Nov. 26, 2003 - 21:17 PST

THE WONDERING JEW

At A Distant Home

We go here Christmas one year, Thanksgiving the next with a possible visit from them in the summer. That is the clock that marks some of the good times we have. We are back home in Eugene with our family who lives here. Our Grands have grown oh, so much since they visited us this summer. Our young grandson at 14 towers over the rest of us now, his features and his build show his manhood and his actions and concerns reflect the good raising his Mom and Dad are giving him. Of course, his little sister is growing too, vibrant, ahead in her classes and sports too. What a pair they are, far ahead of their years in maturity.

On a hillside, high up, the forest right at the south and ahead we can see the lights of Springfield in the evening if we wish. The deer still come by now and then, foraging. The h ouse here is more familiar to us each time we visit, holding memories of times past when the kids were smaller and we were part of the crew who helped them move in.

Then gathering seniority as time passes is Sir Cyrano the Bergerac-bark. A fur kid of the poodle variety, I am not sure if he is a toy or a mini, small but mightily winning hearts. He seems to have memories of time past as we were welcomed as if we hadn't been gone at all. I am learning though how to understand him, can read the signs of his wish to play or to go out for a pit stop. A time or two he has napped in my lap for a while. He will stick to the Alpha-female when she is here and when she goes then Heather becomes Alpha, but still Cyrano will spend time with me often. From the inside of the house he challenges the deer as they pass, frantically barking at them all a tremble and furor. I am glad he hasn't had the chance to be outside near them, as I am sure they would hamburger him. He is so small, so very small, but is a mighty mite in my eyes -- Sir Cyrano the Bergerac-bark !

It is near the end of November, the skies are gray, pavement is mostly wet all the time, rain comes and goes, it is cool here. But the trees are evergreen and so is the grass and the ferns on the forest floor. Warmer by far here than the three below zero it was in Denver t'other mday. I guess we left town just in time. But of course the weather will still be there when we get back, in its winterish mode, grass dead and all that goes with it. Once again I note here how rapidly the clouds scoot across the sky. The weather seems to travel mostly west to east, what is here usually blows through Denver in a day or so. But now and then Mother Nature does her thing backwards or upside down, adding spice to the mix.

Our daughter with her Mom helping are putting the Thansksgiving dinner on track , goodies to the max. I am not sure I have enough stomach for the job, but have a few days to snack on the leftovers after the big day. Now is the time of year that the Satsuma Mandarin citrus can be had. Small, peel like a tangerine and are so sweet and juicy, we are having some of them every day.

Our daughter is busy raising her kids, she is a soccer Mom, basket ball Mom, Girl Scout leader and Junior League woman. Along with that she is keeping house, entertaining university guests as well as spoiling visiting family from both sides when they come around. I can't see how she does it, semmingly easy as pie, and be as sweet and pleasant as she is but that is the way it is. They seems to have a flow of family through here from both sides of the family. Our kids who live in Denver have been here a time or two. Here the house is big, the easy chairs easy, a big dining table and the beds soft with the coffee pot and teapot at the ready always. Heather and I went shopping with daughter the other day, that woman is so hard to keep up with. She drops us off and the entrance, parks the car and is in in a flash ready to shop, shop, shop. Heather tired out finally and sat and sipped coffee with me while daughter finished up, but the women had fun doing it even so.

But along the way from point x to all the other sharpie y's and z's we became reacquainted with the local scenery, noting the places trhat are in our memory and also noting the changes since we were last here. They say "you can't go hame again" but we do every year to this home and visit our family. Heather and I always look foreward with happy anticipation to our next visit At A Distant Home . . . . . . . . .

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