Commencement Weekend

This weekend is graduation at the University of La Verne. Thursday evening I attended the Rainbow Coalition Graduation. I was honored to be there and to hear the call to be authentic, be brave and be involved.

Today was Baccalaureate, which was held at the La Verne Church of the Brethren. Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries was the speaker. All I can say is, "Wow!" He said that like the church, the University of La Verne is not a place you go to but a place you go from. We are called to be in the world and we are called to kinship with others. His stories, his deliver and his authenticity inspired me deeply. The sanctuary was full. I got to be up on the chancel with the president, interfaith chaplain and speaker. I was honored. Plus, I played my djembe with the West African drumming ensemble for the recessional. I love doing that!

Afterwards I got to see my high school Sunday school teacher, Betty, and her husband. Their granddaughter is graduating from ULV this year. Betty taught me that God's justice is different than our idea of fairness. Thanks Betty for giving your time to walk with us high school students on our faith journey. I am grateful.

Barker Dam

Bryan had the day off and at 10:30 this morning he said he really wanted to go do something. Ever since I saw Jeanne and Marshall's pictures of Barker Dam at Joshua Tree National Park, which they displayed at the Celebration of the Arts, I have wanted to go on that hike. So we just took off. It was cool and raining in Claremont. It was 82 degrees with not a cloud in the sky in Joshua Tree.

When I was six years old, my family took an extended camping trip to California. The only thing I remember about Joshua Tree was that my mother had each of us pick the one that best displayed our personality and have our picture taken next to it. I picked a tree and insisted my mother join me in my picture.

Bryan and I had a good hike back to Barker Dam by way of the petroglyphs.

There wasn't much water at Barker Dam but it was definitely worth the hike. We sat on a rock, drank our water and soaked in the beauty.

We were back home by 5:30 p.m. I had ribs cooking in the crock pot and we had a meal to fit our appetites.

Enjoying the Earth and Learning about Eaarth

I wasn't going to go to Yosemite today. But when I got up this morning the sun was out and it was a gorgeous day. I decided to head back to Yosemite but take the complete opposite route. As it turned, the rest of the group went the most direct route to Yosemite, just to find out that chains were needed to take that highway. I had a beautiful drive by way of El Portal.

The sun shone the whole day and the park was beautiful. I ate a sack lunch while surrounded by beauty. On the way back to the conference center I got the view I was hoping for yesterday.

When I got back to my room I read a chapter of Eaarth by Bill McKibben. He explains the science of climate change to the non-scientist. I am afraid for our future on this planet. Things are changing quickly and we need to change our lifestyles immediately....and still Earth has already changed so much that it will not recover to the way we have know it in the past. It made me feel very guilty to driving all over Yosemite today.

Tonight our group ate dinner together in Oakhurst and on the way back I drove past Bass Lake. Wow! I was thinking I should move to Bass Lake.

Pastor/Spouse Retreat

I am in Oakhurst, California at the Evergreen Conference Center. It is a lovely place just a few miles from the south entrance to Yosemite. The reason I am here is the Pacific Southwest District Pastor/Spouse Retreat. There are twelve of us here and the setting is lovely.

When I told Bryan that I was driving five hours by myself up here and five hours by myself back home, he told me he didn't have a good feeling about that. That ominous statement helped me stay incredibly alert on the drive up. I listened to 4 1/2 hours of Malcolm Gladwell's What the Dog Saw, ate popcorn and enjoyed the time to just be. I was surprised by how cold it was when I arrived. At dinner last night they said it might even snow. It has been raining here non-stop all day. Everything is dripping with water.

In my free time this afternoon I decided to go into town to find Bryan a Father's Day gift. I was unsuccessful and so I stopped at the Visitor's Center in Oakhurst to find out what might be good to do. Since we are only a few miles from Yosemite and I bought an annual pass last summer I decided to head there. The woman working at the Visitor's Center said, "Are you by yourself?" "Yes, " I said. She said, "Please be careful." So, this is my confession. I assumed that if I were just a few miles from Yosemite I could zip up to the Yosemite Valley in no time. I forgot about mountain driving. I forgot about weather. Well, at least, until I was in the middle of both. My first inkling that this was going to be more than I bargained for was when I pulled over to the side of the road for a photo op. There was already a car parked there and when these two young men from Germany tried to return to the road they found themselves stuck in the mud. I stayed and watched....and took pictures. They eventually made it out with one of them pushing. I decided to be very careful...since I was alone.

But before long it was snowing. I kept hearing Bryan telling me he didn't have a good feeling about me going by myself. Plus, I had told everyone I was going into town to look for a present. No one knew I was in Yosemite. I started hearing scary music in my head....too many Stephen King novels. When I passed Avalanche Creek in the snow and fog I thought about what I had in the car to eat in case I got covered by an avalanche and had to survive until the snow melted. Drama is my middle name. But finally I made it the 35 miles to the Yosemite Valley. There is a tunnel entrance and right when you exit the tunnel the view is awe-inspiring....unless it is foggy and raining so hard you can't see. I never even saw El Capitan.

I had heard that the waterfalls at Yosemite are outstanding this year because of all the precipitation. They are spectacular. At Bridal Veil Falls I parked and got out of the car. The sound of the waterfall was so loud. I have been there before but this was exponentially better.

Yosemite is incredible. I think I like it better in the summer, though.

Travel

When it came to money my parents had two priorities. They gave to the church and they made sure we traveled every summer. I know many families that return over and over again to a favorite place. My parents wanted us to see different things. During the school year my parents were frugal. Then we would camp to and from wherever the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference was during the summer.

My mother would do extensive research before we left. She typed up 3x5 cards with interesting information about every state through which we traveled. We kept a family travel journal. Everyone had to write in the journal at least once during the trip. As soon as I could write I had to contribute.

My mother always said that it was her vacation and she didn't want to spend the entire time cooking and cleaning for us. So we had detailed charts of chores. She tried to plan meals that didn't require we spend all our time in meal preparation. One time she put a roast on the engine block so that when we arrived at our camp site dinner would already be cooked. We left late that day and so it wasn't entirely successful...but she was always thinking.

We snorkeled in the Florida Keys, explored Mesa Verde, wrote our names in the sand in New Mexico, drank cherry limeades in Alabama, hunted for Lake Superior agates in Michigan, hiked in the Black Hills, visited an art studio in Chicago, batted mosquitoes in the Everglades, canoed in the Grand Tetons, and felt like we were in another world in New Orleans. We sang songs, played the license plate game, fought over the radio, got on our parents' last nerve and created shared memories.

Traveling, learning, camping and exploring are my parents' legacies. Bryan and I passed on this legacy to our children....minus the camping. I hate camping....all except the smores. I do like the smores.

Mother's Day

I have been dreading Mother's Day this year. The young men who made me a mother live on different continents -- Matt in Asia and Brett in Europe. I was so sad about Easter without my children that Bryan took me away for several days. But Bryan can't keep whisking me away whenever there is a holiday. I know that many mothers before me have gone through the empty nest and I will make it.

The thing that makes it hard is how much I love to be with these delightful men. I had Matt when I was 26 years old. He weighed 9 lbs. 8 oz. and we called him "Buddha." He was easy, happy and loved to tell stories. Matt sets his stories to music now.

Brett was born when I was 29 years old. I went on a low fat, low sugar diet when pregnant with Brett and he weighed in a full two pounds less than Matt. He was focused, intense and loved to dress up. Brett still loves to dress up.

Last night, Bryan and I Skyped with Matt and his girlfriend, Kairee, for over an hour. Thank God for technology. Tonight when I got home there was a letter for me from Brett. On the envelope he had written "Mum." Inside he wrote me three pages of his love for me. He said, "Now in my twenties I see all the positive things you instilled in me, while somehow letting me be myself and form my own opinions. Thank you for being a wonderful mother who taught me to love and who let me be myself no matter what that meant." The truth is that it is hard to let your children become themselves while at the same time you would never have it any other way. What I will miss this Mother's Day is shared memories, healing laughter and incessant teasing but most of all I will miss being with the wonderful, unique men who happen to be my sons.

Celebrating the Arts

We just had another successful Celebration of the Arts. The concert on Saturday night had three groups that : Trio Buen Tiempo, Dr. Grace Xia Zhao, and Music in Motion.

At the Artists' Reception after the concert we ate chocolate covered strawberries and were awed by the divine spirit within. Two creative little girls gave me a tour of their art. The picture below is a purse created by Kristi Karns, inspired by the church's community garden: Peace and Carrots.

Today in worship we heard a poem by Keats read and a song inspired by a Frost poem, all while we sat in a church building filled with symbols and works of art. We came out to a courtyard alive with activity and music in the fellowship hall turned into an art gallery. I sat in the sun, eating cookies, talking with people and celebrating art, artists and wonderful people who had this idea and put in the time it took to make it such a successful event. What an incredible event. Hundreds of people experience the beauty and hospitality of the La Verne Church of the Brethren. Community is created. We learn more about the creative spirits within each other....and did I mention the chocolate covered strawberries.