Loss begins

Well, we have lost our TV access - or rather had the service canceled prior to leaving for our mission.  I guess the only good thing is that I will not be treated to the parade of human woes and political activities and endless minutia about the effects of the hurricane - but then there are many people who thrive on that.

One news item that caught my attention was the damage done to the state house in Montpelier, Vt.  I hope that the archives were not in the basement because the flood waters had invaded the state house and so there is a chance that the records are now damaged and not be able to be photographed by our missionary team there.  When records are lost, so are family connections with the past and that is a huge loss.  I viewed a microfilm from Australia some years ago, while looking for the naturalization record of my Great Great Grandfather August Friedrich Trost.  The film came from the archives in Brisbane, and they were in very sad shape.  They had been stored in the basement of a building in Brisbane and had been rescued from one of the many floods that Brisbane has endured.  I could see how damaged the document was and could see the mildew that had almost obliterated my ancestor's record.  True, for some people it was just a name and a record, but to me there is a genetic connection, a very real and tangible connect with a generation gone from mortality and the only way I can get to know him is through such a record as this.

I guess the next loss will be access to the internet through our phone line.  We are going to try the Verizon Hot Spot that comes with our cell phone.  I never cease to be amazed at our opportunities for connectivity in this day and age.  I recently wrote to my friend in Australia that he and I seem to have crawled out of the dark ages where there were Royal (brand) typewriters, a copper tub where water was heated out doors for washdays (laundry), and for bath water, home gardens, chickens in a coop in the backyard, few automobiles (we did not have one) and to balance this, holidays at the beach where we could play all day and have no fear of molestation.  A big loss for me, will be to leave my quilting and sewing activities here at home, along with other craft activities.  Creativity is a big thing in my life.

Another loss is the trips I made to be with our grandchildren.  We will see them on the way to our mission assignment, but not see them personally for a year.  We will have to settle for Skype contact and phone calls.  As a grandmother, it is hard to not be in close physical contact with these three little millennial children, to talk to them and to follow their thoughts about the sleep fairy, 'nastics, scouts, camping, fishing with Dad and possible piano lessons.

Along with loss, comes additions.  From this vantage point this morning here in Arizona, I can see the addition of new contacts, making new friends, seeing new places, having new experiences.  We will be assigned to the State House Archives in Augusta, Maine and we are going there when Fall is in full swing.  Ah, the beauty of fall in New England - the myriad shades of yellow, rust, brown, orange and everything in between that is an intrinsic part of fall and deciduous trees.  Then comes the nakedness of winter but that is relieved by hoar frost, snow fall, and ice storms that turn the trees to spun silver in the morning sun.  Then comes spring with the promise of new life in trees, birds, animals and flowers.  This distinct change of seasons was not a part of my growing up in Australia, but was part of my 20 years of living in Pennsylvania; but I will miss living in the High Desert of Arizona.

And so the loss and gains of life are upon us.  Other losses are history, gains are present and in the future who knows what is in store for us?  Did the flood thing in Pennsylvania in 1977, not fun.  Did the trek from Pa to Az and decided that a Hertz truck holding all our belongings, while more commodious than the handcarts or Conestoga wagons of the pioneers on the Oregon Trail, I did not want to spend my life crisscrossing the USA, but here we go, back east with our few worldly belongings stuffed into the car and no Hertz truck with furniture and possessions.  This is what they call downsizing.  Think of us doing 500 miles a day and pray for a comfortable bed in a new motel for the 5 nights we expect to be on the road.