65

Just a quick note today.  It is my 65th birthday.  I was born on Father's Day, June 18, 1950, in Omak, Washington.  I honor both my parents, Jim and Donna Daulph, and my three sisters, Dana, Tia and Betsy.  I have heard from my Dad and all three sisters today.  My mother suffers from dementia and has not remembered my birthday for several years.  She never liked to be reminded that her oldest child was aging, probably because it marked her own aging.  She will be 86 on July 1st.

A gorgeous June rose.  I love them and consider them my birthday flower.  I love them in gardens so much more than in a bouquet.  Rose scent is one of my favorites.

One of the gifts of this sabbatical time is having space to reflect on what is next for me and although I am in process with the reality that I have reached an age that was formerly associated with retirement, I am not ready for to let go of my work.  I have been re-energized and have lots of ideas rolling around about where I might take what I have learned on this sabbatical into my work with WSU Extension.  I will not write about that yet because it will be premature.

I am in the process of checking in with wise friends and counselors about some ideas I have and asking if they make sense.  So far, everyone is positive and has had some helpful suggestions and insights.  I look forward to continuing these conversations as I complete the sabbatical and return to the formal workplace.  My journey is also wrapped up in my generation.  I am a baby boomer and I am having lots of fun watching what my fellow boomers are up to as they hit their late 60's.  It is very encouraging to me.  I am probably not a person who will just fade out but will choose to be active for as long as possible.


Yesterday I went to one of my favorite swimming places on Lake Whatcom, Euclid Park, and enjoyed my longest swim of the year there.  Probably a little over a half mile round trip.  No power boats buzzing around and so the water was not as rough as it can be.  There was little wind.  I spotted one of the eagles who frequent the cove roosting in one of the "eagle" trees as I call them.  While I was in the water it flew out across the water and then back into the forest that borders the cove into another favorite tree.  While I was swimming I spotted an osprey in the distance.  Osprey are my favorite birds, so curious and beautiful.  I am obsessed with Explore website that has live cam on an osprey nest in Maine.  I watched three babies grow last year and this year there are two new babies and an unhatched egg.  I wonder what happens to that egg if it does not hatch?  I will be checking in each day to find out.  Explore is a great site, funded by Charles Annenberg Weingarten and his family's foundation.  I love watching the bears in Alaska, the walruses, the elephants, the pandas and more.

To my great delight I moved into the backstroke and just overhead another osprey, a male by the markings, flew right over me.  I could see it looking at me as I looked up at it.  Not the first time this has happened to me by a long shot.  Each time is magical.  The bird was no more than about 75 feet above me.  I watched in fly away into the distance and felt blessed by the visit.

Thanks to Spirit Animals for the picture.

This afternoon, Mike and I will take the darling dogs to the Northshore trail and we will walk and I will swim with them.  Tonight, Ben, Mike and I will go to Keenan's on the Pier for a celebratory dinner!

It feels good to be 65!

As always, thanks for reading.