The Start of November 2023

The Start of November 2023

(9th Post) November Gail winds. Michigan’s legendary story of Edmond Fitzgerald comes to mind as I look back on this month now. A perfect storm brewing not knowing and not fully understanding what’s about to happen that changes our lives forever.

My first stop was back to Allison’s to go over plans to expand her teachings to other Equestrian Centers nationwide. The grant foundation that she was receiving her centers’ funds from encouraged her to train other consultants walking the same path, on how she is organizing, consulting, promoting, and growing her business as a nonprofit. They saw her as a leader on how she is impacting her clients, veterans and community. As her husband said, let’s make her ‘Queen’ of her industry!

We discussed marketing, online courses and events to start in 2024, plus strengthening courses for the veterans was in the works.

Excited for the future, we spoke many times about the projects and started getting materials ready. Life is good.

Left Indiana and onto Tennessee for a surprise visit with my cousin Liz and helped her and her husband the great Phil, finish painting their deck and get their home ready for an early winter.

It had been a long trying year for them as well, and we had great discussions on life and how short it becomes as we get older.

Frosty nights at 27 degrees make living in a rv a bit chilly, and so the urge to move onwards south closed out that visit!

Next stop, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Cousin Liz & Phil

Michigan Fall

Michigan Fall

(8th Post) October arrives and I spent it in my home state visiting my kids and their busy families. Watched the grandkids’ football games. Celebrated birthdays, decorated for Halloween, and spent time with the grandkids. Had a great time and I’m keeping the stories and memories for own.

While I was in Michigan, I finalized my folk’s final estate. Another door closed and complete. The time and money to pay fees & paperwork administering even the littlest of details is mind blowing.  It doesn’t matter how much or how little a person has in the end, making the decisions of what they wanted and having a will that was so basic and outdated was frustrating. Just trying to get it done, and just wanted to make it fair.

The state of Michigan probate courts and rules work for the state and the lawyers and not much for the people. To get a simple question answered you had to go through a ridiculous amount of phone calls to people who should know the answer but will pass the question onto the next person. Hours and hours on the phone just to fined out if I could file their probate small estate forms which included property in another county, at Ingham county probate court – which it should, since that’s the county she died in, and according to all the state rules and laws that’s where it should be filed. And yet it took forever for them to decide that…of course, they added, you should pay for a lawyer to make sure. Which would cost more than what the estate is worth. No offense to lawyers, but what a racket! End of rant.

October should have been relaxing, but I found myself flustered again. I loved being around my family but felt back on the treadmill. Wasn’t sure why until I came across a story online that described how I felt.

The Unbalanced Washing Machine story by Dr. Bertice Berry.

I found Dr. Berry on Facebook telling stories. Look her up and take a listen sometime. She’s funny, thoughtful, amazing and tells great stories on life. One morning I opened Facebook and this is the story she told. The Unbalanced Washing Machine. She talked about how her daughter would come home to do her laundry and would try to do it all in one load – into her brand-new washer. Dr Berry described her new washer and how quiet and well run it was. However, as her daughter kept overloading the machine (she called her one-load!) the machine would get off balance and be really loud. After a while, she found that even when she put in a really light load, the machine would still sound off balanced and loud. In other words, when you’ve been carrying a heavy load for so long, when life finally lightens up, you can still feel off balance. It takes time to recalibrate and find balance in your life.

Makes sense, after caregiving for so many years and 24/7 care in the last few years – on top of everything else I had going on, it was a heavy load which became my norm. Even though the responsibility is gone and I’m free…it still felt as though I was carring it all.

Time to recalibrate with another adventure.

A Surprise Wedding!

A Surprise Wedding!

(7th Post) My time in Angola was extended and for a great surprise celebration! Thankfully Jim shared with me the biggest news and best kept secret of the year, Allison was planning a surprise wedding! Even the groom didn’t know!! Yup! Have to stay for this one!

Allsion and Randy have been together for over 17 years. They are the type of people you meet and immediately become your favorites in many ways.

Extremely busy in their business, their community, and their seaplane community, I was lucky enough to have an evening when Allison and Randy (and of course the dogs!) all came over to my campsite for dinner! Talk of the upcoming weekend with the famous annual floatplane fly in, I could see their passion in everything they did. Randy was excited of the news of many family and friends were coming to the event – he had no idea it was to see the two of them get married!

The day was beautiful, full of chaos and excitement in the air! The seaplane fly in was a weekend of planes coming in from all over the US and some to participate in a wild games of cards where they would fly from one lake to another to gather 5 cards to enter in the nights bonfire best of 5 card poker game!

The local Inn on the lake took on the event as if it was their own. Seaplanes arrived at their water edge, crowds gathered on land and by boats to watch the afternoon sight! There was a variety of float planes, new and old, many different types, flying in and out through out the day. At least 50 float planes came for the weekend.

Sunset was coming and as part of the Fly In tradition, Allison flew Randy and a couple of his friends up for them to parachute down to their runway to kick off the bonfire party. Little did he know another celebration awaited him!

Upon landing Randy was given a note and everyone gathered close as he read it aloud. Allison’s proposal was a simple poem and when he said yes, it’s about time! The crowd roared!

Allsion flew home and changed to meet her partner in the woods. Their friends had secretly created a magical space in the woods next to the runway on their property.

Grandma King was ushered in to play nontraditional wedding music! Chaps the pony and Clara, Allsion’s niece, came down the aisle tossing flower petals, and everyone gathered to watch the most fun, magical, loving ceremony between two amazing people.

No surprise in the amount of love it took to pull all of this off.

It was a true celebration of love for Allison and Randy. As it should be!

 

Letting Go

Letting Go

(6th Post) Letting Go

September 23, 23

Up to this point, I had been travelling with some of my mother’s ashes. Most of her ashes were laid to rest with my dad in the Mason First United Methodist Church Memorial Garden in April of 2023. However, she wanted some of her ashes released in Oliver Lake in Indiana, where she often called home.

Her fondest childhood memories were there at Lake Oliver. A summer cottage became home for my mom and her brother, sisters, and numerous cousins; it was sanctuary to play, swim, go riding and listen to summer concerts.

After hearing the passing of one of the cousins, mom learned he was going to have his ashes spread over the lake. She thought that was an amazing idea! She was having a good day and was very clear, so I asked her if that was something she would like, to have some of her ashes taken to Oliver Lake. She lit up and with the biggest smile and she said yes! So, I told her I would find a way and make it happen!

Caregiving has its own responsibility, but fulfilling someone else’s final wishes is another level. In carring her ashes with me, gave comfort and a sense of still upholding responsibility yet to deliver on a promise.

My niece Allison offered to take my brothers and I up to Oliver Lake in her float plane. She offered this on a day she was already celebrating a major event in her life, (check out my next post! 😉) I told her we didn’t need to do this on her day, but she was more than happy to do this for us and grandma!

It was a perfect morning, sunshine, cloudless, and the water was still as glass. It was my first time up in a small aircraft, bonus it was a float plane, triple bonus it was with Allison flying!

Between my brother Jim and his daughter Allison, we got a sky guided tour of northern Indiana. Pretty amazing on so many levels!

We finally spotted Lake Oliver and landed in the middle of the small lake. We all got out onto the floats of the plane and Jim did the honor of letting mom go. It was as if she swam away in the current.

A sense of release and letting go came over me as I watched, and we took a moment to say our goodbyes once again.

Letting go to move forward is the hardest thing we learn in our lifetimes. It’s not to forget, it is for our memories to allow them to be eternal.

 

 

 

“Angels around us, angels beside us, angels within us, angels within us. Angels are watching over you when times are good or stressed. Their wings wrap gently around you, whispering you are loved.”

Angola, IN

Angola, IN

(5th Post) Pony Paradise

Angola, IN is rich in farmlands, industries, and history. However, I came up here to visit my brother Jim and his daughter Allison and her partner Randy.

Allison owns and operates the Summit Equestrian Center in Fort Wayne, about 20 minutes from where I was staying. The center is a remarkable place for the horses she has rescued, who then become a resource for people and veterans to come and also find help.  It is a nontraditional therapy that is successfully helping people with PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, Anxiety, Depression, Adjustment Trauma, Family Stress, Low motivation, and Grief and loss.

I had the opportunity to help Allison at the barns to prepare the center for an open house on Friday 15th to meet the mustangs she rescued. Now you would think these wild horses would be hard to deal with and challenging to have around people. Quite the opposite. They came to Allison untamed, worn, and uncared for, and in a short time they became healthy and very trusting of people.

The open house showcased the mustangs and how they will become useful resources for the center in helping people. It was a great turn out for the event and there were even some Summit followers from Mason, MI who came down. (My home town.)

The following day was the Trails to Zero ride. Allison and her veterans rode her horses downtown Fort Wayne to bring awareness to veterans’ suicide rate. Brave Hearts joined Allison’s Carvery and had an additional 13 riders join the trail.

The 20-mile journey ended at the Veteran’s Shrine just outside of Fort Wayne. A beautiful park with a museum, Vietnam wall, and many other monuments for servicemen and service branches. Still under construction is a chapel, which will be a beautiful addition.

My brother Jim and I followed the trailers back to the farm to bring the horses home. I loved how the other animals welcomed their friends home!

 

An exhausting weekend for the Summit crew and vets, but one that was rewarding for so many.

The Summit Equestrian Center offers free service for our veterans, service members and their families. If you know someone who could benefit from the center’s services, click here for more information or to schedule an appointment.

The center is a 501(c (3) nonprofit organization, if you would like to donate to help the center click here.

They also have their 5th annual Stock the Barn fundraiser on Nov 10, 2023, click on their Facebook page here for updates.

Pony Paradise