Time Balms

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Where is the summer going?

Odd how we humans relate to time.  Spend time. Waste time. Manage time. Take time. Like we are in control of time. It brings me a chuckle.

I prefer to state that I move through time.  Kind of like I move through space.

I don't necessarily manage time, though I understand the phrase.

I manage my activities, but I don't manage time. Time simply is. It's kind of an eternal thing I guess...time.

A baby's giggle. I heard a baby's giggle yesterday. It'd been awhile since I'd heard such. The sound is sacred to me. Endearing. Angelic. The sound of life, innocent life. It causes pause. It too is an eternal thing...life. Does it ever end? In one sense, I think not.

I've been caring for my daughter's puppy this summer. Lord, what a job! It's like having a toddler around the house again. My son calls the pup my four-legged shadow. She follows me everywhere. Her name is Yerba.

Last week I took her on an overnight backpacking trip. Of course it rained. I am the rain magnet for field trips and camping.

Yerba did great on the trail. We only hiked one mile Friday, late afternoon when we got to Grayson Highlands. The next day we hiked 2.5 miles further to Thomas Knob Shelter. We rested a few hours and then hiked the 3.5 miles out. It is a rugged hike. Yerba is a true trail dog, though she did get spooked by the ponies.

While at the shelter I met a woman named Lori. We spent a few hours together, sharing food and talking. She is retired and took up backpacking a couple years ago. She was finishing up a 300-mile stretch of the trail.

Lori is older than I. I think we'd make good backpacking partners. She is supposed to email me once she is back home in Florida. I do hope she does and that we can do the long stretch through Virginia next summer...maybe 500 miles. Gosh, I'd love that. Man oh man. It'd be a sevenish-week trip. And it'd be nice to have a partner. It can get lonely out there.

It feels good to write. I've been much too busy with duties the past couple months.

It's o.k. Carol to indulge in writing. In fact, it's good for you...ya' know. You are happier when you write.

Giggly babes. Yappy pups. Frolicking foals.

Life is sacred.

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