There and Back Again

“When going back makes sense, you are going ahead.” ― Wendell Berry

Hard to believe it's already mid-September! Traveling is always an adventure, but it's nice to be back home.

With my daughter and grandsons in tow, I had a lovely trip to my mom's in Indiana (see my last post) en route to our destination in New York - where I helped my daughter, her husband, and their boys get settled into their new home as my son-in-law attends seminary there for the next three years.

My airplane read, while flying the friendly skies back
to my husband and my quiet house.

For my daughter and her little family, "going ahead" has meant moving and going away from their families and friends in order to follow what God has for them.

But for me, "going ahead" - moving forward - has meant going back - to my dear husband and a very quiet home.

My two little grandsons were especially hard to leave, as we now have to love each other from afar. But we're all "going ahead" and being brave!

My grandson heading up to story hour at their new neighborhood library.

Today I'm giving you a peek into my journeys, which included adventures not only in Indiana and New York, but also Hawaii!  (Nice how that worked out: the beauty of Kauai really helped sooth my soul after our sad good-byes in New York!)

Back porches and lightning bugs.

We must be in Indiana...

My mom in her new white rocker -
aren't back porches and rocking chairs the best?

Moving on, and moving in...unpacking in New York.

Coffee break!

 Super cute coffee place, yummy pastries.

Antique tables and chairs and a "book" shelf, to complete the vintage French shabby chic atmosphere.

And Latte Heart Art, 'cause he melts mine.

Home again to unpack and re-pack for a quick trip to Hawaii, where my husband and I saw...

Sea Turtles

A "Tunnel of Trees" and gorgeous waves

Waterfalls, cliffs, sunsets...

And a rainbow on the beach!

All good things must come to an end, but like I said, it's good to be home!  My friends wonder how I'm doing - making the adjustment of my grandchildren being gone. I'm happy and at peace, and "going ahead", because I know they and their Mommy and Daddy are where God wants them to be.

And it's probably helped that "saying goodbye" was the "norm" for me as a child...

If you've followed my blog for very long, you know that my Dad was a priest and writer.  He dedicated his life to helping people find the Kingdom of God on this earth, and he had to travel all around the United States to do that. He missed us, and I'm sure he often wished he didn't have to travel so much. I know we missed him!  But we all knew he was doing God's work.

After I was grown and married (I am the oldest of six), Dad once told me his goal as a parent was to someday be able to say (3 John 1:4):

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 

My Dad's goal wasn't that we should or shouldn't have certain careers, or that we had to live close to him and my Mom.  He never tried to pressure us like that; he knew that life - and God - could take us all in different directions.  He let us work out our own salvation.

And because our Dad walked in truth, we knew we shared a common bond in Christ that would never be broken - no matter how far away any of us lived.  That was the example my parents set for us, and I try to have the same faith in my kids as they make their life decisions.

My grandson visiting his (namesake) Great Grandpa's
graveside in Indiana.

A Nun's Advice on "Letting Go"

I happened across a very pertinent quote from the book Becoming Icons of Christ (my airplane "read" pictured at the top of my blog post) - it's a good reminder for Sundays when I am in church participating in the Divine Liturgy:

As we are present at the liturgy, we bring our lives, ourselves, our loved ones, the whole world to offer in sacrifice - to make holy - before God.  As we do this, we learn that the truest relationship we can have with others is to allow them to be themselves and to place them in God's hands. Liturgy teaches us that this is true prayer. It is the way of radically letting go rather than always attempting to control.  

-Mother Raphaela

A good place to end this post!  If any of you are struggling with being far from family, or "releasing"  your grown children to live their own lives, I hope this helped a little.

I highly recommend Mother Raphaela's collection of talks and essays, Becoming Icons of Christ.  She is the abbess at Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery, which is on 220 acres of pastures, woods, wetlands, and a four-acre mill pond in Ortega, NY.  You can read about it here.

  

Library Treasures in Bloomington!

source: Facebook

My recent trip to Bloomington, Indiana, wouldn't have been complete without a re-visit to the Public Library, of course!  The library bookstore is amazing.  It was a treasure trove for my Mom, my son, and myself - all three of us are self admitted thrift store, antique shop, and used bookstore addicts.
And really, who could resist children's books for 50 cents??

I bought a ton.

Needed to baggage check a box of them for the flight home.

(Happy) Sigh.

I've got so much to blog about!!!!  Stay tuned.

There is some interesting history behind Bloomington's Monroe County Public Library.  The first public library in Monroe County was established in 1820 in Bloomington's beautiful courthouse, located in the center of the town square.

County Courthouse, Bloomington, IN

Libraries built by Andrew Carnegie began appearing all over the United States at the turn of the nineteenth century, and Bloomington got one! 

Andrew Carnegie - More photos here.
Biography here.

In February 1918 the new Carnegie-built Bloomington Public Library opened its doors to patrons. The building would serve the needs of county residents for the next 52 years.

The original Carnegie building that housed the

Bloomington Public Library is now a museum. [photo source]

..."Indiana built more Carnegie libraries than any other state..."

In 1965, the Bloomington Public Library merged with the Monroe County Public Library system. Library service continued in the Carnegie building until 1970, with the completion of the current larger, more modern, library facility just a few blocks away.

source

They have a great children's services department, as you can see from the fun window display in the photo at the top of my post.  Stop in for a visit, if you ever find yourself in Bloomington, Indiana!  And watch my next post for some of the paper treasures I brought home...

A Memorable Trip

To be a Christian is to be a traveler.

Spiritually we are always on the move.

We are on a journey through the inward space of the heart,

a journey not measured by the hours of our watch

or the days of the calendar,

for it is a journey out of time into eternity.

       - Met. Kallistos Ware

I recently traveled with my oldest son to Bloomington, Indiana for my Dad's one-year Memorial at All Saints Orthodox Church.  (You can read my post about Dad's final journey,  here.)  

An Orthodox Memorial service is not just a poignant reminder of our loved one's absence, but a beautiful and hopeful prayer of expectation for our resurrection in Christ.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into
the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears
much fruit."  John 12:24

At the end of the service, "Kolyva" - boiled wheat kernels mixed with powdered sugar, raisins, and almonds - is served to all present at the memorial.  The wheat symbolizes everlasting life.  In the same way that new life rises from the buried kernel of wheat, so the Church believes that the one buried will rise one day to a new life in God.  The sugar and raisins symbolize the sweetness of eternal life in Heaven.

After the service, we all made a little procession out to Dad's graveside. When the prayers were over a soft rain began falling - along with some tears.  It's a moment I'll never forget, and I'm so glad my son and I were able to be there with my Mom and my brother and his family.

But something else that made this trip to Indiana special was the memories it brought back of places I'd been with my Dad and Mom.  My Mom and I were looking forward to re-visiting some of them with my son. We even found some new things in and around Bloomington...

A beautiful State Park -
Indiana is full of lovely state parks, and McCormick's Creek State Park is not to be missed.  There are miles of hiking trails, a limestone canyon, caves, horseback riding, small waterfalls, and even a lodge.  This would be a perfect site for a family reunion.

Restaurants! 
Dad had lots of favorites. On my first visit to Bloomington after my parents moved here a few years ago, we discovered a wonderful little coffee house - the Runcible Spoon. I love good coffee, and am always in search of freshly roasted coffee beans to take home and brew in my french press!

Remember "they dined on mince, and slices of quince, which they
ate with a runcible spoon" from Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat?

I love the bookshelves full of interesting books to peruse while you sip!

A Statue on the IU Campus...
Hoagy Carmichael was born in Bloomington in 1899 and earned both his bachelor's degree (1925) and his law degree (1926) from Indian University.  As a student at IU, he began to compose songs and perform regularly with Carmichael's Collegians, the first band he led at the university.

After law school, he worked briefly as a law clerk before pursuing a music career, writing many of the songs that have become American jazz standards, including "Stardust," "Heart and Soul" and "Georgia on My Mind." Carmichael won the 1952 Oscar for his song "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening," had his own television show and even acted in several movies.

Hoagy statue at IU
Photo: Courtesy of Indiana University

An Antique Mall with Vintage Books...

One of my Dad's favorite places to be!

Going Home
Visiting all these places was wonderful, but just not quite the same without Dad.  And suddenly, it was time to go back home. Made me think of this Gospel song that Dad sang when I was young: "This World is Not My Home, I'm Just a Passin' Through". 

Can't wait to be with you again, Dad.  Heaven will be even better.