As it should

Ten years and a bit ago now, I took a trip to Hot Springs over my mid-fall break. It was partly a distraction - I had just handed in my tenure and promotion (to Associate) packets, and to keep my mind from focusing on "What if the answer is 'no'?" I decided to go and do something different.

One of the things I did on that trip was to walk up....I forget its actual name but they called it a "mountain" (it is the one with the lookout tower on top. It's not a really-real mountain, not in the sense that someone who's been up on Long's Peak or Mauna Kea would call a mountain). Anyway, I walked up early the morning I was leaving, and as I walked up, I passed a woman - probably a local, she seemed very familiar with the area, like she walked it daily. And she stopped at one of the overlooks, took a deep breath, and said, "Everything is as it should be."

That always struck me. Partly because it seemed a bit of a non sequitur, partly because, well, how can you tell that from one view off one side of a big hill? But mainly it struck me because it seemed to be a "Joan of Arcadia" moment - this was back when the show was on and I was an avid watcher of it. And I admit, as sentimental as the show could be at times, I liked the trope used, that God might speak to you through an ordinary man or woman (or child), and that it's wise to listen for those moments when something doesn't seem to follow, because that may be an instruction or encouragement.

And I always wondered, after, if "Everything is as it should be" was one of those encouragements. (Of course, you know the outcome of the tenure-and-promotion; I wouldn't still be where I am now if the answer was "no"). And that maybe I do need to take a breath sometimes and just accept that things will work out.

Break was good. The time at home was uneventful. I knit a bit - enough to finish the back of Pocketses and almost finish a pair of simple socks I had in progress. The rest of the family (brother's family, my dad's two brothers and their families) called on Thanksgiving. My mom and I did go out on Black Friday, but only to one of the farm stores (Blain's) because birdseed was on a good sale. The place was packed, but people were courteous and friendly. (Hm. I wonder if farm-types are different in some way). (And ALL the registers were open and working smoothly, so no one got too stacked up)

Coming back was a bit of a challenge. The train was three plus hours late, the dining car schedule was messed  up (but my car attendant offered to bring me my meal in my room. And I tipped him an extra $5 for that; it only seemed fair). We got progressively later. I tried to get lunch but the dining car was still slow and we were 10 minutes from my stop by the time they got around to taking my table's order....

At least my car was okay. And I worried about my house, despite living next door to a cop and leaving a light on a timer and not really having anything that worth stealing (12 year old computer, 6 year old LCD tv, older dvd player....). But it was okay. And I worried about bad news from various fronts. No, no bad news.

So I did sigh that "Everything is as it should be" as I put my groceries away.