attended next door.

     So, it’s my turn. In the spring we will sell our big house in the valley and move to the little house on the hill – Jesse and Margo’s. They had not wanted to sell or rent but saving it for a retirement home. Unbeknownst to me Jesse had been praying that I would be willing to downsize and leave my house and move there. God has been kind and faithful to us during the ups and downs of decades of life. There was never fighting, swearing, and coarse language was not allowed. My daughter says it is not a home of drama, but love, laughter, hugs, acceptance, comfort, peace and support. I have been contented there. It is the pondered question of what I will leave as a heritage to my children? Will I leave the essence of blessing? I hope that whoever buys the house, it will be as sweet a life there for them as well.  

     I waited years for my beautiful big kitchen with all the amenities a woman could want. It was ironic that a year or so later for 2 winters, to save the cost of fuel, we stayed in the efficiency apartment connected to our office. We opened and slept in a very comfortable futon and closed it up for the day. It had a shower bathroom and a very small kitchen. Yet I realized I was content there as well. We went home for the weekends.  Margo’s kitchen is more medium size with very little counter. I awake during the night rearranging where I will place things. I decided that the little appendage room off the kitchen will be a cloak room and a pantry. I will sell my every day complete set of dishes and from my hutch use my Grandma Shipton’s dishes for every day. She did wash them in the dishwasher later in life and used them every day.

     Jesse’s house was very well built with a large garage and dry basement, a tile kitchen floor and hardwood flooring everywhere else except the bathroom – inlaid flooring. It needs some maintenance work and a couple of major projects. The water supply is rusty and has stained the kitchen sink and bath porcelain so we will have to put in a whole house water system. The wall tiles in the bathroom have loosened and fallen off, the fixtures are corroded, and the tub needs to be replaced. Jesse says to make it our home and Margo said she likes how my house looks and is as glad as Jesse is to have us move in there. A few other more minor repairs and when all is said and done, I know I will be happy there.
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CORONA VIRUS

11/18/2020

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     Are you tired of hearing of covid-19 yet? It’s a world-wide downer. It’s a little daunting when it hits home. Actually, it hit before we got home. Wisconsin – Mer's sister is retired. Her best friend and housemate is younger and works 2nd shift. She was off 2 of the 3 days we were there. When she went to work, she found out 5 of her co-workers tested positive for covid and she was tested – positive. Her symptoms were diarrhea, fatigue and headache. I asked if the doctor suggested any medicine but he said it is just a virus and has to run its course. Despite a very congested cough and fatigue after we left for home Hazel tested negative. We got a call from Mer's sister to pray for her housemate as she has A-Fib and her heartrate became erratic.

     My case migrated like a progressive dinner with first feeling like I got punched in the stomach and couldn’t eat a full serving of food. My knees felt like an effort to stand and my walk so small steps. Then came the tremendous dry cough, sore throat, and fatigue. I felt bad that I slept all of the 2 days back home.  Mer bought me lozenges for cough and sore throat. When we got home and unpacked, I was still so tired and dreaded the effort needed for making supper. I did not complain though and so grateful when Mer suggested Pizza. Couldn’t eat much of it. All these symptoms cleared up ending with one night of violent chills, and a few days of occasional headaches.  I dutifully put on oregano, thyme, thieves and peppermint on the bottom of my feet. Four hours later after one dose I was surprised at the significant strength of my walk and knees. My total course lasted about 5 days.
   
     Mer is more robust than I. He had one day of muscle aches, a couple of hours of being a little short, with a couple days of headache, and fatigue, and actually took a nap and slept in a little which uncharacteristic of him. His course lasted about 3 days. Hmm – perhaps a little residual tiredness. When Mer and I were finally feeling more like ourselves Christopher came down with nausea, vomiting, coughing and fatigue and generally not feeling good for about 5 days so far. My doctor told him to social distance from me and he has taken that to heart, staying in his room. We text to make sure he’s OK. He hasn’t had any appetite but drinks orange juice.

     It can be boring listening to a litany of symptoms except when at my office and in my nurse mode, but I write all this so you can see some variations. Though some people end up in the hospital and some die, which is horrible, I think for the most part people can recover. Be patient with yourselves and others, drink water and get some rest.

We’ll get through this.

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BROTHERS

11/3/2020

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     I grew up with 3 sisters and always wished I had a brother – someone I could learn about the mysteries of boys/men, someone I could count on to help when needed, someone strong, honest, and companiable. I do have a brother – 20 years younger than me. He lives in Alabama and has his own full and complicated life. Therefore, I was glad for the brotherly help and support Mer had for his sisters, Hazel, Norene, and Crystal.
  
     Two of his sisters never married. Norene has advanced Parkinson’s and Hazel was her principle caretaker. It became more difficult over the years until Norene ended up in the hospital – twice, the last time near death.  Fortunately, she rallied. Norene was placed on hospice and transferred to a nursing facility for 2 weeks, quarantined. She would not be able to come home again. Hazel felt guilt about that but between us and medical council she came to the peace that Norene would be better cared for there. We could not visit her but parked in the back, crossed the lawn and went through the bushy landscaping to talk to her from her bed by the window.
  
     Hazel was overwhelmed. We helped her with the planning of Norene’s funeral and burial so when the time came it would be easier with everything in place. Everyone was so kind and helpful. Mer helped her choose the casket, the service, and all the details the funeral director suggested. He would take care of the rest when the time came. Angie at the Nursing home guided us regarding the financial aspects of Norene’s care and suggested around the clock pain medicine. Since Norene needed to keep her assets below $2000 we used them to buy the burial plot, and the headstone. The guy at the monument place was relaxed understanding what it was like for Hazel being the caretaker as he is the caretaker for his wife. He helped us choose the granite and the size of the monument and with a straight edge drew the monument, the cross we wanted, his very precise lettering, Beloved Sister, her name and birthdate and her favorite Bible verse  “ Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” He knew Proverbs 3:5 and 6. He knew the Old Testament very well – I didn’t recognize the name of his denomination, but he worships Jehovah and understands Jesus, His son and our savior. That and the quality of his work was a comfort to us.
  
    Mer also balanced their checkbooks and made up a 4-month schedule of the payments Norene needs paid and when. A tremendous help. Since Hazel had given up her bigger room with bathroom for taking care of Norene, Mer helped carry out and rearrange the bedrooms and living room taking some things to her shed and others to the local mission.
  
     Finally, when off quarantine, Norene will be placed in the nursing home where her old roommate and friend is. That is happiness for both of them.  It was good for Mer and me to be there then and for Mer’s brotherly loving strength and steady help in his sisters’ time of need.
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See You Later

10/28/2020

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     We drove to Missouri to honor our good friend David and to console his family. It was actually they and others there that consoled me. I have written about David Stewart before. An amazing man.
  
     He had his PhD in physics/geophysics – I would have thought botany too as he knew the woodland trees and plants by name and their properties. Missouri is a land of caves and occasional earthquake-like tremors. He actually took his bride to a cave for their honeymoon! Though it was illegal and very restrictive in Missouri to have a midwife, he delivered all 5 of his children - 4 sons and one daughter. If I had only one word to describe David it would be Teacher. When he hiked, when he drove, he was always teaching his kids. He taught them how to live off the land staying there 3-5 days at a time. He loved the outdoors and work and was a perpetual learner. He taught at 2 colleges. He was a retired Methodist minister and wrote his book Healing Oils of The Bible which was/is a text his instructors use – for us for 14 years. He understood chemistry and wrote The Chemistry of Essential Oils made Simple - God’s love manifested in molecules, which Mer used while teaching – Chemistry in high school and college didn’t make sense to me or the relevance, until that book and David’s way of teaching made it rememberable. He also understood music theory, tuned the church’s piano, and played classical music, hymns and Maple Leaf Ragtime from memory. At the funeral, all 5 of his kids sang in perfect harmony. All of his kids inherited his gentle, humble, friendly nature and his sense of humor. I had only known 2 of his children until the calling hours and funeral yet somehow felt like, in talking to them, they knew and appreciated our and everyone’s stories and relationship with David.
   
     Anthony the youngest was standing at the casket when we made our way to him. My heart went out to him. I knew David loved Mer (His first male instructor) and later loved me, yet it meant the world to me when Anthony said, “He loved you.” The funeral was oddly the most precious and sweet one I have ever attended. Afterword as we were walking out pew by pew to the casket, I looked at David’s dear face. “Goodbye David. I’ll see you later.” And, embarrassed, I burst out crying deep sobs for my and the family’s loss. One CARE Instructor who I didn’t know very well but had taught in an emotional retreat, came up to me and put her arms around me and said, “He really loved you.” Marie from Colorado is my favorite CARE Instructor. We grew up together in the beginning of this aspect of David’s life. “He loved you,” she said (David loved everyone). “How appropriate it is that we were there at the beginning and now at the end.” It was the end of an era. I watched her as she left in her rented car for St Louis airport. I wonder now if I will ever see her again.
​  


Goodbye, David. I’ll see you later
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WATER CRYSTALS

10/14/2020

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     Wilson Bentley  (1865-1931) born in Jericho, VT was the first to photograph snowflakes. He called them  snow crystals. He found that no 2 snowflakes were the same. Masaru Emoto (1843-2014) was a Japanese Researcher. He heard that no two snowflakes were the same.  Snowflakes turn into water and that was where his study began. Are there crystals in water? The tap water in Japan yielded no water crystals but water taken from a Japanese waterfall did. His assistant dropped one drop in 50 Petri dishes and froze them at -4 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours. Then in a very cold room using a high powered microscope with a camera he was able to capture water crystals before they melted. Beautiful. Emoto went all over the world selecting samples of water to test. Some water yielded no crystals, some deformed and some beautiful. The average human body contains about 70 % water. Could pure water crystals be helpful? Tap water that includes chlorine to sanitize it destroys the structure found in natural water. Because he loved music and music is vibrational he decided to see if music had an effect on water. He put a bottle of distilled water on a table between 2 speakers. Classical music yielded very beautiful hexagonal crystal formations. Water exposed to violent heavy metal music resulted in fragmented and malformed crystals. Then knowing words have frequency he wrote words like “Thank you” and “fool”  on pieces of paper and wrapped them around the bottles with the words facing in. Could the water “read” the words? Amazingly, beautiful positive words yielded beautiful well-formed crystals. Negative words, like the heavy metal music, produced malformed fragmented crystals. It didn’t matter what different languages he used. Positive words are positive in any language and Negative words are destructive in any language. The prettiest crystals was the combination of love and gratitude.
   
     There was also a experiment done on cooked rice. One jar of rice had taped positive words on it, another had negative words and the third jar was just stuck in the back of the refrigerator. For 30 days he spoke good words to the jar with the positive words and bad words to the 2nd jar. After 30 days the jar with the bad words yielded a foul smelling black rice. The jar with positive words produced a yellow rice with a sweet malt smell. The jar left in the back of the refrigerator was even worse than the one with bad words. Apparently being ignored is worse.
   
     If water has memory, imagine the effect of our words have on people, spouses and little children? Perhaps the Creator of the universe knew what he was saying to us to speak kind, loving, edifying words and put away corrupting talk -  filthiness, crude joking, bitterness, anger and all malice
   
     Young Living on their partner farms has an agreement in their contracts. In addition to the farms using only heritage seeds, no pesticides, no herbicides, no chemical fertilizers, harvesting at the right time, not rushing in the distillation process, as pure of water as possible, they are to hire no angry or cursing people to work there. Think that might make a difference in the essential oil and oil infused products? Have you heard of people talking to their plants? One lady I knew had a small abundant garden around the foundation of her house. She played classical music to the plants every day before going to work. (Her neighbor drank her morning cup of tea on the deck listening to the music.) I have heard of dairy farmers playing music as they milked the cows and got a greater yield.
   
     To be fair I looked up Masaru Emoto’s book “Messages in Water” and there were a number of people who said he was a hoax, that the experiments with rice didn’t work. I considered that for a while as I taught that for years, saw the pictures of the water crystals, heard and saw Mr. Emoto on a DVD and at least one home schooler in this area got the same results at the book said. Why is that?
   
     So my conclusion is this – Did they approach the experiment with a pure heart? Did they have an unbelieving attitude? Was their home environment negative? Did they place the glass jars in the refrigerator? Did they write on papers with the words facing in? Did they cook the rice in chlorinated water? One girl I saw on the internet used plastic containers on a windowsill, possibly leaching out the plastic? Perhaps that altered their results (?)
   
     The American translation of Emoto’s book is The Hidden Messages in Water. I do not believe the evolution part of the book or the assumption how water came to this earth. But the most of the rest I feel is valid.

     I leave that up to you - with love and gratitude.

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    Joanna Barrett, RN, CITC

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