Weekend Wonderland

I keep thinking of a song that begins with the line..."I couldn't sleep at all last night..." And I know why.  Just like the children asleep on Christmas Eve with visions of sugar plums, I, too, attempted to sleep with jumbled visions of the movies I have seen and the books I have read in the last four days...dancing in my head.

It all started with the books - WONDER, then on to TUCK EVERLASTING, and finally, the beginning of BREADCRUMBS.  Add to that, the movies - THE JUNGLE BOOK, SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, TUCK EVERLASTING (naturally), and movie trailers for SHAUN THE SHEEP.  And that makes for a perfect potion, or porridge of possibilities.  Swimming among these scattered thoughts and memories are the changes I saw made, the changes I would have made, and the family adventures of the weekend.

We were like characters in a book or movie...traveling to another land, Oregon.  We stayed in a rented home that was an idyllic cottage with most of the trimmings.  Two doors down and across the street, the neighbors grew fairy tale fences of tall sunflowers.  A short Noah's-Ark-walk on a painted pedestrian crossing brought us into another land of games, dares, contests, and awaiting friendships.  The playground was something like we had never seen and was enough to even delight the eleven year old, not to mention us adult children.  It was built like a wood maze with towers that boasted fire escape poles, holes with tire swings to climb down to, slides, swings, obstacle courses, and sandbox.

Another playground awaited us at the public park on Columbia River...with a swimming beach.  The rainbow scene on the water was a marvelous parade of wind surfers, kite surfers, kayaks, sailboats and swimmers. We toured a Farmer's Market and talked with local artisans while wishing we had deep pockets of money to take home all the treasures we discovered.  We visited some amazing and some rather ratty second hand and vintage stores, toured a blown glass garden and shop, and drove the beautiful countryside taking in the winding sights of Hood River...while Mt. Hood grandly stood guard.

On the trip down, we visited Muhultomah Falls and we switched our route on the way back, stopping at Beacon Rock and enjoying a picnic smorgasbord...but to get across the river from Oregon back to Washington, we crossed a bridge...which one usually must do to cross a river.  The notable detail of this bridge, though, is that someone had named it.  It is probably a name that has gone down in history from the very first rickety crossing that has now become a very sturdy steel structure.  It's name struck me and made me think heavenward....THE BRIDGE OF THE GODS.  To me, there should be no S, as there is but one God.  Still, it keeps me in this cocoon I am in.  This protective feeling of being in a fairy tale with a happy ending.

To that point, I know I will have a happy ending.  In my heavenly home.  My fairy tale moments of life are huge blessings from my God who loves me more than I can fathom.  He loves me even more than I can love my husband, my children, my grandchildren, my family, my friends, my dog, and God's people.  Every experience I am granted here on earth are gifts from Him.  The things I can see and feel and experience...good and bad...teach me more about Him and about love.  I am so grateful for the smallest things and in such awe of them, too.  With the big things, I am simply overwhelmed, sometimes speechless, and all I can do is praise Him and enjoy.  That is what I also wish for anyone reading this.  In big moments and small moments...enjoy, and praise Him!