Sobering Times

It's beautiful yet cold out this morning. The radio reports snow falling the area but thankfully I can't see any. The high for today is 6C which is somewhere around 40F. Want to trade places with me?

As I breathed in the earthy fall scent coming towards me from the bush yesterday, I gave thanks for the changing of seasons. Glad for the turning leaves and colder days that prepare me for winter. Especially glad for the winter that will mean the bear, that keeps letting me know it's around, will be sleeping. Dearest one and youngest son have been teasing me about the bear bell I carry with me on my walks. Caving into peer pressure from them I decided to leave it home one day last week. I had already been on one walk earlier in the day and they keep reassuring me the bear is only making its rounds early mornings. Ha. Sometime between my morning walk and my late afternoon one it had left its trademark at the side of the road. Had I been watching out my living room window I could have caught it in the act. Peer pressure be damned, the bear bell is a constant companion now.

Youngest son and a friend had a close call on the weekend. I say their angels were working overtime. They had headed out to go hunting, taking a trailer with two saddled horses in it. They had planned to drive to the river and cross on horseback to hunt on the other side. One thing treatment taught me is the futility of worrying about things that may never happen. Previously I would have thought it was all up to me to pray constantly so that they got home safe and sound. Sounds like I think I'm God or something, eh? Okay, to be honest, I've thought everything was up to me. It's not. I know that's not news to you but it is to me. Anyway about 15 minutes after they left home the phone rings. The horse trailer had a broken spring and as it broke the horse trailer broke away from the truck completely and slid on its side down the road, passing the truck as the guys were trying to come to a stop. Makes me shiver still to type that. Eventually both the truck and trailer got stopped. They were able to get the horses out of the top of the trailer, which had its top peeled partially away in the accident. Miraculously the horses had minor injuries. The boys felt pretty jittery. Youngest son commented later on in the day just how little time it took to die. At supper time he offered to be the one to pray, giving thanks for the safety of the day.

While dearest one was helping these young men get things upright again his cell phone rang. On the other end was a coworker telling him of the death of one of their colleauges the night before. A young woman in a tragic accident of her own.

It was a sobering weekend.