Signs Of Spring...

 

Yes! Today is the long awaited day! It's chilly and windy (we need that wind!) and mostly sunny this afternoon. But it's the FIRST DAY OF SPRING and it feels wonderful to me!

 

 

I started a few things in the greenhouse just to see if my thumbs are green enough or if by some other miracle things grow when I plant them. Ha, I'm sure it's largely due to the miracle part but I try, and that's good enough for me.

 

Sunday morning early I looked out the window from my bed and discovered that Serena was enjoying something she had been missing this winter because of the crusty snow. I'm pretty sure 'Lightening' missed being outside too!

 

 

And recently she 's been asking Dad for some 1 on 1 basketball practice. We loved the snowy winter but I know we are all more than ready for the next season!

 

                                                                           

 

 

Two weeks ago today a friend and I were at Longwood Gardens nursing our Spring Fever with some much needed eye candy when one of my sisters called to tell me that my Dad was really not well and if I wanted to see him before he goes home to Jesus I needed to get there asap.

 

Living out of state for 19+ years I knew this day would eventually come and I had decided long ago that when it does I would simply have to be okay with it because a stressful trying-to-rush-to-the-bedside 6 hour trip wasn't going to save or soothe anyone. We had been in Ohio the weekend before and from how he was feeling then the phone call was not necessarily a surprise. Nevertheless it did tug on my heartstrings. Yet I felt good about the gift of having seen him and talked to him the weekend before, and reminded myself again that it's okay to stick with my decision. Mercifully, God called him home early the next morning and now he is pain free! Something he had not been for a really long time! And when I hear people say "Dan Borntrager died" it still feels like they're talking about someone else. And let me just say, it is the strangest feeling I've ever had, walking up to a casket and seeing one of my parents in it!! We stayed in Ohio only a short time over the viewing/funeral and plan to go out again in a few weeks to see everyone.

 

My Dad was a quiet man who knew what he believed and stood for and simply lived it out. There was never a lot of fanfare and he was perfectly comfortable with working in the background doing what needed to be done. He was one of the most patient men I've met so far, (although my husband is a very close second)!! :) He always had good advice but you usually had to ask for it and sometimes it wasn't exactly what you wanted to hear but you knew it was Truth and given in Love. He was generous and giving and understood that life wasn't measured with money. He was positive and cheerful and had a ready smile and often whistled a tune as he worked. He loved visiting with anyone who stopped in and over the years had the opportunity to witness for Christ to many people who came to the farm primarily to see the deer that are raised there by my brother. He was a mentor to many and will be greatly missed!

 

From as far back as I can remember he was a wood craftsman. I loved the smell of freshly cut boards and played long hours in his shop in a pile of fresh sawdust. When I outgrew that he gave me a hammer and nails and let me practice my 'skills' on the stoop. He had a special little hand held saw that I claimed as 'mine' that I tried my best to use in important ways. Although we lived on a farm he never enjoyed working with animals and when I was 13 he sold the cows (thank goodness!!) and just farmed the crops. He had two chicken houses that he raised meat chickens in and had an assortment of jobs away from home. But the thing he enjoyed the most was being self employed at home working in his wood shop building furniture. I'm lucky enough to have some of that furniture. :)

Dad came from a large family of 9 and my Mom is from a family of 8 so the funeral felt more like a huge reunion than a funeral to be honest. Uncles, Aunts, and Cousins and Family Friends I had not seen for a very long time! I rediscovered how good it feels to be with people who know your roots and know WHO you are and still love you. And to know that they missed me too? Wow! Lovely!

Thanks for stopping in today to read my reminiscing ramble. :)

That's all for today :)

♥Blessings!♥