We really enjoyed watching spring come to the area. Many beautiful pink lady slippers and trilliums carpeted the forest floor as the spring green leaves created a canopy above. We took many walks through the woods on my folks 120-acres and, as Tom says, "even got to pick and flick lots of ticks." My dad was grateful to not be alone as he grieved the impending loss of his wife of almost 56 years.
My brother, Bruce, and his wife, Mary, drove from Colorado for what they originally thought would be a 2-week visit. The morning after they arrived, Mom was hospitalized. As Mom's health continued to decline, they decided to stay. It ended up being 4-weeks before Mom's transition was completed. During those last 4 weeks, we had a lot of family time. My oldest brother, Irwin, came up frequently from Cambridge, WI, and his son, Jamie, and family visited, too. It was good to have time together as we shared the burden and loss.
During Mom's final weeks, there were moments when we each needed to get away to the healing peace of nature. The nearby river was a place of peace we sought out when we could. We connected with the rhythm and flow of all life there.
One evening we went to nearby Lake Arbutus and were blessed with a glorious sunset--a gift of serenity for our heavy hearts, and a promise of the beauty beyond.
Mom was able to come home for 9 days, but the high level of medication she was on made her quite disoriented at times. In her lucid moments she enjoyed her house plants and flowers, and she even played a round of Mexican Train (dominoes) with us. Her pain level and disorientation eventually became too much to manage, and she returned to the hospital for the last week of her life. We took turns staying with her at night, and spent most of the days keeping vigil in her room. We had angelic music playing in the background which soothed us all.
Tom and I had spent Mom's final night with her at the hospital. On our way back to my parent's home to freshen up on Sat. morning, we saw a bald eagle circling over us. My mom had always said she wanted the song "On Eagle's Wings" sung at her memorial service, so we figured that was a sign that she would soon transition. Shortly after that my dad called with news of her passing. We returned to the hospital, and when we were heading back to their home after saying goodbye to her body, once more a bald eagle came and circled over us. She had indeed been lifted up on eagles wings--and the angels wanted to reaffirm that for us. (Thanks, angels!)
After wrapping up some things in Wisconsin, we headed back to Minneapolis where Tom and I took a class on Pranic Healing, a type of energy healing, which we really enjoyed. We also spent time with friends and had Big Red "tuned up." The weather was hot and sticky, and it felt like we were living in a "baked APPLE." As much as we appreciated the hospitalitiy of our friends, Bob & Kay Kniefel, we decided to make reservations to stay in a campground during our next visit so we would be able to run our air conditioning.
At the beginning of July we headed north to our cabin on Shagawa Lake near Ely, MN. A few days later my cousins, Bill & Meg, and my dad joined us there. We took a fun day-trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior. Our first scenic stop was Gooseberry Falls State Park. We then headed up the shore making periodic stops to enjoy the beauty of the lake.
We had fun playing lots of Mexican Train games and visiting with Tom's family. Another day we drove over to the Vince Shutte Wildlife Sanctuary near Orr, MN where people can observe many black bears in the wild. The bears are free to come and go, and people watch them from an open observation deck. It is always fun to watch the parents and cubs play.
During the summer we spent more time in the Minneapolis area working and visiting with family and friends. I worked at a workshop on angels conducted by Doreen Virtue and had a wonderful time helping others learn how to connect with their own angels. Tom and I also had a few remarkable experiences with our friends (which would take too much time and space to include here) and learned more from Spirit about how to make a positive difference in the world. We went to Hawaii for a wonderful Hawaiian Healing Retreat with Doreen Virtue, and we'll share that adventure in a separate travelogue including pictures. We also spent time with my brother, Irwin, near Cambridge, WI, and helped him out a bit.
Most of the time when we are in the Minneapolis area we camp in the front yard of our friends, Bob, Kay, Nick & Ryan Kniefel. They are great hosts. (Thanks a lot!) Around Labor Day, our daughter, Lisa, and granddaughter, Morgan, moved to the Minneapolis area, so we were blessed with extra visits with them. One day, Ryan Kniefel, even offered to take Morgan for a ride on his 4-wheeler. Morgan was thrilled!
We are always making new friends on our journey, and one of our delightful new connections was with Holly Schuck. Holly lives near Spooner, WI, and is a loving light in the world. We were able to spend one night parked in her front yard, and we joined her and some of her friends for a powerful peace meditation. Before leaving the next day Holly took us to a sacred labyrinth where we did a walking meditation. Thanks, Holly!
We wrapped up our Midwestern adventures with one last visit to Ely, MN, to see Tom's family and drop off a few things at our cabin. We visited, ate lots of good food, laughed, told stories and enjoyed our family time. Tom and his brother, Ernie, managed to squeeze in a brief fishing trip to "the shack" and brought home some tasty ones.
We finally left the Midwest on September 22 and headed west at Spirit's urging. The next adventure was about to begin...
