Seminal Moments

After talking to Ray McLain of Texas at the reunion about how he felt I had touched his life, I began wondering about my own seminal moments. The moments in my life that touched, changed, or helped me on my path of evolution. Not the small stuff that has occupied me lately, but the BIG stuff.

Seminal moments. A kiss, a touch, a love, a conversation. Quoting Taylor Harris' blog; "That is a good thing to remember."

Then I had my last summer tomato.

Jeff posted what he took to the reunion on the family blog.

Taylor's blog.

Pictures of Judy and growing family on Facebook.

Things around me; flowers, creativity, intelligence, coffee, bed, Hawaii, photos of Hawaii, Olga Bay, photos of Olga Bay, sons, photos of sons, ferries, kindness, scented candles, scented soap, books.

Quote: "I began collecting snatches of songs, names, words. Some words I needed to look for, and some were always right next to me. " Film Silent Souls

Quote: " It ain't what you know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." Mark Twain

Shadows intrigue me. Shadows made by Sun or Moon or man made lights. Shadows cast on the wall, the walkway, the floor, the sky. Shadows downtown or in the country. Fleeting shadows that will never be seen again.

Looking at the winter moon through the bare branches of trees, all of those limbs, sticks, and twigs creating circles of design. The tree shadowed against the sky. Marveling at how all those straight lines created circles of unity. Surely man with all of his straight edges can also form circles of unity -- somehow.

How my friend Lynn's park walks have evolved. Starting with curiosity, curiosity turned into a quest which has evolved into something else again. Passion? What ever it is it is moments and beautiful.

Animals. Why am I surrounded by such a menagerie of animals? I have no particular animal passion. My turtles I understand, but why dragonflies and elephants, roosters and fish, loons and elk, bears and water buffaloes?

I had a customer profusely compliment me and thank me at the end of a call. "You are the nicest customer service agent I've ever had. I hope I get you the next time I call." I gave him my standard answer, " Awe, you are making me blush." As he was hanging up the phone I heard him say to someone in the room with him, "That was the nicest old lady. I could tell she was old by her voice."

Driving home from the airport in some of the most pervasive fog I have ever been in in Seattle, not the thickest fog, but dense and sticky, I felt caught between two worlds. I felt caught in some middle place, almost like some mystery, mystical world, but not quite because there loomed a McDonalds. I was not in Oklahoma and felt I hadn't arrived in Seattle yet.

My thoughts turned to being caught between two worlds. Not Okie not Pacific Northwester. Not a real world not an ethereal world. Not young not old. Not right not wrong. Not bad not good. Not intelligent not stupid. I think I was in some learning place, but maybe not.

We had over a week of dense fog, then the rain, now the wind. I discovered driving home from my Connorman playdate last night that leaves scurrying across the road and fluttering up and around made me jump. They all looked like opossoms.

I spent the evening with Connor and we played with his winnings from his Halloween party at school. PEZ candy and dispenser. Connor loved filling the dispenser up, he loved shooting the candy out, but didn't like eating it very well, so he kept feeding the dog -- and me. Good granny that I am, I had to eat four to every one of his.

He also liked showing me, in detail, how the dispenser worked. "No, granny, look here, see this little pusher? When you press down on the squishy head it turns and pushes out the candy. No, granny, that's not the pusher that's the thing to put your thumb on to open the squishy head. No, granny, you have to open it all the way to put the candy in. No, granny, I'll just do it."

Now I have had boys, more than one, and I have been around lots of kids eating their PEZ candy out of a PEZ candy dispenser, but not one of them, not a single one, ever, showed me how it worked in detail.

After I had eaten all the candy. After I was fully educated on the mechanics of a PEZ dispenser, Connor wanted to put a tattoo on me. He put one on my arm and I said let me put one on your head. NO, GRANNY, so I put one on his arm. He put one on my foot and I said let me put one on your head. NO, GRANNY, so I put one on his leg. This continued until both of my arms and feet were fully tattooed and finally he agreed to let me tattoo his head. Top level negotiations with a four year old is hard work.

I saw his obsessive/logical mind at work when he was designing sticker faces on the pumpkin card I mailed him. The card had several pumpkins in various shapes and Connor was busy putting on eyes, ears, noses and mouths. One ear he put more on the chin then the side of the head. His dad asked him about this, and Connor said, because there wasn't a proper equal distance for the second ear to be the exact, appropriate distance as the first, so he put it on the chin. Problem solved.

I know of many seminal moments I have had in my life. Moments that have inspired, directed, helped, educated. Are these the events that count?

Naw, it's the small stuff.

Finally Taylor's complete quote: " Life is funny. It tries to remind how good it is and I try to forget. Sometimes that is a good thing to remember."