We have visitors! 7/21/21

We have visitors! Our first ones since we headed out in May.

My sister and her two dogs drove out to Iowa to spend the week with us at the campground. We love having visitors so this is a big deal around here. Luckily she has her own tent that sets up on the top of her car because I am not sure we could all fit in tiny Betty at night.

But we are keeping close quarters during the day. With her tent attached to her car, and the truck not big enough for us all, we are firmly planted here at camp. And, the temps have gone up into the high 90’s this week just in time for her visit. Since her tent does not have air conditioning we are spending the better part of the day in the camper. Her dogs have gotten cozy on my seat squeezed in next to her. Jason is on the other side of the table and I am set up next to the fridge in a camp chair with my portable TV tray as my desk. Our dogs on the bed behind me.

It’s working, but it’s good we all get along!

One of the things that Jason and I love is having visitors. It was also one of our worries we had when we sold our house and moved into Betty. We asked ourselves if we would ever have guests come visit again. We worried that the answer was no. After all, our son is coming to the States next month and opted to stay with his sister instead of with us in the trailer. Something I think might have been different had we still had our home in the desert. We are adjusting and realizing that we have the ability to go to where the company is - but still - we wanted to be able to still open our doors and welcome visitors on the road.

And it is working out. And when we move into our Airstream next month we will even have room for folks to sleep in the camper with us - so need to bring your own tent.

I am enjoying cooking for us, letting her little Leo sit on my lap (much to the jealous stares of Brigid and Mechthild), and just sitting around when the evening starts to cool down - talking and laughing.

And last night we did something magical. We took her down to the fields next to the little manmade lake here in the campground to show her the fireflies. I have loved fireflies ever since I was a little girl and would spend the cool evenings outside my aunts house chasing and catching them in jars. I had not seen one in decades, but last year, while camped outside of Indianapolis, they came to visit me. I was like a little girl clapping my hands in delight and chasing them all over the campsite. And now we are in another spot where they are flourishing and I couldn’t wait to share them with my sister - especially as she had never seen one before.

So we waited until dusk last night and took the dogs on a walk. We headed down to the spot where we had seen them earlier, and there they were in all their joyful magical splendor. So many in the bushes and at the edge of the lake. My sister said they reminded her of embers floating up from a fire. There was smoke in the air that had settled over the lake and the purple light of dusk was all around as they twinkled and flew around us.

So much joy. Such a gift.

It is moments like this that help me to remember the goodness of life. To have faith in mystery.

To just sit and wonder at it all and breath a contented sigh into the air.

To thank the Divine - for creating such a complicated - yet beautiful world.