Not another one

Well, life is always changing yes? I took my step Mom Dottie into the ER this morning with what looks like a heart attack.Can you believe it? They sent her up to Bellingham an hour away which has a good cardiac dept so hopefully she will be okay. Her son is now with her and I am with my Dad at home. He's pretty upset and I think it's best to keep him here for now....we'll see. Prayers are gratefully accepted for Dottie these next few hours and days. I could use some for strength and fortitude right now myself.

Good news!

Linda passed her National Boards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't describe just how happy she was upon getting the scores; I was worried she was going to have another heart attack from the extreme joy. The universe has taken a strange course for us all and with everything else I am so grateful to have that load taken off her back..so strange asI think the National Boards was a big contributing factor with her heart attack. I know she will rest easier with those now behind her. (not to brag or anything but she got a perfect 4 on one of the parts!)

Four weeks ago to the heart attack day and it seems a blur of experiences to this point. My step Mom now has moved ahead with the separation and my Dad is so sad about it all. Twenty two years since they were married and now it all is washed away. I have found a terrific senior community but the timing is not quite right yet so we're going to alternate time in Anacortes and home. Dottie basically wants nothing to do with my Dad any more so when she is not at her son's we'll be in Anacortes and then he can come home with me for the rest of the week. Boy oh boy are we ever getting the chance to work on mindfulness and patience.

Our thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers. Through all the challenges just knowing our Camp Family is there brings great comfort.My love to you all, Dale

Bad News

I just wanted to let everyone know about Linda. She was doing a presentation to the staff at her school when she suddenly felt a pain in her chest and broke out in a sweat. Thy called 911 and the aid car rushed her to the hospital which fortunately was only 5 minutes away. It turns out that she was having a heart attack.It sounds so wierd to say that! They performed an angioplasty and got the blood flowing again and it looks like she is going to be ok. It's a miracle that I was home taking care of Mariah. I hate to think what might have happened should she have been home alone. I guess this is a big wake up call and a chance to take a look our lives. The doctor said stress may have played a part in this and it doesn't surprise me. She has been working way too hard the last several years so hopefully she can take some time off to recover. I figured you would all want to know what was going on....I'll keep you posted.

What to say.....

My greetings and hugs to all. I hope your October is giving way to many moments of 'keeping it going'. It surely has been a challenge in my life of late. I sat on the couch with my folks (I'm up in Anacortes 3-4 days a week) watching the debate and tried my best to be calm and loving in my experience but it was just too hard. I ended up listening to the recording of Many a Mile to give me some ground and it surely helped. It all seemed so surreal; with all the troubles in the world we are electing our leader in such a bizarre way;name calling, sound bites and mean spirited campaigns. Is this world truly a real place? I've been asking that question a lot lately...it just seems so weird and strange. I've been watching Linda this first month of school and it just doesn't make any sense. She is an awesome teacher, well read, smart, kind, understanding, patient, knowledgeable. She has nearly 27 years experience and one would think that the best way to utilize her talents would be to have her spending her time in teaching children. Yet so much of her day is spent in doing everything but teach. Her teaching partner of many many years has been shifted out to another school half the day, which also uses up a great deal of both of their time. Though the results of the schools tests didn't give them a passing score(given the fact that they have the largest ELL population in the district) the district is taking away a big part of their tools in trying to help these kids. I just don't get it! Add one more thing to a long list of things I just don't understand.
It is such a strange experience to sit and listen to Tom and Richard sing on their CD. With the amazing recordings that Richard put together it really is just like having them sitting on the couch beside me.It seems SO REAL! Some of the most heart opening experiences I've had in this life have been singing with those two and all of you....there is still a part of me that just cannot believe that Tom is really gone. I still feel his presence so strongly in my life at times like these. I can hear his voice rooting for his candidate. I wish he would have had the opportunity to see some of the amazing changes we will be seeing. He would have gotten so excited! I guess that's up to us now.This gift of life truly is a great blessing. So many opportunities to do the best we can and use the gifts of music to lift our world a little bit higher. May your October unfold with many moments of peace and clarity. Gratefully yours, Dale

Changing times

I take my Dad in for a PET scan tomorrow and we're all a little nervous. This is the test that will show whether or not he actually has cancer or not. I've spent several days up here again this week, mostly just hanging with my Dad. I know he likes having me around and Dottie too, though I think it bothers her that there are so many things she cannot do (another person in her kitchen!). It's strange to see them, just waiting around to leave their painful, failing bodies behind. Why when so many younger people are taken before they are ready to go?
I look ahead 35 years and I see myself being 85 and my whole perspective on the years I may or may not have ahead changes. It doesn't seem like a particularly long time. It does seem to be an awsome responsibility.Keeping it going is not so easy as simply repeating the phrase or putting it on a t-shirt or button. Of late I have no idea what it is.....complicated thing this gift of life is. How do I find meaning in the daily grind of earning money all day and coming home so tired and ill-equipped? I guess there is no easy answer. I do know that part of the answer lies here in our community of family and friends.Encouragement, prayers, positive thoughts, threads of love that travel about the world and merge. I do know that there are many of you I think of often and hold you in my heart. I often stop when I am outside and look up to the north where the Hunters reside and lift my coffee in blessing of Tom and his family. I hope that I will always be able to feel this connection. I don't want to foget.
Last night as I sat alone in the quiet of my parents house(they go to sleep early) I found this Rumi poem about aging that seemed appropriate.

Old Age

Why does a date-palm lose its leaves in autumn?

Why does every beautiful face grow in old age?

Wrinkled like the back of a Libyan lizard?

Why does a full head of hair get bald?

Why is the tall, straight figure

That divided the ranks like a spear

Now bent almost double?

Why is it that the

Lion's strength weakens to nothing?

The wrestler who could hold anyone down

Is led out with two people supporting him,

Their shoulders under his arms?

God answers, "They put on borrowed robes

And pretended they were theirs.

I take the beautiful clothes back,

So that you will learn the robe

Of appearance is only a loan."

Your lamp was lit from another lamp.

All God wants is your gratitude for that.

Camp Tapes

I went for a long walk today, still at my Dad's in Anacortes, soaking in the beauty of Puget Sound and Mt. Baker and the San Juan Islands. I was listening to random songs on my mp3 player and I swear Tom's music was coming up way more often than anything else...I have at least a thousand songs so what are the odds of Tom showing up so often? I was walking along crying and realizing what a gift it has been to have known this amazing man. Of all the people I've met in my lifetime, Tom is the one person who was 'bigger than life'.To still have his voice to listen to and remember is such a gift. I still feel sad and miss him terribly, but there is something so comforting listening to his voice. I doubt I will ever meet another who has the gifts and power, the rock solid presence that Tom had.I thank my lucky stars to have had him as a friend.I still have a hard time believing he is really gone...maybe because I can still hear his voice in my head sometimes...his laugh was like no other and it still pops into my head on occasions.Irene described it in such perfect detail.
What is Dale rambling on about and what has this got to do with the title of this posting? Well, I got to thinking as I walked and I wondered how, with all the many zillion hours of tapes and recordings of camp could we find a way to share them with each other? It might be an unworkable idea as I know how busy everyone is. I think of it as kind of like a bootleg Grateful Dead kind of thing.We could edit them down to the best moments kind of thing. Does anyone have any ideas on a way to do that? Tape of the Month kind of thing? Tape exchange? I would be happy to try and find a way to put them up on the web so everyone could have access. Just an idea.
Speaking of ideas I'd like some advice about how long to make the number of comments on each posting. So far it doesn't seem so long as the other blog, as there were so many pictures and poems and such there. I'm open to hearing any ideas/thoughts you may have about how to make our blog be a better resource for us. I guess I'll leave it at that. My heart floats out upon the beauty of this summer evening and sends its blessing to you all, Dale
PS My niece, who lives in Hawaii sent the link to a super cool video of a nighttime dive that she recently took with a local dive company.It's about as close as I think I'll ever get to swimming with manta rays if you want to check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ9WQhQnKNY

Welcome

Well here goes......I guess we're moving into the future here as I lay aside the old NWTC website. Let's hope I can manage this blog.

It is my hope that it will be a natural continuation on from A Time for Sharing (http://www.tomhunterblog.blogspot.com/) as we move on to a life without our dear Tom Hunter, at least in physical form. My tears started to flow as I typed that last sentence. I guess it still hits me unexpectedly and the sadness wells to the surface. I miss him terribly still and imagine I always will. Yet I know we all have to take the steps forward into the future as we all do our best to Keep it Going. I know Tom would be pleased that Camp is still alive without him; I can sometimes just hear him chuckle and feel his hands on my shoulders. Lets see what happens with this site. It is my hope that it will be a place to connect, check in , and share our stories. Our lives are busy and full yet we also need to find nourishment and ways to fill ourselves up. It is healing to know we are not alone and that there are others who are there to listen and care. I hope you are able to make a posting and bring this blog to life. My love goes out to you all as we move into the last part of summer.
With a smile, Dale