May 13, 2016
Friday
Dear Readers,
It looked like rain when I got up this morning but it ended up being a beautiful sunny day. The Sensational Six and I spent a good amount of time in the garden this afternoon. The boys love to sit in the hammock with me and sway back and forth, back and forth. I've been fertilizing the trees and they've really started to perk up giving me a wonderful canopy of filtered sunlight.
As a kid did you ever have a secret place that you called your own? I was born adventurous and loved finding places to crawl into or sprawl out in. One of my favorites was near the ski chalet next to Lake Minnewaska. There was an open thicket where the bees buzzed, the flies swarmed, and butterflies were everywhere. I would lay on my back, chew on some grass, and visualize animals out of the billowy clouds in the sky. I did my best thinking when I was alone on one of my adventures.
There were old rail cars in the hills, tree roots near streams, campfires left by hobos in the sand pit, and miles of sandy beach perfect for wading and stomping. One day I took an old orange sack and started at the top of Soo Hill. I gathered treasures all the way down into town ending up at Miller's Grocery. Outside their store was a heavy grate over a hole. Odds and ends got blown into the hole and that was my last stop. I gazed into the hole and lo and behold there was a Dairy Queen sundae dish (you know, the blue plastic kind). I just had to have it. I looked around for a big stick to pry the grate off the hole but couldn't find anything. I ended up pulling the grate up and pushing the grate against the building. I snarfed up the dish and oops, the grate came crashing down on my toes.
I started yowling like a stuck pig and Mrs Miller came running out to see what the commotion was. By the time she reached me, I had pulled my red tennis shoe off and was sitting on the ground holding my toe together. (The tennis shoe saved my toe for sure!). She picked me up and took me into the store and put my foot under running water. She pushed my toe back together and bandaged my entire foot. Mr Miller carried me (and my orange sack full of treasures) home and propped me up in my bed.
My clothes were a mess, my tennis shoe had a hole in it, my toe hurt awful bad, and my face was streaked with tears. I wondered what my mom would say especially about my shoe. Mrs Miller thought I needed stitches but there was no way anyone was going to touch my foot. My mom got home from work, fixed supper, and called me to come downstairs. I couldn't walk so I shouted that I wasn't hungry
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| Miss Dottie at 6 (with brother, Roger) |
After everyone had eaten, my mother came to check on me. There I was cradling my foot in my hands and sniffling. I told her what happened and she told me to be more careful next time. Phew! I nursed my toe until it healed not wanting anyone to see it. The grate had nearly taken my toe off and left me with quite a scar.
As an adult, I still like adventures and hideaways. I enjoy the hunt of a special treasure even if it takes me years of looking. I have my own special hideaway ~ Miss Dottie's Cottage. I also have my own Secret Garden that unless you know it's there, it's pretty well hidden from the street. Michael thinks I should show my garden off more ~ I tell him that it's my own private garden, a place where I can experiment and drink in the colors of serenity. It's a place where I am happy and content when the world about me seems so crazy.
Father God in Heaven, I thank you for my fellow travelers on this earth. I pray that each and every one of them would have their own sense of adventure and secret hideaways where they are able to think, regroup, pray, and know they are safe. I thank you for taking me through times when you kept watch over a venturesome little girl, teen, and adult. There are lots of kids like I was so watch over them too. Father, today is wear purple for those fighting autoimmune diseases. You know me and purple: I think purple, wear purple, plant purple, and today I pray about purple. Go God!! I have friends facing cancer surgery and treatments. Provide them with what they need Lord going before them and seeing to every small detail. Please watch over little Finn as he heals from lip surgery and being neutered ~ watch over my granddog, Teddy, too. He's in tough shape, Lord. The whirrrr of the air conditioning sounds so comforting tonight. I will sleep well. Thanks for listening ... thy will be done.
Miss Dottie
PS Ever heard of Dale Carnegie? He said, "One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today."
No one can ever say my life has been without adventure or boring. It's been quite a ride and the ride isn't over!!
Always remember you are loved and prayed for ... YA YOU!!
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