1. Strawberry Summer

So it begins. In a few days time I will be in South Africa, preparing for two months as a Global Partners in Care intern at Sunflower Children's Hospice. I'll write more about Sunflower soon. The oldest children's hospice in South Africa, the center sews community and compassion into everything they do. I am honored to see them in action and learn from those around me. I have wanted to put something like this into the void for a while and am looking forward to sharing what I find. The anticipation of traveling knocks on my windows in the morning and late at night. I am getting things in order: packing, unpacking, repacking. 

Working on being present and reflective, I appreciate sweet strawberries and lovely company. Sunny weather, creative packing strategies, and playing with the dog lift my spirits. Mom and I saw June Beetles at the park yesterday. Their bodies are too big for their eyes; they flutter around and run into blades of grass. They live underground as larvae for as long as four years before they finally emerge all at once. The insects only have a week to mate in their full grown state before they die; the frantic search to repopulate is on. Brown wings and striped bodies line the trees and the ground until all is quiet. As Oregon rushes toward a warm summer, I prepare to head back toward winter.

This evening I visited the cemetery and heard stories from some seasoned organizers (past colleagues of Mom's who I hadn't seen in many years). It brought me peace to see people sitting and reflecting on how those they've loved would have responded to the moment we live in. One of my hopes for this blog is to get more practice writing about life and living and death and dying. Hopefully writing about what's happening in and around the corners of the world I visit will get easier with time and consistency. It's a work in progress, but I'm glad to have some company.