My family recently travelled to Ashland, OR and to Crater Lake National Park. This was a brief but chock-a-block full two days which included: lunch in Shasta City, photo op & tee shirt purchases in Weed, CA (how could you not stop and get a picture of that sign?), Klamath River, Oregon boarder celebration (my step mother’s 50th State on her bucket list of all fifty states! Woo hoo!!!), tea & cookies at hotel, dinner at Larks, a brilliant all female production of Two Gentlemen of Verona (at Ashland’s famous Shakespeare Festival), running into an old friend of my daughter’s at Noble Coffee, drive to Crater Lake, stunning unbelievable BLUE of Crater Lake, 1000 photos, lunch on the terrace, drive back to Ashland, look for shoes and credit card (left at hotel), shopping, coffee, drive back to CA (late night truck stop with the charm of an old fashioned diner) and slump into bed at midnight.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
I share this because though I didn’t have much time or space to write and journal I did plenty of letting go. I let go of the armrest on my door at least 27 times while driving on the mountain roads, I let go of seeing a very dear friend who lives in Ashland (our lightening trip coincided with her leaving for Italy), I let go of worrying if I would have enough energy when we returned to stage a celebration party for the upcoming graduation from UC Davis of our daughter and I let go of having my Holy Spirit time in the usual way.
We had a marvelous time AND I continuously had to let go of worrying if I would have enough time and energy to do all that was on our plates upon our return. The time at Crater Lake was balm and bliss and reverential in every way. This poem was my gift.
“Ode To Crater Lake”
A bowl of azure light
Where Heaven speaks it’s mind
A bowl of azure light
Clarity is where the truth
Meets the sky for a kiss
Clark’s nutcracker squawks
See, see, see; all the way home
Winding tree path to the bottom
Mountain gives me a wink
Goodbye picnic smiles
Satisfy my curiousity
Breath takes a holiday
Returns brimming with possibility
I am whole
Again
