I can't remember another 75 year-old with as much energy as my neighbor Gail. She is the president of the Durango Seniors Outdoors Club. In her own words, she's full of the dickens, 24/7. So when, following some bone graft dental work in her jaw, she suddenly found herself with zero energy, not even enough energy to read a book or watch Netflix, she was scared. She described it as the fear of her aging body giving out and not being able to handle the dental work and who knows what else. To me it seemed like the ultimate core fear of mortality. Word quickly got out in the neighborhood. As Gail says, "When somebody's in need here, the grapevine is fast and strong." Before she knew it, she had people coming over with all sorts of soup, especially chicken soup, and it was all delicious. Someone created a daily sign-up sheet for bringing meals, but because everyone tended to bring much more than Gail could eat in one day, she ended up with a freezer full of soup that lasted a month past when she had recovered. Listening to Gail talk about it, I could hear the joy in her voice. She said that of course she enjoyed the delicious meals, but much more than that, she feels gratitude. Gratitude for how the community rallied. Gratitude that as a single, older woman, she has neighbors who love her for who she is and are there to take care of her. Gratitude in knowing that it's OK to ask for and receive help. Gratitude for the genuine gifts with no expectations of being paid back. Gratitude for a sense of belonging. Gail has four adult sons with whom she is very close, but who live far away. She told me, "I have four boys who are so happy that I live in this community because they know their mom is loved and cared for in a friendship loving way. They don't have to worry about me eating dinner alone. They know I'm safe and cared for, emotionally and physically, in a really neighborly, friendly way, that's not that common in our culture anymore." Yours in Community, Mac The neighborhood has quieted down this week with the kids back in school and the adults back at work. Before I get caught up in all the activity that a long break and a new year brings, I wanted to share with you some of the Heartwood holiday events from the past few weeks. Heartwood embraces the celebration of all spiritual beliefs so, as you can imagine, there was lots of celebrating around here during the holiday season. The season usually kicks off in mid-December with the lighting of a menora at a common meal to celebrate Hanukkah. Throughout the year we hold sacred fire circles. The Winter Solstice Fire Circle is one of my favorites. Then on Christmas Eve is our big Posada celebration, a holiday theme loosely borrowed from Latin America. Our Posada is a progressive party during which we roam from house to house enjoying drinks and appetizers and finally end up at the common house for dessert and caroling. Christmas Day is for small gatherings. Our family, with all our kids back from college, spent the day together at home and taking a walk on the land. Many smaller households got together for shared Christmas dinners at someone's home. We got some big snow storms over the holidays, which we love. Not only is it great for skiing and snowshoeing, it also replenishes our water table. A big herd of elk took up residence in our pasture for a couple of days during one of the storms. The final event of our holiday season was our big New Years Eve party at the common house. We had a nice dinner and then turned on the party lights, cranked up the music, and danced until midnight – well, some of the younger ones did; some of us others snuck away a bit early. Yours in Community, Mac Our local newspaper, the Durango Herald, just published a nice little article about Phase 2. Click here to read the article. Yours in Community, Mac When we discovered that the main timbers of our kids play structure, the SS Ponderosa, were badly rotting out, we weren't sure if we could pull together the money and work hours needed to get her rebuilt. Through the years the SS Ponderosa has been incredibly popular with the Heartwood kids so we were committed to seeing her sail again. Long story, short, after hundreds of volunteer work hours and thousands of dollars, we recently celebrated the rebirth of the SS Ponderosa. It was a story of renewal. In today's throwaway culture, it felt great to reuse many of the materials from the original SS Ponderosa, clean them up, give them a fresh coat of paint, and incorporate them into the new SS Ponderosa. And it was a story of working together. Some community members put in just a few hours and others put in hundreds. Some folks are skilled carpenters and others no-so-much, but no matter, everyone found a place and made a significant contribution. Not one of us could have done it alone, but we were able to do it together. Mostly rebuilding our SS Ponderosa was a story about investing in our kids. We value our kids being able to play outdoors. A beautiful new SS Ponderosa draws kids away from their screens for fresh air, exercise, and Colorado sunshine with their friends. Yours in Community, Mac |
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September 2024
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