Random – Page 10 – Susan's Reflections

Celebrating 30 years in 15 days: Days 11 and 12–Talkeetna

After two days in Seward we headed north to Talkeetna, passing through Anchorage on the way. The drive from Seward to Anchorage was beautiful, with waterfalls, rivers, and amazing views everywhere we looked.

Upon arrival in Talkeetna, we took a plane flight for a better view of Mt. McKinley. Steve was permitted to ride in the co-pilot’s seat. Our plane landed on the Kahiltna Glacier near Mt. Foraker and dropped off supplies for climbers preparing to ascend Mt. McKinley. The glacial ice showing through the snow was a brilliant blue.

Base camp for climbers preparing to ascend Mt. McKinley.

Talkeetna was my favorite of all the towns we visited. It was filled with locally-owned shops and restaurants. I enjoyed shopping for handmade items created by local residents. Among my purchases were a seal skin thimble, salmnberry jam, and a birchbark candle. We ate at The Roadhouse, which was featured in an episode of ‘Man versus Food.’

Steve's blueberry pancake was larger than his plate.

We stayed at the beautiful Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

Celebrating 30 years in 15 days: Days 9 and 10–Seward

Our cruise ended in Seward, Alaska. While there we visited Exit Glacier, went on a dog sled ride at Iditaride Dog Sleds, and toured Resurrection Bay. While hiking up the mountain to get close to the Glacier, we encountered a jack rabbit and saw evidence that moose were in the area. Unfortunately, we did not see a moose in Seward.

Mitch Seavey, winner of the 2004 Iditarod, trains dogs in Seward and owns Iditaride Dog Sled Rides. I first heard of Mitch when his nephew and nieces were my students at Fredericksburg Christian High School. It was neat to visit their training facility and, we had a blast being pulled on a wheeled 6-person cart by a team of their racing dogs. Afterwards we got to play with the puppies.

Our tour of Resurrection Bay took place on a chilly day. The animals were out in full force, however. We saw several mountain goats, including two mothers with twin babies, puffins, dolphins, a sea otter, and numerous sea lions on the rocks. We lunched on grilled salmon and king crab.

Celebrating 30 years in 15 days: Days 6 – 8–Juneau, Skagway, and Hubbard Glacier

Cruising the Inside Passage, there were magnificant sights everywhere we looked. Whether it was the snow-capped mountains on both shores or humpback whales swimming passed the ship, I could not help but thank God for His wondrous creation.

Inside Passage between Icy Point Strait and Juneau

In Juneau we went to a salmon bake in a beautiful, remote setting. The salmon grilled on the open fire pit was delicious. The waterfall and river were stunning.

We also took a tram ride and were greeted with incredible views. We ended our day in Juneau by visiting Mendenhall Glacier. What a glorious day in Alaska’s capital city!

: Mendenhall Glacier

Skagway was exactly what I envisioned when I thought of a typical small Alaskan town. The town flourished during the gold rush days. Today it boasts a year-round population of 902. We spent the morning roaming through shops owned by the local residents. In the afternoon we took a van tour through the mountains and into Canada. We passed more hundreds of waterfalls.

Steve and I at the Canadian-Alaska border near Skagway

There aren’t words to describe the immensity of Hubbard Glacier. We were several miles from the glacier when we began to pass the large chunks of ice that had broken from it. The captain brought our ship to within 2 miles of the massive glacier. Even from that distance, it was impressive. It was impossible to get a feel for how far away we were or of the glacier’s massive size. A ship’s officer told me that the portion of the glacier visible above the water was twice the height of our 12 -deck ship.

Celebrating 30 years in 15 days: Day 5–Whales, Whales, Whales

We spent Day 5 of our 30th anniversary trip at Icy Point Strait. We visited the fishing village of Hoonah and ate fresh snow crab before embarking on a whale watching trip. What a glorious day! As you can see from Steve’s pictures, the ship captain knew where to find whales.

We spotted whales by looking for the spray from their blow holes.

: Two whales surface together.

Celebrating 30 years in 15 days–Days 2 – 4: Inside Passage and Ketchikan

The cruise got underway on a beautiful clear Friday afternoon 10 days ago. We sailed out of Vancouver and headed north toward Ketchikan. Steve and I spent much of the first two days searching for telltale signs of whales. We saw a few dolphins and some seals, but no whales.

On Sunday we docked in Ketchikan. We spent the morning walking around this quaint gold mining town. We ate fresh king crab for lunch before taking in the Lumber Jack show.

Celebrating 30 years in 15 days–Day 1: Vancouver

Steve and I are in the midst of a 15-day trip to Canada and Alaska in celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary. So far Steve has taken 782 pictures. I promise I won’t post them all, but I will share a few of my favorites.

We began our trip last Thursday by flying to Vancouver, Canada, by way of Chicago. I’ve heard horrors stories about O’Hare; however, our experience was wonderful. We arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule and more than our hour before boarding began for our flight to Vancouver. We had plenty of time for the short walk to the gate and to get some breakfast. We arrived in Vancouver shortly before noon local time. We had a bit more than 24 hours to explore Vancouver before boarding the cruise ship that would take us to Alaska.

Vancouver skyline from our hotel room window

Vancouver is a beautiful city, with a mix of hundred-year old buildings and new, modern skyscrapers. The city is very clean, and they take their recycling seriously. Steve got fussed at for not properly deciphering the instructions on a series of recycling bins at the McDonald’s where we ate breakfast Friday.

After checking into the hotel, we ate lunch at an authentic Irish pub a block from our hotel, and then bought a pass for a “hop on, hop off” bus tour around the city. Because we bought our ticket late in the afternoon, we were allowed to use it the following day. We stayed on the bus for both of its routes Thursday, and on Friday we took the bus to Stanley Park.

River Walk at Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada

We hopped off at the first stop in Stanley Park intending to spend 30 minutes exploring the area before hopping back on and riding to the next stop. Things do not go as planned. We walked about half a mile downhill to visit Beaver Lake, then we decided that we did not want to walk back up the hill to catch the bus. Rather we decided to walk to the next stop. Thirty minutes later with the stop nowhere in sight, we realized that our reasoning had been faulty. We eventually made it to the stop, having walked about 3 miles through the park.

3 nurse trees growing from one stump, Stanley Park

Stanley Park is beautiful, and I highly recommend spending time there if you have an opportunity to visit Vancouver. We were particularly intrigued by the nurse trees which root themselves in dead tree stumps.

Our hotel was located next to Canada Place where the 2010 Winter Olympics medals were handed out and about 2 blocks from the Olympic cauldron. We visited the site and made a quick trip to the Canadian Mountie store before boarding the ship.

: Canadian Mountie store

We were off for our Alaskan adventure!

Unemployment, Cancer, Grandchildren, and Trusting God Through It All

Cancer and unemployment are the difficult things in my life right now, and grandchildren are the phenomenal blessings. Through these ups and downs, I am learning to trust God and am reminded that he is with me through all the circumstances of life.

A year and a half ago, Steve and I were blessed with the news that our first grandchild was expected. That joyful announcement came at a time when we really needed some good news. We were approaching the first anniversary of Steve being laid off, and his parents’ health was of great concern. The expected baby was a reminder of God’s great love for us.

The intervening months were stressful as Steve’s unemployment stretched into a second year and his father passed away. Whenever I felt like life was just too difficult, my spirits would be lifted be the mere thought that a baby was on the way. Daniel’s arrival ten months ago brought great joy to our lives. We love that little boy with all of our hearts. We thank God daily that he is a healthy, happy child.

About six weeks ago, we learned that my sister has breast cancer. Although they caught it early and the tumor was rather small, the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and has been diagnosed as an aggressive form. Fortunately, the cancer has not spread to her organs. She is facing months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. It will be a difficult time. I will do all that I can to support her, and I pray that she will experience God’s presence in a new and powerful way as she deals with her illness.

My sister’s cancer diagnosis, along with Steve’s continued unemployment—now well into its third year—can be a heavy burden to bear. The past few weeks, these burdens have felt overwhelming at times. I know I have to trust God for my sister’s health and my husband’s job situation. He is faithful to send bits of encouragement to remind me of his faithfulness. For example, one day last week the number of page views of my blog was unexpected much higher than normal. I was delighted. The next day was even better, setting a record for my highest number of views in one day. It wasn’t a big thing, and it didn’t change any of the circumstances of my life. However, God used this small thing to remind me of his love for me and to help me feel relevant.

I called my sister today to share with her some unexpected good news Steve and I received yesterday. She shared with me that the original diagnosis of Stage 1 cancer had been overly optimistic; after her lumpectomy, the cancer was reclassified as Stage 3. God knew that I would receive this discouraging news today, so yesterday he sent us the good news another grandchild is on the way.

Little Daniel will be getting a cousin in December. The new little one is due on December 27^th. A Christmas baby to look forward to! It doesn’t improve my sister’s health or increase my husband’s opportunities for gaining employment. It does, however, remind us that we are blessed and have a great future ahead of us. We will continue to trust God for the strength to face each day with grace, knowing that his love for us is immeasurable.

Chasing the Ice Cream Truck

You know spring has arrived when the ice cream truck begins making its rounds. One made its first appearance of the year in our neighborhood last Saturday. We let it pass our house without stopping but several of our neighbors flagged the driver down to purchase his sugary confections. Apparently, the warm, sunny day brought ice cream trucks out in full force across our community. Our pastor noticed one in his neighborhood and made mention of it in his Sunday sermon.

The coming of the ice cream truck stirs excitement in the hearts of children and adults alike. We hear the truck long before we see it. The familiar music wafts through the air, and we run outside to see if the truck is headed towards us or if it is passing us by. When I was a kid, we used to send one sibling outside to signal the driver to stop while the rest of us looked for change with which to make our purchases. It didn’t matter that our freezer was always stocked with ice cream and probably a couple of boxes of frozen treats. The coming of the ice cream man was an event no one wanted to miss.

We introduced our oldest son to the ice cream truck the summer he turned two. Chris was a bit scared by the loud music, but he was thrilled with the treat the ice cream man gave him. We probably only made a couple of purchases from the ice cream truck that summer and fall, but it was enough to make an impression on our son. At that time we lived in north central Florida where the ice cream season is quite long. Yet, at least four or five months passed between the ice cream truck’s last appearance in the fall and its re-emergence in the spring.

I’ll never forgot the day in early March when we heard the sounds of the ice cream truck coming down the street. Chris knew exactly what the music signaled, and he was determined to buy ice cream. The twins were nearly a year old. I had just settled them into their high chairs and given them teething biscuits to chew on. This was the first time I had put them in their chairs without another adult being present. I explained to Chris that we would not be able to buy ice cream this time, as I couldn’t leave the babies alone while I looked for money and went outside. Chris seemed to understand and ran off to play in his room. Or so I thought.

A strange noise coming from his room alerted me that all was not as it should be. I ran down the hall in time to see him escape out his bedroom window. Fortunately, the window was very low to the ground. I ran back down the hall to the kitchen to check on the babies before dashing out the front door to find my two-year old chasing after the ice cream truck. I caught him in the next door neighbor’s yard and carried him home as he kicked and cried. All the while I was praying that nothing bad had happened to the twins. I found them just as I had left them, happily chewing on their cookies and making as big a mess as possible.

As the lure of the ice cream man was more than my two-year old could resist and I didn’t want a repeat of the day’s events, I developed strategies to cope with the ice cream truck. I tried to learn the ice cream man’s routine and timed errands to coincide with his visits to our neighborhood. For those times when we would be home, I kept a bowl of change by the front door to simplify the ice cream buying process. If the twins were awake, I would put them in the playpen while I went out with Chris to buy ice cream. On the occasions when they were in their high chairs, I positioned myself at the front door where I could keep one eye on the twins in the kitchen and the other on Chris as he ordered a “fudgy cicle” or whatever treat he wanted that day. The ice cream man usually managed to decipher Chris’ order, but on occasion I had to yell it out from my post at the front door.

We managed to get through the summer with no more escapes out the bedroom window. By the next summer, all three little boys anxiously watched for the ice cream truck out the front window as they stood on the back of the couch. They would climb down and run to the front door as soon as they heard its familiar music. The bowl of change was always close at hand. Those are memories I will cherish all my life.

What are your favorite memories of chasing the ice cream truck?

Daylight Savings Time, Spring, and My Top Ten Vacation Dreams

Daylight savings time arrived Sunday morning, bringing with it the promise of spring, longer days, and thoughts of vacation. For many years I lived hundreds of miles from my family, and my greatest wish for a vacation was to come back to beautiful Virginia and visit my family. I looked forward to spending time with my parents, my seven siblings, and my many nieces and nephews.

Ten years ago we moved back to Virginia. I get to see my parents every Sunday at church and often once or twice during the week. Our children are grown and live nearby, and most of my siblings are within easy driving distance of us. I am so blessed to be able to see many of my siblings several times a year. I love getting to watch their children grow up and participating in major events in their lives.

Another advantage of seeing family regularly is that vacation has now become an opportunity for Steve and I to go away by ourselves and experience new places. We love the beach and warm weather. Consequently, most of our vacations have been Caribbean cruises. This year, however, we will head in the opposite direction when we visit Alaska. For many years, it has been my desire to see America’s wilderness frontier state, so this trip will be a dream come true. We will definitely head for a warmer climate next year.

We are finding that our vacation appetite outweighs our vacation budget—monetarily and time wise. We will never make it to all the great vacation places that we have read about. So, I’ve decided to make a bucket list of the ten places I most want to visit.

1) The Florida Keys—I can’t believe that we lived in Florida for twenty years and never visited the Keys. It’s probably because Gainesville is 350 miles from Key West, and my heart was always longing for Virginia.

2) The Grand Canyon—It would be a shame to live in America and never see one of God’s greatest creations.

3) New England in the fall—We have close friends in Connecticut that we should visit. I do believe we will get there in the not too distant future.

4) Hawaii—Doesn’t everyone want to visit Hawaii? When I was nine and my father was serving our nation in Vietnam, my parents considered having the rest of the family meet him in Hawaii when he took his R&R. They decided against it, and Dad went to Sydney, Australia. It would have been a great trip, but I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it like I would now.

5) Sydney—I guess I’ve wanted to go Sydney ever since my father told us about his trip there.

6) Jamaica—Jamaica was a port of call on our second cruise. We had a wonderful time, and we’ve longed to go back and spend a week on this beautiful island.

7) Seattle—I’ve had a warm spot in my heart for this city since I watched “Sleepless in Seattle.” It’s still one of my favorite movies.

8) England—I think England is the ideal spot for one’s first visit to Europe. We speak their language, more or less, and many of Steve’s ancestors were British. Until my father’s recent DNA test, I thought my ancestry was also British. We haven’t discovered any British ancestors yet, but I still feel a bond to the nation that settled Virginia and most of the original colonies.

9) St. Thomas—We have been there twice on cruises. It is absolutely lovely. I would really enjoy spending a week on their many beautiful beaches.

10) Alberta, Canada—I think my desire to visit Alberta stems from my I love of Neil Young’s version the song “Four Strong Winds.” Alberta seems to embody the Canadian spirit, and I would love to see the Canadian Rockies.

So, that’s my top ten places I’d like to visit. We may not get to all of them, but we’ll have a lot of fun trying.

What are the places you would most like to visit?

There’s Nothing Shallow About Having Standards

I just read Kat Richter’s blog “Are Standards Shallow?” (After I Quit My Day Job) She was responding to being accused of “getting shallow” for refusing to date any man who is not taller than she is when she’s wearing heels. Kat will probably miss out on dating some pretty terrific guys because of her preference for tall men. That’s her loss, and it’s her choice.

Having standards is not shallow. Physical attributes are not standards, however. They are merely preferences. Any woman seeking a date or a husband needs to have standards. When I was dating I had absolute standards—my line in the sand that I would not cross. In my thirty-plus years of ministering to teen-age girls I have encouraged them to decide what their standards are before they begin dating.

For me the absolute most important standard was to date only godly Christian men. Paul admonishes us in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” It was important that my future husband share my Christian beliefs and values. I was not willing to risk falling in love with the wrong man, so I avoided dating non-believers. I met my future husband in high school. I knew he was nice, but I didn’t know if he was a Christian until I saw him at my church one Sunday. Of course, church attendance doesn’t equate to salvation, but seeing him at church gave me an opening to ask him about his beliefs. My interest increased greatly as I realized how similar his beliefs were to my own.

Family values were next in importance. I love children, and I wanted a man who also loves children. As the second of nine children, my youngest siblings are considerably younger than me. I was able to witness how a potential future husband would treat and respond to children simply by taking him home to meet my family. From his first visit, Steve was comfortable with my younger siblings. He spent many a Saturday afternoon taking them fishing in the summer and building snowmen in the winter. During our senior year of college, Steve and I took my four youngest siblings to a movie. They kids ranged from 10 to 18 years younger than us. The next day one of his professors asked him about his children. I guess he thought we got a very early start on our family.

Another standard was that a future husband prioritize family over income. I can still vividly remember sitting in traffic on the Falmouth Bridge and Steve telling me that he wanted his future wife to stay home and raise their children. Those words were music to my ears. Although I was in college and planned to continue my education afterward, I still desired greatly to be home with my children when they were young. Steve added that being home when they were in high school was even more important.

We were fortunate to be able to make that happen. Steve worked hard, and I got to stay home. When the boys went to school, I went with them. For the next thirteen years, they were either enrolled in a Christian school where I taught or I was home schooling them. I cried on the twins’ last day of school (as seniors they finished up a few weeks earlier than the rest of the students) wondering how I would be able to come to school without them the next day. I am so thankful for the time I had with my boys.

Beyond those three standards, everything else was icing on the cake. It didn’t hurt that Steve is tall—a full 9 inches taller than me—and very handsome. But, I would have loved him no matter what he looked like.

I maintained my standards and married the love of my life. And there’s nothing shallow about that.

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