Mietzke's POST Holden Adventure

I love watching her face
As she stands in the afternoon sunshine
She is filled with patient sobriety
Waiting
Waiting
For helicopter wings
And tiny feet to dance
On her out stretched hand

She stood there yesterday stock still
A half an hour at a time waiting
Not daring to move
For fear she would miss her moment of communion
Then the hummingbird came
First one then another
To the feeder

Trusting this patient human perch
Whose eyes glowed with delight
And wonder
And twinkled with laughter at the beauty
Of tiny green, brown, and red feathers
And the feeling of trust
Between them

In this meeting of feather and skin
In the warmth of the sunny porch
In the quiet patient waiting and stillness,
Joy found a home

The village is teaming over with business as we prepare the village for the summer crowds. The wood pecker is busily hammering along with hard working villagers. I have had a paint crew all week working on the dining hall they were efficient and fun to work with and the dining hall is transforming! The people who have been with me are wonderful. I think leading work groups is possibly one of my favorite things!
It had been breezy today and the trees are dancing and making beautiful spring sounds. The birds are out in droves pulling worms from the uncovered soil, helicoptering near feeders, and soaring to and fro over the village.
This morning Dave came into the living room only to find a humming bird sitting on the chandelier. He opened up the front door and invited her back out into the day. Even the chipmunks and squirrels are making their first spring appearance.
We have been taking the window coverings off of all of the buildings and opening up doors and windows that have been closed up all winter and the fresh spring breeze is blowing curtains and airing things out.
The work week seems to be going smoothly with everyone pitching in to aide in the transition. We have beautiful new table tops for the dining room and the new bookstore is coming right along, and the carpentry crew is making lots of progress building cabinets and shelves for the new offices. All of the plumbing is being turned on and the village power is starting to rise. All of the bedding is being brought out and the rooms in the lodges cleaned and readied for summer visitors. This preparation process is being lovingly and joyously done and it is fun to take part in it.
It has been fun to have so many people in the village. As we ready the village for summer I am also preparing our family for leaving. Our time at Holden has been such an amazing and strengthening time for us. It has deepened both our connection to each other and to God. We have made good friendships and experienced the wrapping arms of community in such a beautiful way. We are grieving, and rejoicing at the prospects of the new journey before us, and as we head out we will leave will full hearts and readiness for our new adventure.

The Jay feels like my kind of bird squawking and fluttering and causing all kinds of excitement over seeds on my front porch.
We hung a bell of suet and seed from the porch yesterday and the jay keeps carrying on like I gave him the best present he has ever gotten, and there is no way he is going to share. You might think it was a new fancy car by his gestures of protection and the bragging that has been going on from the porch all morning. The jay has attracted the attention of so many other birds who have come to see what all the fuss is about, but the jay pecks at the seeds and brags, but will not share. He lets the others get close enough for a look, maybe a sniff of the food and then squawks and chases them off. The jay feels a little bit like a televangelist proclaiming the reign of God but biting you when you get to close to the truth. Am I this way with Chocolate? No, I hide it, and tell no one as it melts in my mouth. Chocolate is best consumed in private.

I normally try to keep too much of the downer parts of our life off of the blog, but I realized this week that I am tired and a little overwhelmed with job hunting, working, being a mother and a wife, trying to support Dave in his healing and adjustment to being in the village in a different way, and trying to prepare to move and really not knowing how to get everything done that I have to get done.
So I thought I would send a little petition out to ask for some prayer: for patience and discernment, the ability to be present in the here and now, and just general good thoughts to come our way as Dave is healing and as we prepare to leave Holden. Thanks to all of you who have shared your kindness with us over these two years and for checking in on us from time to time. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by so much love.

Reaching These Clumsy Wings Towards Light

They hang suspended in the sky
No strings attached
Gliding on unseen breezes
Illuminated with the light of the afternoon sun
Each gentle tilt of wing or tail
Sending them into a dance across the sky

They rise and fall like skilled puppets
Making an appearance on the stage
Each time they move they change the mood of the scene
White, black, and grey
They perform their sky dance
Air and light their props
The lonely cry of each gull is the music that guides them on

I wish that my dance was this well rehearsed
With flow, grace, and agility
I wish that my heart could respond to each tilt of my hand
Pushing me with swiftness in the right direction
If only I felt the breezes lift me
When I am sure I will plummet to the ground.
It seems that even a toad has more natural grace than I,
In this dance with life

I live black and white
but I seldom find the gray
My dance is one of comedy and tragedy
With blunder for props
And yet the music that guides me on
Is the same as the gull
My lonely pushes me forward
Ever reaching these clumsy wings towards light

Hello friends and Family,

I have been out of the village for two weeks finishing up the last portion of my Waldorf Teacher training from which I graduated last week. The graduation was a sweet small affair and I will miss all of the beautiful women who I studied with for the last few years. Dave and the girls came up for the graduation and my Mother made the trek to Canada as well and it was so nice to be surrounded by so much love and support. I spent a week in Duncan BC doing a practicum and my mother came and spent the week with me getting some study time for herself during the day while I was at my practicum and then hanging out with me in the evenings. It was a good week.

On Wednesday of my practicum week David was changing a light bulb at the Holden Bed and Breakfast down lake and fell off a ladder breaking his ankle in two places and tearing ligaments. He had surgery on Wednesday and our friend Rachel took the girls back to the village. I had a job interview in California and my car was in Victoria Canada so I was unable to be with him for the surgery, but the village wrapped around us to help. Jaci and Linda our down lake goddesses drove Dave to and from the hospital and gave him food. My friend Rachel watched the girls in the village along with all of the other amazing friends we have here.

I got back to the Bed and Breakfast on Saturday night and came back up lake on Monday morning with Dave.

The village greeted me at the bus with a cap and gown and congratulation signs and a bar of chocolate to celebrate my graduation. They hummed a graduation song and it made me feel so loved. Then they greeted Dave with equal concern and care. It is so strange to feel so established here and to know that we will be leaving in just about ten weeks. It is possible that Dave will get his cast off the week we are leaving…It feels nice to be home and I am so thankful for all of the people who helped out during my absence and Dave’s predicament.

It is strange to adjust to the idea of leaving, but it also feels like the timing is right. I think it is going to be difficult for Dave to be here with such limited mobility, but he was already in the shop today working on some wood projects and finished my Maltese cross for Easter which turned out beautifully.

Dave made some big disks for the bottoms of his crutches, but I almost can’t bear to watch him go up and down the hill. The snow is wet and slippery and we got several inches of fresh snow last night. He seems to be taking it in stride though.

Easter is coming up fast and we are working on the plans for holy week and finishing up the decorations, and I am still in the throws of a job hunt and Dave and I are working on making life decisions. Life keeps moving right along and sometimes it is hard to keep up.