Daughter Summer and my two granddaughters flew in from the Far East (a.k.a. New Jersey) this week. And we four girls have stories to tell of our time together.
This thought from an author unknown:
Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.
Twelve years ago, my son-in-law Josh accepted a job on the east coast. I was OK with that until he insisted on taking my daughter and grandchildren with him. And then I wasn’t OK.
This past week, Summer’s two girls left four brothers and one dad in New Jersey and flew to Oregon. And we were tourists in my hometown of Bend, Oregon.
We ate at Jackson’s Corner, and visited Tumalo Falls …
… and hiked to the top of Pilot Butte one early morning.
We sipped bubble tea at Townshend’s and ate gelato from Bonta’s, and cruised through the local Farmer’s Market.
We played corn hole games, and browsed through the Old Mill District, and packed a picnic lunch to eat at Todd Lake (you can tell which one is The Gymnast and which one is Black Belt Girl, right?).
We took the ski lift to Pine Marten Lodge on Mt. Bachelor …
… and Black Belt Girl and I went mountain biking down Kent’s Trail.
My devious plan in all this was to buy “love for Bend” for the granddaughters so they’ll beg The Parents to move back.
You see how this could work, right?
On our last full day together, we stopped by St. Charles where a brick my husband, Gary, and I had purchased was part of the landscaping when the new cancer center was built.
It displays one of our mantras from those days as Gary was living strong with late-stage disease:
Live on purpose.
In all our outdoor activity, and conversations, and catching up with old friends this past week …
Once upon a time, these teens were preschool-age kids together
… I couldn’t help but think that Gary would be proud of his girls because we are all living on purpose, full out, with enthusiasm and joy.
Instead of filling our lives with stuff, we’re creating new adventures to add to the movie reels already playing in our heads.
If you know someone who could use a little encouragement to invest in adventure, please share, tweet of pin!
June
AMEN!!!!! Funny thing happened this week. We decided to take a road trip to McCall, Idaho. To make it even more fun we planned our trip to take one route going up to McCall and a completely different route coming back home. It was lovely the sights breathtaking in many places. Wonderful and vastly different landscapes throughout the trip. We enjoyed it…now the “funny” part……got home to see a couple of Mom deer and their young lounging peacefully below our back deck, a bazillion birds singing their hearts out for me to refresh their birdbath and fill the seed feeder. In the distance a clear blue sky with Mt Bachelor, Broken Top and the 3 Sisters welcoming us home! My heart swelled as I realized just how lucky we are to live here, nature and beauty abounds. Though going on the road trip was fun and we will probably do another one soon….nothing beats home.
I am so glad you had your daughter and your two young ladies to make wonderful memories…You are right “fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell not stuff to show.”
Marlys Johnson
Well said, June: “My heart swelled as I realized just how lucky we are to live here, nature and beauty abounds.” How many times have I thought that very same thing?! And good for us for paying attention and noticing and speaking our awe!