Mary came on June 2nd. She will have been on Shadow Mountain for almost three months when she leaves on August 31st. Her timing was fortuitous. I needed buoying up and her simple act of showing up helped. A lot.<\/p>\n
About a month later her presence proved critical as I hit the E.R. at St. Anthony’s and didn’t come home until 27 days later. Mary took care of Shadow and the house while\u00a0 I recovered.<\/p>\n
She and her partner, Guru, have demonstrated with actions what family can mean. Thanks, Mary.<\/p>\n
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We will slip into a transition zone, if we haven’t already. A zone in which I am leaving Shadow Mountain, but not yet; and, where I am moving into Elk Run but not there. Between. A liminal space in which old ways and purposes can transform.<\/p>\n
I’m going to let those changes emerge as Shadow Mountain fades and Elk Run comes into focus. Three weeks.<\/p>\n
We all have these threshold moments in our lives. Another occurred for me in 1970. My job, rag cutter at Fox River Paper, offered no intellectual stimulation. Which I need. When Reverend Curtis Herron broached the idea of seminary, I laughed. At first.<\/p>\n
Later, while jumping into the rotary boiler to pack in the cut rags, I realized. What am I doing? Judy and I were in a bad patch in our open marriage. There was no future in cutting rags. Seminary didn’t seem like a bad idea.<\/p>\n
Twenty or so years later I left the Presbyterian ministry to write novels. (Thanks to Kate.) That threshold moment in Appleton, Wisconsin had steered me onto a surprising life path.<\/p>\n
What threshold moments do you recall?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mary came on June 2nd. She will have been on Shadow Mountain for almost three months when she leaves on August 31st. Her timing was fortuitous. I needed buoying up and her simple act of showing up helped. A lot. About a month later her presence proved critical as I hit the E.R. at St. … Continue reading Doorways<\/span>