Off to Camp

For the last week, there’s been a flurry of activity around here to get the girls ready for camp.  Sonja’s pink footlocker and Erika’s powder blue one came down from the attic.  CAMP looms large for the girls especially since they missed it last summer because of the pandemic.  This will be Erika’s fifth summer and Sonja’s third at Camp Minewanka.  The camp is located on the shore of Lake MIchigan hardly a mile from where we used to rent the DeJong cabin for the family summer vacation.  Paula took them on many trips to the mall to get all their supplies on the long list.  They need 3 bathing suits each and some special clothing with no cotton in them to wear in the rain!  Last week was also sweet because I felt the girls intentionally spent more time with me.  To be sure, I helped that out by having two craft activities set up during the week.  First we painted glass with Testor’s model paint.  Erika chose a pint mason jar with a handle and painted yellow roses on it.  I was impressed how she googled “how to paint a rose” and got instructions, then practiced the steps on a piece of paper.  Me?  I just painted cherries on the salt shakers and then decorated around the glass.  I painted a couple of other simple projects too.  Sonja ran off before she started.  Second, I set up to make collage greeting cards.  I went fast making a number of them, while Sonja and Erika took their time and created beautiful cards.  It was fun to be working together in our bright porch.  Sonja came over Friday morning just as we were driving off with the invitation to go to Groovy Donuts together.  We made a date for Saturday morning.  It was mentioned many times, so I realized clearly this was a special treat.  Saturday morning at 10:15 after a tennis lesson and picking up their dirty clothes, we headed out to the Donut Shop.  They spotted it first, “It’s the place with the purple storefront, Gramma” they excitedly called out.  We went in and it was hard for us to choose from the sumptuous display.  As we waited in line I told them about the Helms Man truck with baked goods that used to come by our house once a week with a jingle to call us out.  How I loved the raised donuts they had!  So I got a groovy donut: a raised donut with fancy purple, green, pink and yellow lines of frosting on it.  Erika got a chocolate donut with chocolate frosting and sprinkles and Sonja got one with filling, a Napoleon.  Returning, the girls set off to seriously pack their footlockers with all the gear they need for three weeks at camp.  It was a big task.  We were there to cheer them off the next morning.  They were so excited as Paula drove them off to camp.  We won’t see them again this summer.  When they got there, Paula said the girls were “over the moon, happy to see the camp and returning friends.”  I know they will have a wonderful time full of adventures and fun.  I am so happy for them.   Across the miles, our other granddaughter, Elsa also left for camp yesterday.  I can’t wait to hear about all her adventures at Mountain Camp in Pollock Pines in the Sierra Mountains.  What fun for them all!  

Small Things

 Sitting here with my morning coffee on our sunny porch, I’m thinking about change, small changes and big changes that disrupt our lives.  Here in the Midwest, green lawns are everywhere.  Every house in our neighborhood, the Bailey neighborhood, has a green green lawn perfectly manicured.  Coupled with all the big green trees, there is a curtain and carpet of green everywhere.  My ruminations this morning are interrupted by the noise of a lawn mower at the Pump House Park kitty corner from our house.  Grass grows, dust settles, and imperceptibly change is happening.  We all seek the comfort of familiar habits, places and people.  Talking to my friends, recently,  I’ve been saddened by their hard news.  Falls, fires, cancer are all big disruptive changes.  We live cartwheeling along a cliff of potential catastrophe.  When something happens, we are shocked.  But constancy is an illusion.  Things can change in an instant.  Recently we had a near miss when a car sped through a red light and only missed us by 10 feet or so.  In fact change is happening all the time, like the grass growing and dust settling on the clean floor.  We choose not to see it, until we do.  Living systems maintain balance with homeostasis.  Disruptive change sets in motion equal and opposite changes which function to restore balance.  I don’t know exactly what the remedy is.  Living in constant fear of change isn’t helpful and paralyzes us.  Living in la-la land keeping change totally out of our mind isn’t helpful either, we need to take reasonable precautions.  I remember a story from when my mother had cancer.  My sister and I had accompanied her to see Dr. Rosenfeld, her oncologist.  At one point during the visit, he said to her in a frustrated tone of voice, “You do know you have cancer, don’t you?”  Yes, she knew, but she chose not to give the cancer energy by worrying about it.   She taught me we must hold the tension of both, knowing change can happen at any moment, while still enjoying and appreciating the good in our life and the world.

A Vacation in a Vacation

We’re back from a fabulous week of vacation with the family up north in the little picturesque town of Glen Arbor.  In March, Paula made reservations at the Glen Arbor B and B on the assumption Covid restrictions would be eased by now, mid-June.  “It was wide open then,” she said.  “Now it’s fully booked through the summer as everyone wants to be off in a lovely resort area on vacation.”  We were so comfortable. There was a cabin for Paul and Paula and Sonja.  It gave Paula a place for her two days of work.  Bob and I had the Good Harbor Suite, a beautiful bedroom with an entry to a private porch and a sitting room where we could all fit and watch a movie (Mama Mia) last night.  Erik had his own room and Erika and her friend who came along also had their own room.  Our accommodations were spacious and perfect!  The breakfasts each morning were first rate, amazing and a highlight of the trip.  The eight of us sat at the big dining room table.  We were served each morning a breakfast more creative and delicious than the day before.  Laura, the cook and host, took pleasure in cooking and watching us enjoy our meal and linger at the table enjoying each other’s company.   Each of the three full days had it’s own adventure.  Tuesday, it was biking along the extensive bike trail that went past Sleeping Bear Dunes and Glen Lakes and then through the forest.  Bob and I opted out as the number twenty was thrown around for mileage and it’s been a long time since either of us has been on a bike.  It turned out perfectly.  They were over ambitious and called Bob to come and rescue them in the little town of Empire about 10 miles away.   That morning we enjoyed the opening day of the Farmer’s Market.  There were as many artisans as farmers at this market and it was very interesting.  I bought what I came for, three Petkosky stone key rings to give to the family with a key to our new house on it.  We were told to try the prize winning apricot croissants from 9 Bean Coffee.  I bought some to take to dinner at the home of the one who gave us the tip.  Tuesday night we all went to dinner to our friend’s home at the Homestead, a resort just out of town.  There were twelve of us at the modern table in the tasteful super modern home with a view of Lake Michigan.  The conversation was lively blending into music after dinner.  It was fun to see Paul play the guitar and sing his heart out.  Wednesday, six of us went on a hike over the Sleeping Bear dunes to Lake Michigan.  Hiking the dunes the challenge was to keep my feet happy.  The crocs I thought would be great, soon filled up with sand and I found myself walking ten feet, then having to stop to empty the shoes.  After a bit of this, I gave up and hiked barefoot on the hot sand.  There were many daunting dunes.  Just when we thought we were at the Lake, we’d come to the top of the dune and see more to come.  After an hour and a half, we made it to the Lake and the cool water felt wonderful on my parched feet.  The three girls made it 20 minutes ahead of us oldies.  We ate the peanut butter sandwiches and Cuties.   They tasted great on the sandy beach.  The return walk seemed shorter.  I felt so happy I was physically able to do this.  My phones app said I’d walked 5.7 miles.  Thursday our adventure was to go kayaking on the Crystal River just out of Glen Arbor.  It meanders back and forth through the nearby forest.  The river was very shallow because of the lack of rain this spring and challenging to maneuver because of all the sandbars, snags and dead trees overhanging the river.  I spotted fish of every size up to a few really big ones.  I saw two kingfishers.  For me the kayaking was more challenging than the hiking, but most of the group felt the other way.  I loved the beauty of the late spring flowers, the water iris, blue and yellow and the water lilies we saw.  There were many dragon flies and blackbirds.  It was a lovely way to spend three hours.  After eating in three different restaurants for dinner, we opted on Thursday to barbecue hot dogs on the grill by the cabin.  It tasted good to have simple finger food of hot dogs, watermelons, carrots and s’mores.  This morning’s breakfast outdid all the others I thought.  We lingered longer as it was the end of our lovely vacation in a vacation, thanks to Paula.  As Bob said, it is just so wonderful to have nothing to do but enjoy ourselves being with the family.  

The Pandemic is Easing

 The pandemic is easing here.  Michigan numbers now are almost as low as California’s numbers. There are signs of this everywhere.  Last night, Paula got tickets for the whole family to go to the movies together!  We saw “In the Heights” on the first day of its release.  What a thrill to all go to the movies.  As the previews ended, the producer Lin-Manuel Miranda and the director Jon Chu came on the screen and profusely thanked the audience for coming to the movies once again.  We thought that lots of people would flood the theater for this opening, which is why Paula chose the last show at 9:30.  The large theater had maybe 20 people in it, so it’s not like everyone is coming out.  We all wore masks in the lobby and getting into our assigned seats.  But once the movie started, sitting in the dark, I remember taking off one side of my mask just to breathe better.  Much later, I wondered where I’d put the mask.  It had fallen on the floor.  A good sign of things changing.

The movie was a 2 1/2 hour musical extravaganza filled with singing and dancing.  Bob called it “West Side Story” on steroids.  The theme was about the seeking the American dream, struggles encountered, love and Hispanic culture in Washington Heights (where it was filmed) in New York City.  I thought it was really well acted.  I loved the number of children they had as extras—-children running and flipping and skate-boarding, appearing in the background in many scenes.  There was a joyous scene of children frolicking in a huge community swimming pool and another time playing in huge streams of water bursting forth from fire hydrants.  The joy of Hispanic culture really came through in rhythms, dance and song and I couldn’t help but smile and feel joyful watching it.  

Life here in E. Lansing is slowly returning to normal.  Yesterday was a very hot humid day and Paula and Sonja went to the swimming pool at the gym.  Paula said it was filled with lots of kids playing just like before the pandemic.  Today Paul’s pottery guild is having its first sale in more than a year, outside under tents at the Guild.  Yesterday Paul took out a big box of his pottery to sell and today he’s at one of the check-out tables.  I could tell the potters there were happy to be back and see each other again after so long. The local Farmer’s Market is open again, even though everyone still wears masks.  Last week, there were 55 vendors there!  We notice nearly every day a new return to normalcy such as going into the local bookstore.  I hadn’t been in a bookstore in person for a year and a half.  What I noticed was the smell of the books.  It’s good to notice and honor each and every return to normalcy with joy and gratitude. When I think of my experience, I remember soberly the nearly 600,000 people who have died from Covid just in the US.   I think about all the people who are grieving losses.  How fortunate we have been.  And now, I want to notice every new beginning and celebrate the gradually coming recovery.  

State Tennis Championships

Our oldest granddaughter, Erika, spent her freshman year at E. Lansing High School on-line.  The first time she went to an activity was when she tried out for the Girls’ Tennis team.  She made varsity which thrilled not only her, but all of us rooting for her.  We’ve gone to all the matches we could since we arrived in early May.  The team did really well.  They won their League, then the quarter finals and semi-finals and placed in the Division Two regional finals so they were given a place at the State Championships.  Yesterday Erika was dropped off at the high school to get on the bus with her thirteen other team players to go to Midland, Michigan.  The team spent the night in a motel.  A first for Erika.  They first went to the Dow Arboretum to have a look around, then had a pizza dinner.  Paul said she was nervous when he dropped her off, not about the tennis playing, but about the social activities.  He told us Erika said, “it will be a relief to be on the court playing tennis.”  Naomi Osaka would agree with her, I’m sure.  

Today we drove up to Midland to support Erika and see the match.  The drive through central Michigan was a treat.  The landscape charmed me, gently rolling hills with lines of trees between the many corn and wheat fields.  I love the traditional Dutch barns, especially the ones painted red.  Google routed us off the main highway through corn and wheat fields and copses of beautiful green Michigan trees.  As we entered Graniot County, I noticed a huge Wind Turbine, then I saw five and then more and more. Bob read that there are 68 wind turbines in Graniot County which provide enough clean energy to fuel 64,000 homes.  It was surprising to see the huge white turbines against the rural landscape, a visual oxymoron.

When we got to Dow High School in Midland, Michigan (a huge brand new high school) and found the tennis courts at the back of the facility, we saw there were 8 courts and many canopies, one for each school participating.  We walked around the whole place looking for Paul and Paula and Erika.  It was very hot.  After a while, we found them all.  Erika was to play around 1:30, at the first available court.  It turned out to be a middle court where the only place to sit was in the boiling hot midday sun against a brick building radiating even more heat.  The temperature must have been 95 degrees.  It was hard for me to focus.  After a while I moved to a shady corridor where I could only see from the corner.  It was hard to follow who won a game and how many games had been played.  The teams were pretty evenly matched I thought.  E. Lansing won the first set 6:4 and then lost the second one 6:3.  As the third set began, they’d been playing in the midday hot sun for around two hours.  The games were long, often tied, going back and forth ace-deuce.  Sadly Portage-Central (a suburb of Kalamazoo) pulled off the victory, winning the third set 6:3.  At this level, when you lose, you’re out and go home.  We all rushed to leave to get back to E. Lansing asap as Paul, Bob and Sonja headed out to drive to Cincinnati where Sonja is trying out to be a ball girl at a big professional tennis match there in August.  Tennis is big in this family. 

What struck me about this tennis tournament was the high level of support the girls all got from parents and coaches.  As the girls walked by us (our hot watching place was on a main thoroughfare) I thought how very lucky they all are to be here and to have this opportunity.  I represents so much hard work by all the girls and all the teams.  The experience is really the most important thing.  Winning is fun, losing is hard, but everyone gets to play and feel very good for getting to this highest level of competition in MIchigan high school tennis.  Hooray for Erika!!!!! And E. Lansing Varisity Girls Tennis Team!!!!