Fire

There are so many roses that the bush bends from their weight. The winds didn't bother them.The fires have turned the sky in SoCal light brown and there's still a slight scent of smoke in the air. The worst of it has passed as the Santa Anas have died down and the humidity has increased somewhat. Our friends in Lake Arrowhead did not lose their home but a few of their neighbors did. This is not the first time they've had to evacuate but they say it never gets easier. I've read that some who lose their homes and possessions through fire say that in a way it is freeing - they learn that they are more than the sum of their things and what is important and matters in the long run. Perhaps. For some.

My grandparents had their home destroyed by fire when my Mother was just a toddler and that experience left her with a life-long fear of fire. Her mother caught pneumonia and died shortly after the fire and they blamed her death indirectly on the fire. She never knew her mother and said that as she grew older she decided that one day she would be the mother she had wanted. I think one of the best things a mother can give is the knowledge that you are completely and without reservation loved for who you are - warts and all. It's a love that makes you believe in yourself. This wonderful person, your mother, says you're terrific so it must be so. She always regretted not having a mother as she grew up but turned herself into a mother that her five children (and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren) adored. She did alright for a little girl from Norwegian Grove.