May 7, 2016
It has been raining for many, many days. I’ve lost count of how many. Today the clouds were empty for about 3 hours. Thinking this was day with promise, Tim and I went to the Yakutat Lodge out at the airport for breakfast. We put the windows down in the car and enjoyed the clear air.
The waiter wore a ball cap, his long hair in a ponytail and a fuzzy beard. Pure Alaskan stereotype. We were served water in a glass not much bigger than a shot glass and only because we asked for some. He grabbed the pitcher that had been sitting at a table that he had been wiping down after the previous guests and poured our cups full with that. (Can you see me, wide-eyed, biting my lips?) There was no escaping the two T.V.’s that were visible no matter where you sat in the whole room. They were playing a show where home videos of people who randomly got hurt were replayed for laughs. They were funny and very distracting. I tried very hard to look at my plate and try and think of what I wanted to say. This was supposed to be a date after all. We left soon after eating and I was disappointed that we didn’t have a good conversation over the meal as usual. To make up for it, we decided to take the kids out to the beach and enjoy the mostly cloudy, not rainy weather. I imagined shovels and beach blankets, laughter and running. Today we would forget the chores and responsibilities of indoor Saturday life to bbq our food on an open fire on the beach. YES!
However, the dump run came first. (Tim takes the trash out on Saturdays because it’s closed by the time he gets home during the week… and we really need him to do this! …bears are attracted to garbage)
Wouldn’t you know it, by the time he got back it had begun raining again. This whole week has been like this. Rain, sun, rain. A continual battle of the perfect timing of a no-fail plan against the fickle weather. I plan to take pictures of the wild berry bushes that are in full bloom growing behind our shop and around the edges of our house. I plan to visit with my neighbor over a cup of hot carmel macchiato on a front porch swing. My plans need good weather. Or a good overhanging roof.
I like planning. I enjoy goal setting… I plan. Unsuccessfully.
This was not an usual occurrence before we moved here. In fact, since moving here I have begun to realize that planning requires more and more from me in every occasion. I can’t forget one detail. The I’m-not-worried-about-it approach that a lot of locals exude is becoming more and more favorable to me than stressing because I forgot to buy safety pins and/or clothes pins while I was in Juneau and no one has any to use for the Gender Reveal Party I hosted. Oh! And none of the stores in town carry them! (Thankfully, tape was ready at hand and was used after a little person suggested it…now why didn’t I think of that?) *Remember to breathe*
It has taken me until today to figure out something very important and that will be useful to me in everyday Yakutat life. Don’t make plans. Seize the day! Or in this case, the moment. Every day is a gift and it’s so important not to misuse or abuse the gift. Even a rainy day is special to God. Spend it doing what matters. With others who matter.
I guess I’ll make some cookies and invite my children to play a board game at the table with me… Wait. Just as I typed those last couple of sentences the sun popped out! Better take advantage and hit the beach! No plans here. I’m seizing the day!
Keeping the Castle 