Lately I’ve been thinking about changing the name of my blog. There hasn’t been much musing from my deck, because of the rainy season we have been in. Almost since I put out the deck chairs and visited the Bee Yard Gardens for my annual indulgence of summer beauties, it has been raining.

I’m a fan of rain don’t get me wrong, but we live on the edge of the high country desert, and just don’t expect to see it everyday. But for about 6 weeks now, we have had almost a daily rainstorm, either in the afternoon, or sometimes two or three times a day.  My chair cushions have taken up almost permanent residence in the corner of my living room, just so they aren’t soaked all the time!

On the rare occasions I have had to sit on my deck and ponder life (which is mostly the function of such a place of serenity), I’ve thought about stuff like this:

Oldest son is headed to Nicaragua today for a week of mission work. I’m proud that he is going, but my heart and mind are in”concerned, not worried” mode - that he will be safe, not get malaria from the mosquitos, a coup won’t break out while he is there, etc, etc. - you mothers know what I’m talking about!

My head is doing better - combinations of doctors, medicine, rest, prayer, and perseverance seem to be the answer right now. Hoping this continues!

Travel is in our picture for the month of July - Denver and Breckenridge for 5 days, then back for a few and down to Albuquerque for a family reunion of sorts. All the children are coming to the youngest son’s house for the weekend, to continue the hubby’s 50th birthday celebration. It will be great to see Cohen play with the two big dogs there!

The beauty that surrounds us is so breathtaking sometimes - especially because of all the rain! The green pastures, green mountains and blue skies (sometimes!) are such a picture that can never be truly captured on canvas or print. We are truly blessed to live in such a beautiful area.

So, looks like a mostly sunshiny morning, so I’m headed out with hubby to spray and pull weeds….another gift of all that rain!

My hubbie turns 50 today!! Hard to believe in some ways - we have celebrated 27 of his birthdays together (one before we were married). But this one has been fun - it started last week and will probably continue for another few weeks!

Back in February, Marc decided he wanted to spend his 50th mountain biking, a hobby he has been working on for about 20 years. He contacted about 1/2 dozen of the guys he has ridden with for all those years, and invited them (and their spouses) to a weekend in Crested Butte - a place held in high esteem by mountain bikers everywhere (the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame is even located there!).  So, we rented an entire bed and breakfast to stay together, and met up on Friday with the idea of riding for 3 straight days. (okay, some people were riding…some where sleeping, some were shopping).

There was a ride on Friday afternoon, then brats and hamburgers and some of the funniest biking stories I have ever heard!  On Saturday, everyone was treated to a great breakfast at the Elizabeth Anne Bed & Breakfast, and then they were off to ride again.

About lunch time they all showed back up, being chased by a nasty mountain afternoon shower. So we all went downtown and had lunch, walked in the rain a bit, took a tour of our office there. We napped and sat around until dinner, when we had a fabulous dinner at the Timberline Restaurant.

I had gotten a MASSIVE “death by chocolate” cake from one of the local restaurants in Crested Butte, and we all had cake until we didn’t want to see it ever again!

Sunday, we all went our separate ways, but several did get in some more biking before heading back home. It was a great weekend, lots and lots of laughing, lying and telling true stories that were just too bizzare to be believed.

So, happy big 50, my love!!! Hope there are lots more to come!  In July, we will be meeting up with all the kids and celebrating once again!

I’ve been having a battle with my head for the past 4 weeks, or a battle in my head, I’m never quite sure. I have a chronic health problem called Meniere’s Disease - an inner ear problem that causes severe dizziness for me from time to time.

I have lived with, and dealt with, this “inconvenience” for almost 20 years - some good and some bad years. However, in past years I had managed to control my dizziness through medication, diet and just paying more attention to how I do things. This year has not been so good, and seems to keep going downhill!

My daily activities have been dramatically altered over the past month, as I am fighting some definite physical changes which are effecting my inner ears. My days are more often spent reclining on the bed or couch, holding my head as perfectly still as I can, than at my desk where I should be doing work!

The Drs are challenged to find a combination of things that might work - so I have been at the “let’s try this for a week or two” stage for a while now, with not much appreciable change.

But the real reason for this post is to say thanks to my mother. My mother, like most mothers including me, wait for their kids to call them occasionally to tell them they are okay and doing well. My boys all live away from me, and I like to know that occasionally they think of me and want to give me a call.

My mother is also like most mothers, including me, that start to assume when they don’t hear from their children for a while that they have “become too busy for me.”   So when I called my mother on a good morning, just to say hello and pass belated birthday greetings to my Dad, for some reason I started to cry half-way through the conversation.

Now, speaking as a mother myself, there is nothing more painful than to hear your child crying on the other end of a phone line that is hundreds of miles away. You are totally helpless to do anything, even put your arms around your child to comfort them.

So, I generally try not to do that with my mother, because I know how hard it is. But that day, I had become so frustrated with how my physical life had been going that I just broke down. She, of course, like mothers really always do, became immediately sympathetic to my plight and felt so sorry that she couldn’t come to my rescue.

Needless to say, I’m learning to live only for today - really, only for today - and make very few plans ahead right now. I will plan to check in with my mother more often, because now I know she is worried about me.  Maybe you should check with your mother too!