MEMORIES LIGHT THE CORNERS OF MY MIND; Castle Rock-WA

This Memory came up on my FB Feed this morning …

Memory: Bob planned this hiking trip on the sly & surprised me one morning, when he whisked me off to enjoy a Day on "my mountain"; Mt. Rainier National Park~2014

Beginning the hike on the trail head leaving Sunrise Lodge, a very wide snow bank covered the trail a ways. My sneakers were soaked, after crossing that snow patch. I didn't care 🙂

My gentle giant waiting for me to catch up; I kept getting sidetracked with the chipmunks. LOL

The trail just kept going up, and up, and up ... it was a pretty steep incline for 2 old duffers - but we were determined.

Beautiful panoramic view, seen from the Wonderland Trail; Mt. Rainier National Park~2014

The view of Mt. Rainier's crown was pretty cool. Box Canyon is directly behind that peak.

Bob made pretty good time with his bum leg; I was proud of him. And my heart was full of love because I knew he was doing this for me, and it was difficult for him.

NO WAY I was crossing the snow bank! Bob was the daredevil. It was straight off the edge on the other side, and Bob toed it to get a look at what lay at the bottom: and teased his chicken little (moi) when he snapped this picture 😉

He took this picture of the lake at the bottom so I could see it later on at home. He was always a thoughtful and loving husband to me.

Walking the loop in Box Canyon - just over that tallest peak of Mount Rainier is where we just came from. I love this place. But I don't think I will ever be going back alone.

I did go back to Box Canyon, solo lobo; 2 or 3 times before Holland came into my Life - however, I avoided the Sunrise aspect of the trip: NOTHING could compel me to try the Sunrise Lodge Road again! That was hair-rising enough the 1st time around, with Bob!

I did the 1st return as a dare to myself: I was missing my mountain, and pulled my big girl panties on & turned the Highlander's ignition with Bob's remembered encouragement echoing in my thoughts, "You can do it. Baby. You & I both know that you can do anything you set your mind to." I set my mind to "GO!" and off I went, in the full confidence Bob always inspired me with.

September 15, 2021~WINGS ~ Mt. Rainier Solo Lobo Daytrip: (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/09/wings-mt-rainier-solo-lobo-daytrip.html) * There is a vid in this post with a salty message; proceed as warned.

The subsequent return visit wasn't so scary; and as always, was enjoyable.

August 20, 2022~NEW ADVENTURES FOR MY NEW LIFE ~Shabbat Blessing: (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/08/new-adventures-for-my-new-life-shabbat.html)

But now, my lungs aren't as strong as they used to be - and even though Holland also encourages me in things I want to do … Life has changed & is taking me in different directions, now: and with each passing year, high elevations are too tricky to do solo lobo.

I miss my majestic mountain.

But, if I close my eyes and focus on it - I can feel the coolness of the atmosphere, I can smell the crisp & pungent alpine air, and in my mind - I am again walking the trails & enjoying the beautiful scenery.

I had a Good Life.

I have a Good Life.

I am a fortunate woman.

BEST FRIENDS FIRST; Ocean Park-WA

I was up early this morning, enjoying early morning coffee and silence as I cruised the Internet; and I smiled when I saw that my MOD Angel Baby Blankets Post had been featured on one of the Blog Hop sites I frequent - and I finished 2 more over the last couple days ;-)

MOD ABB Post was featured ;-)

I'm also reflecting on my go silent undertaking; I won't engage in verbal battles anymore. I want to live a peaceful life.

Holland is sorry for his angry and frustrated outburst - and I have forgiven him; but I am still going to be silent a while longer, and try to cultivate a quieter demeanor. I know that I am a whole lot of woman; and a lot to handle at times. Sometimes I'm even too much for myself … and I have lived with Holland long enough now to know that the {spiciness} he found charming in the beginning of our relationship doesn't tickle his funny bone anymore. What he thought was cute when we were just best friends, has him grinding his teeth now that we are married.

So, during this quiet time we are both going to be working on ourselves; he's gonna work on being less macho-man, and I'm going to work on a quieter demeanor.

We are first and foremost each other's best friend - that sounds strange I know considering the steady bickering; but it's true. We developed a strong friendship immediately when our paths crossed in the Fall of 2021, and over the months we became Best Friends.

Our marriage may have it's sketchy moments, but we will always be best friends. Holland can't stand it when I go silent - but he doesn't like it when I talk too much (I did warn him before we married, that I can be a 'Chatty Cathy'). He gets a bang out my spicy feistiness, but he doesn't want a steady sampling of it - and my saucy sarcastic humor can irritate him (he wants a quieter demeanor once in a while).

Because we spend considerably more time with our spouse than we do with anyone else … more arguments, more irritation, and more joint challenges will pop up than in any other relationship we have in our life.

The flip side of that, is that even with all the angst he has to sort through during this time of in-house-separation, he has stated that he wants this marriage to work because he misses his best friend (me); and he is still wanting to continue traveling to places neither one of us have ever been before - the most important place he's never been is happily married, and he's genuinely wanting to make a deeper connection to living together on every level, than just sharing living space together.

That's a major shift for him - and a welcome goal to me :-)

So, he's been going out of his way to apologize and {make things right} - without verbalizing he's sorry: that's his way. And, I have forgiven him.

We do have some good & happy times together, we are companiable more times than we are in opposition; we agree that we will "absolutely" spend the rest of our life together - and he is actively cultivating the same tenderness in our marriage that he tended to in our friendship over the past two and a half years.

We are first and foremost each other's best friend; and we miss that connectivity when chaos creeps in and diverts our thoughts and attentions into a different direction than US.

We are taking one day at a time; change doesn't happen instantly.

In the meantime, I am doing what makes me happy: visiting gal pals when I can, working on new designs, and cuddling up with Clive Cussler on cold, wet, and windy nights ;-)

My latest Clive Cussler novel; a good read on a rainy night ;-)