Wilderness Survival Class

This year, something unexpected happened.  Richard had an idea for a class that he wanted to offer for our homeschool group.  After receiving positive feedback, he collected resources, dove into research and scouted locations.  We sent out a few emails, and before long, he was teaching a wilderness survival course!

And though he claims not to be a real teacher, the fact that both classes have been a success may prove otherwise.  He is great with kids and works hard to make difficult concepts clear. He presents tough challenges to engage their interest.  I've learned some things too, although I'm not a very good student and like to chat with my friends during class.  (Moms will always find reasons to talk with one another!)  Having  friends also helps me to manage my fears about returning to the woods and hiking off trail.  I wonder if they noticed my apprehension about hiking in ankle deep leaf litter, the favorite home of copperheads....

Or through tall grass and underbrush, the ideal habitat for the dreaded, potentially disease carrying ticks.  You thought I was going to say bears, didn't you?  Black bears sometimes pass through our area (even going downtown!) in the spring, so there is still a chance for me to have another encounter.

With Richard's RMSF,  I worry more about the tiny things with teeth than the big things with teeth.  Could it be possible that one day my paranoia about bears will be overcome by my greater fear of insignificantly tiny ticks?

The kids in our class (except for Elliot) are not aware that I have fear.  They weren't aware that all of our clothes were treated with pymetherin and that our skin was slathered with Deet.  They don't know my bear story, which turned into a four day long panic attack.  Being on home territory did help me to relax, but more than anything it was the group that made this a positive, easier experience.

  Making new friends, sharing stories and learning together has enriched us and given us more than we expected.  Our friend Jamy, who writes at Joy 365 recently blogged about our last class.  I'm going to send you to her blog today because I know you will enjoy her writing, her wit and her excellent photography!

http://365happythings.blogspot.com/2014/05/103-wilderness-survival-5214.html?spref=fb

photo credit Jamy Gearhart

photo credit Jamy Gearhart

photo credit Jamy Gearhart

photo credit Jamy Gearhart

photo credit Jamy Gearhart

photo credit Jamy Gearhart

Richard's Life Threatening Illness

This lesson was almost learned too late.

Today is my birthday, and my gift is that I get to share this day with my husband. That he is still alive is a miracle.

Recently we visited our family in Missouri.  We explored wooded areas at the back of a field.  Richard came home with two ticks, both of which I removed.

Both bites swelled the skin. One made a great big fat red and white bull's eye.

I urged him to go to the doctor RIGHT AWAY.  He thought if it was lyme, he would have plenty of time and could wait to come home before seeing a doctor.  Do all men think they are invincible?

His mom and I bothered and pestered him until he went to a local physician, who promptly prescribed a very powerful antibiotic called doxycycline. 

Within two days of the tick bite, he was treated for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.  We did not really know what that was.

Only after seeing a doctor yesterday, did we become aware of how serious this is.  We did not know that if he recovers, we still have to be on guard against relapse.

"RMSF is a serious illness that can be fatal in the first eight days of symptoms if not treated correctly, even in previously healthy people. The progression of the disease varies greatly. Patients who are treated early may recover quickly on outpatient medication, while those who experience a more severe course may require intravenous antibiotics, prolonged hospitalization or intensive care." (Centers for Disease Control)

If he had waited several days more, DEATH was likely.  This type of tick contained rickettsii.  Rickettsii affect the cells that line the blood vessels.  

"The damage that occurs in the blood vessels results in a disease process called a "vasculitis", and bleeding or clotting in the brain or other vital organs may occur. Loss of fluid from damaged vessels can result in loss of circulation to the extremities and damaged fingers, toes or even limbs may ultimately need to be amputated. Patients who suffer this kind of severe vasculitis in the first two weeks of illness may also be left with permanent long-term health problems such as profound neurological deficits, or damage to internal organs. Those who do not have this kind of vascular damage in the initial stages of the disease typically recover fully within several days to months. "(CDC)

So about a minute after reading that yesterday, I wept in a nervous, shaking, mental break-down kind of way.

The doctor here at home in NC is now monitoring him for relapse.  So far, Richard has responded positively to the antibiotic and is slowly slowly beginning to improve.  He still has pain and soreness, which is likely to stay with him for at least two more months.


Upon further research, we discovered that RMSF outbreaks are occurring here in North Carolina too.

Today we are heading back out to the woods, because Richard is teaching a wilderness survival class! Can you guess how much I want to go outdoors now?

Richard recently celebrated his birthday.  I had no idea then that it might not have happened. 

Please pray that Richard recovers fully, with no relapse.  We are going to stay positive, and put our intentions on good health.

On the Culture of Positivity and Realism

Perhaps it goes against realism to only write through a positive lens.  Maybe it's unlikely that anyone would take me seriously as a writer if I never struggled with anything.

I do have challenges.  And weakness.  And frustrating situations that when unexpressed, cloud my vision as if I were walking through a smoky forest fire. Yesterday I wrote a very negative post about an encounter I had with someone who frustrates me.  And each hour the post stayed up, I felt increasingly unwell.

Even though I didn't name names, it felt like a low down thing to share.  But I learned from it.  I was aware of how sending out negativity did not solve my difficulty, but kept me focused on the bad feelings.  And nothing I will ever write will change the person who sends me to the roof and whom I occasionally have to encounter.

So focusing on the person outside of me didn't help.  It was real, and it was raw, but it wasn't good for me.

Healing and joy started to return the very moment I took the post down.

And then later in the evening, I watched a superb talk by Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York.  Brandon was candid and sparkling on the topic of his surprisingly short trajectory of success.  He's been photographing strangers for four years.  His photography skills are average.  But Brandon does something no one else thought to do:  he interviews his subjects about intimate details of their lives.  If you have yet to encounter his work, I know you will be delighted by the discovery of HONY.

 I connected with several of Brandon's thoughts.  I felt less self conscious about my blog header when hearing "it's more important to be different than to be good," (when you need to stand out).  Eventually I hope to write under my name, but I still have yet to make the leap.

I also was captivated by his values.  It's important for his work to maintain a "culture of positivity".  This doesn't mean that tough issues and social problems are avoided, as he often asks his subjects to tell about their current struggle.  What he hopes to see in the commentary is positivity, where people are inspired to offer encouragement despite the problem.  The result is a perfect balance of realism mixed with positivity.  Not the realism of broadcast news mixed with the negative commentary that fuels the fear mongering machine.

What does this mean for me as a writer?  It's so confusing to have negative emotions take over my head, then feel limited because I hold those back.  Brenda Ueland advises, "write like a pirate, like a lion!"  The goal being truth!

Why should I be so afraid of the truth?

I am discovering that what has become a priority for me is not more expression of the low feelings.  My well being depends on refocusing my efforts towards creating for the expression of gratitude, of love, of the simple awareness of beauty, of color, of texture, of the journey through different experiences that add light.

Every day comes with at least one problem. People around me are going to behave the way they behave, and that's okay if I don't like it, or if it is offensive.    I can look in another direction.  Dig a new fountain pond with Elliot. Plant the garden.  Ride my bike like a beast up a super long, steep hill.  I can sit in my meditation room and listen to the soothing voice of Deepak while the cat comes in to purr on my lap.  I can hand paint a greeting card, or return to working on my writing project.  I can open my dusty horn case and practice the new (old favorite) music I found at a second hand store.  I can cook something delicous and have a little feast.  All of what I need comes from within.  I've been practicing at the skills that bring me closer to myself.

The point for me here is not to dwell long in the problem.  It solves nothing for me to stay focused in those socially difficult areas.  My happiness comes from the process of creating.  It comes from within my own being as an expression of spirit.

Why can't realism be happy and beautiful too?

Elliot's Photography

I have just been scanning through the recent photographs of our trip to the Asheboro Zoo.  Several of Elliot's photos captured a feeling that I often miss.

Like what it feels like to be in captivity.

Photo credit Elliot Hoppins

Photo Credit Elliot Hoppins

Photo Credit Elliot Hoppins

While I was snapping away, looking for color and composition, he was looking for feeling.  The camera shows an extension of his heart.  A heart that was troubled often during our visit.  Elliot's consciousness is awakening to some hard truths about our environment.  He also recognizes that many people visiting the zoo behave in disrespectful ways.  Often when we were at an exhibit, he would ask to move on when a group of children, teens and even adults were loud, showing off for their friends and acting whiny when animals would not properly pose for photographs.

By the end of our visit, we were more aware of human behavior in groups than we were of the animals enduring their day behind the fence.

We decided that the aviary was the happiest, most peaceful spot in the entire zoo.

Two Days to Get Here

Two Days To Get Here

Blooming Redbuds on the purple mountain

Topped with floating gray white felted cloud mass

Skipping down the peaks.

Wet rock profile old Cherokee face

In ancient stone.  Blue back packed hikers cross

the highway on the Appalachian Trail.

We search the bare forest for dark moving

Masses, rounded shape of black bear mother

slender spring cub clinging to Beech bark branch.

I can only imagine their presence, 

the dark mounds I glimpse turning into sap

Bulging like basketballs on the gray trunks.

Tender baby green leaves bud out on branch

The wakening forest spreads out her green

As we ride the curving climbing highway

Through dynamite blasted tunnel, the pass

Opening to five lanes of rushing speed.

Clouds as benevolent Spirit beings

Appear on the blue sky theater stage.

Their drifting dance a pictoral language

While they smoosh together and separate.

A dinosaur cow dances with a pig.

A magician blows a handful of smoke.

A funny shark swims with a Star Wars ship.

An elephant holding a teddy bear

Floats past a boy about to go fishing.

Ophelia looks to the heavens and sighs.

We suck saltwater taffy, banana.

Buttered popcorn, huckleberry and orange.

We see bison in a pen on the plains.

We see homeless men in weathered faces.

Spring tries to catch us in the hilly farms.

At the bottom of one hill, we find home.

Happiness Jar: Ninjas and Bridges

I have fallen out of habit once again.   The happiness jar sits on my stereo, half full.

But now I'm reminded to fill it with the upswelling of love that continues to float around my heart.

Like observing how  Elliot is cultivating a source of joy for his life through acts of giving.  Last month he raised 125 dollars for his cause through a bake sale. We delivered the funds on Friday.  The conversations he shared with the organizers at the IRC day center can only be described as effervescent.   Elliot is bubbly on an ordinary day, but was popping with charm in this special place where people gather to simply "be."

 While we drove away to celebrate giving with ice cream, he said "I feel so happy.  This is the best feeling."

Elliot is learning that giving is a renewable resource for feel-good living.   When I asked him what the highlight of his weekend was, delivering his "ninja bread" money to help people experiencing homelessness was at the top of the list.

It was even more special than wining first place in a bridge building contest.

And that teaches me something about my own ambition.

After the bridge competition, Elliot went back to "work" on a new t shirt design based on his original Elliot's Ninja character "Ninjability."  Ninjability represents the spirit of ability in the face of adversity and challenge.  This character developed in collaboration with our friend James Terpenning, who won a contest on Elliot's Ninja Art Facebook page.  James helped Elliot to understand that people who navigate the world by wheels often have abilities that exceed normal expectations.  As a member of the basketball team "The Rolling Hoopstars," winner of Extreme Home Makeover, and one of the orphans who were flown out of Vietnam during Operation Babylift, James inspires us by his incredible life story and the impact he makes in his community.

Here is the latest version of Ninjability, which Elliot plans to list in his Etsy shop this week.

Living History

This weekend, we were spectators of war.

It was part of our unit study on the Revolution.  Elliot and I have been learning about the events that led the colonists to unite and declare independence. Each spring, there is a battle reenactment on the grounds of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.  It is an impressive display of gorgeous costumes and camps.   

Elliot was able to sit near the front row of the battlefield.  

We learned that the Religious Society of Friends set up a temporary hospital in the meeting house.  A mass grave of Revolutionary War Veterans from both sides exists in the cemetery.