OK, OK I forgot something.....

Somewhere between Owego and the MA. border, I made a deal with "Elise".  She's the girl who
gives me all of the instructions on my Magellan GPS system....and the deal was, I'd take my 
"lead foot" off of the accelerator if she'd quit yelling out "WARNING, WARNING...DIDN'T YOU 
HEAR ME I SAID WARNING!  It worked for both of us.  I didn't get a ticket and she could just be 
her normal navigational self.  I'm telling you, when you travel alone it tends to get lonely.  You get
your company from wherever you may find it.  Good Night, and I promise to take it easy and be 
safe.  Now that I've fessed up to the little issue of going too fast, tomorrow I promise to be better.  

Day #3-one heck of a day

Good evening friends, this time from Lowell, MA., still 1,600 miles from home.  This day has been an eventful one in many ways, some good and some sad.  Let's start with the good, ok?  


I woke up very early this morning in the New England village of Owego, NY.  It was dark when I left there in the very early morning hours.  I actually felt sad to leave it~it's a place that is very easy to become enchanted with.  Right before I pulled out onto the highway, I took one last glance back down the Susquehanna River bridge.  Even in the early morning darkness, it still reminded me of a fairy tale kind of place.  I couldn't get a good picture of it, because of the constant rain yesterday, but please take a moment and "google" Owego, NY and you can see for yourself just how beautiful it is.  I would recommend it as a place to visit to any of you.  Well worth the time it took for me to get there.  


By 12:30 pm., after MANY trials and tribulations in driving there, I arrived at Cape Elizabeth, Maine ....  the home of the Portland Head Lighthouse.  My #1  item on the Miller Bucket List can now be ceremoniously crossed off!  It was an experience like nothing I ever had before and the 3 hours that I spent visiting there were some of the best ones I've had in a long time.


It was every bit as beautiful as I imagined it to be.  I was not disappointed in the least!  I took several photos, but am including a few with this blog.  I hope someday to see it again before I die.  

Wow, I look EVEN shorter than I normally do!  I went up the first adults I could find and asked if they would take a picture of me by the lighthouse.  Little did I know that they were from France and spoke hardly ANY English but we managed to communicate with one another and got the photo regardless.  Good folks, just visiting the New England states,  like me.

The sea!  In the book, "Sarah, Plain and Tall", Sarah talks of the "colors of the sea"....its blues and greens.  It was every bit as beautiful as she described it.  I'm so glad that I finally saw it.


It was strange, the moment that I opened the car door, it was as if I had stepped into another world, one so very far away from me.  A visit to the Portland Head Light House is a treat to all of your senses...the smell of the sea, the sad and melancholy sound of the fog horn, the sound of the waves lapping up against the rocky shoreline, the sight of the boats scurrying back and forth to Portland Harbor, and the feel of the cool wind across your face.  I wished that I could "bottle" those feelings up and bring them back to Kansas with me.  I do not know if I shall ever see such as this again.  What a beautiful day.


And now, for the not so good...only, I think I want to say it in a different way.  I always remember to thank God for what I have, but sometimes I forget to be thankful for what I have not.  So tonight, I am thankful that even though today's drive was tremendously stressful, I am so thankful that I didn't get lost~even if it seemed like I was.  I am thankful that I don't have the opportunity to deal with rush hour traffic involving 40,000 other people each day.  And I am extremely thankful that even though my trip is going to be a short one, I still had the chance to finally realize my #1 Bucket List item...."to travel to Maine and see my very first lighthouse."  


I will start out for home tomorrow from here in Lowell...planning on getting out of here by 4:30 a.m. once again. I need to be home, I want to be home with my family. This morning, my children lost their grandfather, Runold Hemman of Coffeyville, KS.  He was a retired farmer there...a stubborn German Lutheran man who took my 3 children under his wings and was the best grandpa a kid could ask for.  He had been ill but his death was not expected. I plan to leave early in the morning, hopefully by 4:30, and drive as far as I can.  With luck, I may make it to Indiana.  Rest asssured I will stop for the night if I should grow too tired.  


For this night, I give thanks to God above for helping me get to Cape Elizabeth, Maine to see my lighthouse.  A lady there who was also visiting asked where I was from.  When I told her that I had driven over 1,700 miles from the state of Kansas to see the lighthouse, she couldn't believe it.  She was kind enough to take my photo from the steps of the front porch of the lightkeeper's house.  


Friends, please if you would, may I ask you to pray for me on the journey home?  I need to be there and even though I know that the kids are ok, it's still a sad time.  And you know, sometimes we can even be specific in our prayers...so if you would, here's what I need the most....


There is a turn off coming up very soon after I leave Lowell in the morning.  Hey, as a matter of fact, it's Exit #22 ....I have to be able to get off on that exit, this morning I didn't and spent 3 and a half hours on the "Trail from Hell"...pardon the language, but it was.  If I get on the right exit and can get 625 miles down the road, then it will get me through the hardest part of the journey through Massachuttess and New York.  I'll feel a lot better knowing that you are praying me through it.  I believe that prayer works....it will be important for me tomorrow to keep my head on straight and not miss that turn.  Thanks for helping me get home safe :)


Well, good night all from New England.  You know it's beautiful here and lots of people would love to live here.  As for me, this Kansas farm girl thinks that the flat lands are much more appealing.  My name, Peggy Ann Scott Miller, is written in the soil of the Sunflower State.  And that's all right by me!

Today, May 30, 2012 was a great day to be alive in....it was also, a great day to go "home" on.  Rest in Heavenly Peace, Runold Raymond Hemman.  He served the Lord all of his days on earth.

Bucket list item #1-Day 2

Good evening friends and family from Owego, Tioga County, New York!  What a beautiful place to spend part of a day and the night in.  I arrived here about 3:30 p.m. after quite a day of travel on the road.  But hey, let's start with the good stuff first, right?

Today, for once, I didn't get lost one time....at least on the journey getting here from Richmond, Indiana early this morning.  I couldn't believe it but it was true, yet I have to admit that had I not been such a "lucky guesser" on three different occasions, my story would be different.  I had no vehicle trouble, never ran out of gas, no flat tires, and for the second day in a row, I didn't get tired along the way. I do not know what is up with that.  And equal surprising is the fact that so far, I haven't misplaced my glasses, cell phone, car keys, or wallet and given my current "track record" for losing things at home, that's got to be some kind of miracle.  I just keep plugging away, putting one mile and then another behind me as I make my way towards Maine come tomorrow morning.

Ahem, and now for the "not so good" and friends, there was plenty of THAT to go around this morning.  I started out bright and early, I mean really bright and early at 4:30 a.m.  I wanted to get well down the road before the sun came up and every other person would decide to join me on the interstate.  My GPS system gave me some issues mostly because in my haste to get out of the motel and on the road, I hadn't taken the time to get it properly inserted on its charging cradle.  So I hadn't even made it 300 yards away when it just fell to the floor.  "Old lefty" was having a little trouble with its part of the two- handed affair it takes to put the charger on the GPS.  I was struggling for the better part of 10 minutes just trying to get the dumb thing put together and I was getting more frustrated by the moment.

Finally I said, "Come ON "old lefty" cause you can do this!"  And I had no sooner said it than it slid right on, just like it was supposed to.  With a smile on my face, I was off down the interstate.  The morning flew by quickly as I left Indiana and entered in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.  All was well and I felt confident I'd make it here by 3 p.m.  Then the rain came.

By 11, while I was still in the farthest part of Ohio, the dark skies just opened up and the heavens let all of the rain in them fall to the earth.  It didn't just sprinkle, it poured!  It poured so heavy that at times I couldn't even see 10 feet in front of the car.  I just did my best to keep on the road.  For the better part of an hour it was a continuous rain.  And then the hail came.  And not just one round of it, but 3 in all by the time it stopped.  By shortly after 12:30 and I had entered into New York, it was apparent that the weather was going to get worse instead of better.  Several times I pulled off to the shoulder to wait it out.  I didn't know what else to do.  If I stayed on the road, I was afraid of hitting someone or having someone not see me and get hit.  If I left the road and stayed on the shoulder, someone could also not see me there and hit me.  It was a horrible and unrelenting rain.  The thunder and lightening were everywhere and to me, it sounded so very different than what we hear in Kansas.  And speaking of Kansas, there was a time when I wasn't so sure that one of those infamous Kansas tornadoes was going to come over the rows upon rows of trees.  And I can guarantee you that I'd be ticked beyond belief if I had come 3/4 of the way to Maine, only to be swallowed up by a twister!  LOL  Finally the rain stopped about 2 hours ago and the night is cool and clean smelling.  But it sure made for a rough 5 hour drive today.

One of the nicest sights to see this day was the sign announcing I'd finally made it to this place in southern New York, a village called Owego.  As you can tell by the sign, it's no "spring chicken".  Owego is rich in heritage and tradition, a very proud community.  I'm so glad to have spent the day here.

Where I am from, Kansas, we're just glad to have seen our communities celebrate their centennial birthdays.  Owego has been here for, wait a minute cause I'm doing the math, 225 years.  You can't be here that long without establishing some very deep ties and traditions.

I didn't know what to expect when I came here.  I knew that a devastating flood had inundated the entire town just last September.  I came, fully expecting to see a village still unburying itself from the effects of the early fall natural disaster.  I expected that, but was I EVER wrong.  This community is ALIVE and WELL with people who truly want things to just get back to normal.  The businesses are open and thriving and quite honestly I think it's one of the most well-kept towns that I've ever been to.  People take pride in themselves and each other here and it shows from the moment you enter town on the Susquehanna Bridge.  As I looked into the water of the Susquehanna River today, it seemed so amazing that it could rise and wreak as much havoc as it did, now 9 months ago.  Today it was just its usual normal self, flowing peacefully through the middle of Owego.

I had the chance to look around the town as well as get lost in it...not once, not twice, hey I stopped counting after 12 times!  Geesch, if any one asked me where north was, I'd have no idea.  There are many one-way streets here and I'll be the first to admit that I don't pay attention always.  Luckily no one was coming at me on any of the dozen times I didn't see the one-way arrow.  Sometimes I was poking along looking for a certain place and drivers would have to follow me slow.  At the stop light, someone actually tapped his car horn, quite nicely I might add, because I didn't realize the green arrow was mine.  If I had a day or two to practice here, it would be better and I might have the chance to fit in with the other guys.

I did some exploring on foot, even in the sprinkles of rain, to see what the neighborhood where I was staying was like.  Beautiful trees, flowers, everything is green!  We'd love this much green in Kansas :)  I didn't encounter one unfriendly person and several times, people went out of their way to help me.  They could tell by my Kansas tags that I was an "out of towner" and they had pity on me the way the good folks from New York do.  I am far from home but for today, I didn't feel so alone.

And less I be remiss, may I please tell you about something I came across today, where I was LEAST expecting to.  There is a beautiful church on the corner about 4 blocks from where I am staying tonight.  Don't know how old it is but it looks so very stately, yet welcoming, to people who might be passing by it.  As I walked up the slight rise in the lawn and headed towards the church's stone sign, there I saw it.  It was a small, engraved plaque, dedicated to a church member who had passed away.  And the short message that was on it really touched me and if I tell you about it, perhaps you will see yourself in this story too.

The plaque was dedicated to the memory and in remembrance of a young man named Stuart.  He died in his 20th year and the words that were written there were short and simple~a living testament to the people who loved him that were left behind.  I noticed that he was born in 1953, just two years before me.  I was a high school graduate the year he passed away.  And as I read the inscription once more, it made me think of who  this young man might have grown to be.  He was someone's son, a brother, and a grandson, someone's very best friend.  Stuart was important in this life, his existence however short on earth, counted for something.  That something was very special.  People ought to remember that.

I am blessed to be celebrating my 57th birthday in October.  Yet, I keep bemoaning the fact that my hair is turning gray, my wrinkles become more noticeable, and my body is developing aches and pains in new places each and every day.  Yet, seeing the small plaque today was a sobering reminder of how all of our days are numbered and we don't know how many we have.  I thank God for letting me find it today and for stopping to pause along life's way this wonderful Tuesday in late May, to learn about a young man named Stuart.  Our wrinkles and gray hair are gifts folks....awarded to those who pass through the long years of this life.  If you have them, you are blessed.  Don't be forgetting that!

Well, I have got to get to bed.  I'm leaving early, 4:30 early to head to Portland, Maine. By my calculations, I'm 75% of the way there friends!  The last 460 miles will be from Owego.  I'm excited and a little nervous about finishing the journey.  I may have to cry when I see my lighthouse but hey, that's ok too.  I'll let you know when I arrive.  Don't worry about me because I feel fine and am confident I can make it.  It's ok!

Oh, one last thing folks....How many times can you listen to the song "Chevy Van" on a CD in your car?  As many times as you like!  And that's all right by me!

Good night from Owego my friends and family,

Love to each of you~Peggy

Flat Kimberly and I this evening at the Coburn Free Library on Main Street in Owego!  That place had the great smell of "good" books about it.

Bucket List Item #1-First day out

I think I forgot to stop driving today.  My original plan was just to stay tonight in the St. Louis area and then get up early tomorrow morning and stop at Columbus, Ohio.  But since I started out at 4 a.m. I was able to get to St. Louis somewhere around noon and I couldn't see any since in just sitting there, so I just kept on driving....and driving....and driving.  First I made it all the way across Illinois and then I worked my way across the "Hoosier" state, Indiana.  It's evening time now and I have stopped at the town of Richmond, Indiana and am only moments away from the Ohio border.  With luck, I will be able to write tomorrow night's blog post from the village of Owego, New York, God willing.


If you want to know how the day went...well, let me just say that I always believe you should tell the good stuff first.  You know, the stuff you are thankful for?  Works out better for me that way because by the time I get to the bad stuff, and YES there were a couple of those moments today, well it doesn't seem as relevant any longer.  Ok, so now for the good stuff.


I had no flat tires, never ran out of gas, no car trouble at all, and was able to make very good time.  I was never "cut off" by an angry driver and was never given that wonderful "California hello" that some people seem to think is best.  I never got sleepy, not even once and that surprised me because I got up at 3 a.m. after having only 5 hours of sleep.  Hoping to sleep well tonight.  


I saw a beautiful sunrise while still in Kansas and my good friends that live in the Flint Hills area will attest to the fact that sunrises and sunsets in that part of God's country are pretty awesome.  I pulled over to the side of the road to watch it and took a photo of it to share with you.

Dennis Ulrey, for some reason I thought of you when that sun came up.  You guys in Manhattan get to see some of the most beautiful of Kansas landscape~lucky ducks!


I survived KC traffic without any problems.  I was a little surprised because this was only my second time to drive in KC all alone.  Back in November of last year, on a "spur of the moment" decision, I decided to drive to meet up with a friend in Osceola, Iowa.  But in order to get to Iowa, you gotta go through Kansas City.  My hands held on to that steering wheel with a "death grip" but I made it without any trouble.  Today was much the same.  


I knew that I'd be stopping somewhere along the line to lay the flowers out for "Eleanor", the donor of the bone that helped the doctors repair and salvage "old lefty".  I didn't know where I was going to when I left Valley Center this morning but soon found out, once I got on the road to St. Louis on I70.  


I'd been waiting for the "signal", the "go ahead" from God as to where to put them.  But it was pretty much a mystery to me.  As I passed one of the first rest areas the state of Missouri has to offer, I hesitated about maybe stopping there.  My hesitation cost me a "whack upside the head" from God and I got His message loud and clear....."Right here." It was a beautiful area, filled with shade trees and benches.  Outside the main building a group of church people were passing out water and snacks to motorists who happened by.  I knew that I wanted to have my picture taken by the tree that I had chosen to lay the flowers under.  Because I was alone, I had no choice-I had to ask a total stranger to help me.


So I went up and approached the group and said, "Hey, you're gonna think I'm crazy but would one of you be willing to take my picture over by that tree?"  I will NEVER forget what one of the gentlemen said to me, and I guess this was "think of Dennis Ulrey" day or something, but Dennis thought of you again.  


"Lady, you're not as crazy as we are...We're Baptists!"  His comment brought a smile to my face and I told briefly about "old lefty" and that a man from their state of Missouri had died and I was a recipient of his bone material.  So one of them joined me, glad to oblige, and took the photo.  The tree was one of the skinniest of all in that park area.  But something about it just called out to me as soon as I opened the car door to get out.

Even if just one person reads the note attached to them and learns about the importance of organ, bone, and tissue donation, then I will be happy.  It forever changed my life.


Ok, well now for the "not so good".....I have been wondering all day how to say this...but the only way I know is like this....How on earth can a person get lost on a journey this long when they are only 2.7 miles from home?  I'm just asking you guys because the lost person was me.  I have a Magellan GPS system that I'm getting used to, little by little.  I thought I'd be ok but this morning as went to enter I135, I misunderstood and went north instead of south and it just went downhill from there.  When I FINALLY figured out what I'd done wrong, I was smack dab in the middle of nowhere in nearly deserted Wichita, Kansas.  It was a creepy feeling, that's all I know to say about it.  So when I finally got oriented as to where I should be, the "GPS voice" began to say "turn right at"......then I looked at the screen only to see it shut itself off, "no power."  


"Crimanently" where am I supposed to turn right at?, I wondered.  So I pulled over to the side of the road and readjusted the GPS so that it sat in the power cradle properly.  Geesch, in my haste I'd forgotten to even do that.  And folks, this was all in the first 25 minutes of the journey.  Without thinking I said aloud, "Well, hopefully it won't get any worse!" 


Well, it didn't get much worse, except for the 3 times that I got lost, all of them in St. Louis.  I must say that as a map reader, Peggy Miller sucks!  Just ask my 3 children and they will agree.  One of the hardest things for me as a driver is to be able to read those big old signs that are right there in front of you and then follow what they say to do.  Maybe tomorrow will be better?  I will NOT say that it can't get any worse because you know what that leads to!  :)


Well, I better get to bed soon.  The time here is one hour forward so I've already lost an hour of sleep...LOL.  Thank you for the prayers that have been said on my behalf this day.  I needed every single one of them, without a doubt.  This journey is much tougher, much more difficult than I would have ever imagined it to be as I travel alone.  When you find yourself arguing with the "woman's voice" from the GPS system, then you know that you are missing having people around.  I have seen beautiful country filled with trees and hills, huge rivers like the "wide Missouri".  I have seen the Katy Trail once more, a place where my oldest son Ricky and I biked for over 145 miles in the summer of 2007.  It brought back many memories. I remembered how my son Grahame came to pick us up at the little town called Rocheport and hauled our tired "behinds" and our bikes home to Kansas.   When I came through where the Lawrence exit is in northeastern Kansas I thought about my daughter Ursela, a student at KU.  And I missed them all terribly.  This is a journey that Peggy Miller has to take alone.  I will make it and probably learn some valuable lessons along the way.  I'll be starting back home to Kansas late this next weekend sometime.  Thank you dear friends and family for "praying" me all the way to Maine.  If you are so inclined, would you "pray" me back home again too?  


I am fine and you don't have to worry about me.  Time for bed~a good sleep for all of you wherever you are this night.  I'm far from home but I've heard it said many times that sometimes you have to leave "home" in order to really appreciate the beauty of its being.  Good Night!  I love you all.

I had to laugh and smile at these two signs I came across today.  Didn't even know that there was a "Kansas, Illinois".  Those Illinois folks sure do know how to pick a good name for a small town. Way to go people!  :)

One last message before I go.....

Making one last post before shutting down the computer later today and packing it with all of the things that are going along with me so very early tomorrow morning.  I'm not nearly ready but I figure that it will all come together somewhere along the line today.  


You know, I'm thinking a lot about YOU today....Yes, I said YOU!  If you are reading this, then you have been a part of the "bucket list" journey for me.  When I started this whole blog thing now exactly one year ago, I had no vision of carrying it along as far as I did.  As I look in my archives this morning, I've made over 300+ posts since this all began.  Sometimes I like to go back and reread what I wrote.  Many times, I've already forgotten what one was about and it's fun to reread it and see where I've been in life.  


Writing this blog has been the most remarkable therapy for me.  It has seen me through some pretty tough times.  When I go back to read what the early days of "old lefty's" predicament were like, sometimes I laugh at my stupidity and other times I cry in sorrow for the loss of the use of a limb for awhile.  But mostly, I just feel tremendously blessed in this life.  Things have not always gone the way that I wanted them to and I certainly would never have predicted things happening as they did.  At the risk of sounding like that proverbial "broken record" than I can, at times, be.....I believe firmly with all of my heart that my life has been played out according to "the plan".  I long ago gave up trying to understand it all and I just accept that this is what is supposed to happen to me.


Friends, as I get ready to leave to accomplish my number 1 item on the "Miller Bucket List", to go to Maine and see my very first lighthouse, I am thinking of you dear friends and family.  I've said it before and you KNOW I am going to say it again....What are you doing about your own bucket list?  Is there something you want to do, or see, or experience in what is left of your life?  The fishing is great in Minnesota~are you going there?  Learning how to play golf is probably not as hard as you think~are you going to try to learn?  Thinking about returning to school and getting your degree?~well what in the world is stopping you NOW?  Always wanted to ride on the back of a motorcycle VERY fast and live to tell about it?  It's FUN!  So get out there and do it!  If nothing else this year, choose one thing~just ONE thing that you've always had the desire for, the curiosity about, the "drive" for...and for crying out loud people, JUST DO IT!  (Sorry to the multibillionaires at the NIKE Co. for borrowing their motto.  If any of the Nike executives in their suits and ties wish to talk to me about the infringement problem, they can find me on the road to Maine.)


Even if no one ever read my "Bucket List" blog, I would still write it anyway.  Many of my difficulties and challenges in life have been solved or at least lessened in importance by sitting down at this computer and pounding away on the keys.  A great many tears, some of joy and some of sorrow, have fallen as I wrote each time.  But I'm so very glad that I did.  Thank you for reading it friends.


Well, I'm trading "daylight for dark" now so I have to get a "move on" and get things finished around here.  I will blog along the way and keep updates as to where I am on Facebook.  Hopefully none of my locations will be listed as "somewhere near the Wyoming border" cause if THAT'S the case, I'm gonna need a little help from you all :)  


Please don't worry about me~regardless of what I've said about being a "slow learner" in the past...I bet I turn out to learn very quickly on this journey.  I will be "ok".  The same God who knows where I am right now in Valley Center, KS. will still be able to tell me the number of hairs upon my head in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.  


Take care dear friends and have a wonderful Sunday morning!  Even now, today, I AM STILL MORE DETERMINED THAN I WOULD EVER BE AFRAID!  God's blessings to all you.

Jim Grier,  I figure that if you can go all the way to South America and come back alive and well, that surely I can go to Maine and back without getting lost more than a dozen times :)  It was sure great to see you all in Lawrence a few weeks back.  Haven people stick together, ALWAYS :)

No Greater Love

My car is filling up with an interesting "lot" of stuff to take as I make my way towards the great state of Maine, this Monday morning.  (by my calculations at this time, only 31 hours away)  And I'd say, "let me do the math for you", but the last time I did that on FB, I made a grievous error LOL that I had to fess up to.  So maybe we should just say, in less than 48 hours I'll be heading out the door.  


If I were just running to Oklahoma City and back, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't need the huge pile of stuff that has built up over the past 3 weeks.  But there IS a "method to Peggy Miller's madness" and I think it's ok to say that if it goes in my car that there will be a good chance I will surely need it along the way.


I've got maps, atlases, map quest directions and a new Magellan GPS to help guide me through some very new terrain and a healthy supply of bread crumbs to drop along the way so I won't get lost as I make my way back to Kansas in 9 days or so.  A box is filled with snacks and enough fixings to make myself a "light lunch" along the way.  Hey, I know that I am "cheap" :)  I figure with the breakfast offerings that most motels give these days, the only meal I will need to buy is supper each evening.  (and there is the "farm girl" in me....Our family always called the evening meal our "supper".  I borrowed a cooler from a friend and will fill it up with bottles of water and pop.  Now THERE is the Midwesterner in me.  I don't drink sodas, I drink pop!  :)  


I have packed 3 books for reading along the way to entertain me when I stop for the day.  "A Walk Across America" by Peter Jenkins,  Aron Ralston's "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", and "Lighthouses of America" by Al Mitchell.    Two of Max Lucado's devotional books are tucked inside the glove box of the car.  I've got about a bazillion quarters at the ready in the front of the car, having heard lots of interesting stories about how many rolls of quarters it takes to travel on the turnpikes back east.  


The books for the Coburn Free Library in Owego, NY are tucked into the back seat along with the "flat people" from Pat Lillard's second graders at Lincoln Elementary.  Cameras, batteries, phones, and way too much other "electronic" kind of stuff will be tucked into the trunk with 3 backpacks of clothing.  I think that should be enough :)  Ok, ok, ok...I probably won't even use half of it but if I need it and leave it back in Kansas, well that's a "turn-around" that I don't want to have to do.  


I will be "lightening" my load somewhere after I cross the Kansas-Missouri state line by Kansas City.  I have a floral offering, in remembrance of Memorial Day, for the unknown man who, at age 45, lost his life 2 years ago.  He was my "donor" of bone material to repair "Old Lefty" back in August.  He's the person that I honor with the tattoo I have on my right leg.  Since I do not know who he was and thus, would never find his grave, I have decided to place the flowers somewhere along the journey through Missouri as I travel east towards Maine.  I don't know where in Missouri I plan to leave the flowers nor do I think I WILL know until I see it.  But I know that God has a special place in mind for them to be and I'll get "the message" loud and clear when that time comes.  I plan to attach a note to them, explaining what happened to me and how a wonderful man from the great state of Missouri had the foresight and love for his fellow man in his heart, to give the ultimate gift at the time of his death.  In as much that I believe that God has a special place in mind for me to leave them, I believe as well that "the plan" will be in place for just the right person to find them.  And you know, I am positive that something right and good will happen because of it......


Getting ready to call it "a night".  Wishing you all a pleasant sleep and good dreams throughout.  Good night everyone!

From the "Good Book"-John 15:13
"No greater love hath a man than this, that he would lay down his life for a friend."

For my time is nearly at hand.....

I always keep the current "Miller Bucket List" posted in plain sight these days, just to help me to stay focused and ever mindful that this thing we call "life" can be over in the blink of an eye.  At the top of the current list is Item #1-"To travel to Maine and see my very first lighthouse."  For many years now, I've been waiting to do this and now the time is nearly here.  Monday morning, God willing, I will be on my way.  I say "let the adventure now begin."


Many, many people (friends and family alike) are very concerned for my well-being and have questioned why I would take out on my own like that.  Several have suggested I should fly....some have said "Why not take the train?", and yet others have said "You know Peggy, there are lighthouses a whole lot closer than Maine!"  While I really do appreciate the fact that folks do care about what happens to me, this is one time when I must do something totally on my own and thus, the 3,600 mile round trip to Maine and back.  And to those who have been concerned, wow, every person should be blessed with friends who truly care about someone, enough to question their somewhat "crazy" ideas.  I feel very blessed.


I say to you now and will probably say to you as I travel along the way....I'm a little scared of the unknown.  I've heard stories from different folks that have given me advice and tips for my travel that involve phrases such as these~


~She's a ghost who only catches rides with trucker's when it's raining.
~Peggy those side roads are for the truckers' whose brakes fail them...better than flying off a cliff I guess.
~Just keep your door locked and you should be ok.
~Never let your gas gauge read under the 1/2 full mark.
~Some place in the road called the "Devil's Elbow".
~Holey Moley girl, don't you realize how far that will be?
~Oh man, sister...be ready for a  lot of hills and ups and downs.  Don't forget your barf bag.
~Check in with people a lot...don't stop for strangers that are hitch hiking.....hang on to your money!


And the list continues on....so feel free to string together the above phrases into your own story friends.  I've already heard enough scary stories to last a  lifetime :)


I realize that Peggy Miller still, even at age 56, is pretty naive as to the ways of the world.  I know that there are bad things and bad people beyond the driveway of my home here in Valley Center, KS.  I know that I need to be careful and always alert for danger or concerns.  But by the same token, I know that for every bad person, for every bad thing....there are 10 times the amount of good people and things out there waiting for me to see them.  Sometimes in the past, I've worried more about what bad thing could possibly happen than I ever looked for the nice things.  Chances are good that I have forfeited many opportunities to enjoy something pleasant, simply because I was always looking for the "awful" to happen.  May that change for me on this journey.


Tomorrow will be spent packing things up and finishing up a few things here at home.  I have great neighbors who will watch over things for me~a testament to the friendly people who live here in my new community of Valley Center, Kansas.  How wonderful to have friends now in two different places...Valley Center and Hutchinson.  You cannot ever have too many friends, that is a fact to hold onto.


One last thing....I'm positive that I have said it before and will say again and again while I am still here on this earth~Everything that has happened to me in my time here on Earth up until this very moment and everything that will happen to me in the future is just a "part of the plan" for my life.  I am quick to be impatient, the greatest "worry wart" known to mankind, and at times, the first to want to give up when things don't seem to be moving along fast enough.  I have questioned the reason for a lot of things in life, including what it was that was waiting for me here in Valley Center.  My good friend, Carol Stockton, sent me a message the other day when she realized I was struggling with what that "plan" was all about.  Her message contained the most powerful seven words I've heard in a long time.


                                   "Peggy, maybe the reason isn't ready yet."
You know Carol, my dear friend.....I think you are right. And since I haven't learned the reason yet for about half of my life LOL, I believe I'll head out to Maine and see what life is like there. 


And finally, to my dear friend and favorite Baptist preacher, Dennis Ulrey....I don't think there is a chance on earth that there will be either a Maine lobster fisherman or a Vermont maple tree tapper looking to settle down and find a wife while I am there.  I have a real disdain for ANY kind of seafood and I'd never be patient enough to marry a maple tree tapper.  Looks like this Kansas school teacher will have to look elsewhere along life's way.  But hey Dennis, thanks anyways!

Hey, and as MUCH as I love biking, this is one journey where two wheels just wouldn't make it!  

From a child in Hutchinson, KS. to a child in Owego, NY

With only a few days left before I leave for my "bucket list" trip to Maine, I'm frantically pushing that proverbial "panic button" to be sure that I have everything ready to leave in the very early hours of May 28th.  And even though my ultimate destination is the Portland Head Lighthouse, near Cape Elizabeth, there are other places to see along the way as well.   One of them is the New England village of Owego, New York.

You know, I've never been to Owego and heck, I don't even no a soul that lives there.  But when I checked their website and learned that in 2009, it was voted "the coolest small town in America!" I decided to give it a visit.  Besides, it's right along the route that I will be taking as I travel along the southern tier of counties in New York State.

I learned several months ago that Owego had suffered through a terrible flood in September of last year.  The beautiful Susquehanna River had become swollen beyond containment due to the heavy rains that were a "leftover" of Tropical Storm Iris.  And when the river could hold no more, floodwaters rushed over the surrounding area and overtook everything in its path, including the Tioga County village of Owego.  In the more than 8 months that have followed, the people of Owego have banded together to try to get some semblance of normalcy to return to their lives.  Although many homes are damaged, perhaps beyond repair, the businesses in town have reestablished themselves.   They are trying to return to "We're Open For Business"~and I admire their spirit.  I had the chance to visit with several different folks there as I planned my itinerary for my stop in Owego.  You can tell just by speaking with them that these people mean "business" when it comes to rebuilding and returning to life as they once knew it before.

I got to thinking about what it would be like to have to go through a flood like that.  What a blessing to be able to say, "I don't know what it would be like."  I'm a farm girl from the plains of Kansas.  The closest thing to a flood that I ever endured was when the Little Arkansas River near Halstead, Kansas overflowed its bank and ruined my parents' small restaurant just outside of town.  I know what a smelly and dirty mess that was to get through but it paled in comparison to anything that the folks of Owego and the surrounding areas went through in September.  So what could I do to be of help, even now these many months later?

The answer came to me one day not that long ago at school.  A class of students and I were talking about how nice it was to be able to just go into our library at school and check out about anything a person could want to read.  Books are plentiful here and free to use.  It made me think about the kids in Owego for some reason.  I wondered how many of the children had lost their personal collections of books.  What about the city library, had they lost part of their collection?  It didn't take long to make a couple of calls and when I spoke with Gwen, the wonderful librarian at the Coburn Free Library about my bringing some new books there next week for the children to have for check out this summer, she was most appreciative and grateful.

So hey, I cashed in the coins from my money jar at home and with $100 in hand, I paid a visit to our local book store in Hutchinson.  30 minutes later, I came out with the most marvelous collection of children's books imaginable.  Come next Friday, they will be in the hands of little children over 1,000 miles away from here.  And THAT makes me happy!

Thanks to the second graders in Pat Lillard's class at Lincoln, I will also have some "stowaways" riding along with me as I head to the Northeast.  They made their own versions of "Flat Stanley" that will be given out to children at the summer story hour at the Coburn Free Library this summer.  And if you aren't sure who in the world "Flat Stanley" is, well then I think it's time you read that book!  :)  Our "flat people" are dressed and ready to go, a Kansas postcard "hot glued" to their hand with an invitation to write the student who made it a letter explaining what life is like in New York.  The Lincoln second graders were happy to know that they were "vicariously" taking the journey with me.  So you see, at least until Owego, I will not be alone or lonely  :)  I'll have 17 other "mouths to feed".  Lucky for me, they don't require a lot of food or bathroom breaks!  But I can tell you this for SURE friends~If I hear a chorus of "ARE WE THERE YET?" coming from the back seat, the trip is immediately over!  LOL

I'm looking forward to being able to see the sights along the way from the Arch of St. Louis to the Portland Head Light House at Cape Elizabeth. Stopping off in Owego for a couple of days just adds to the adventure.  Good Night!  Sleep well and have great dreams my friends.

3 of our Lincoln second graders with their "flat people" that will accompany me as I travel towards Maine.

Scarlet as she writes her message on the back of the Kansas post card that she picked out at school.

Victor and the post card that he liked the best.

Some really "cool" books that kids everywhere, no matter if it's New York, Kansas, or anywhere in between, love to read.  Take a look at the titles, listed below, and see how many you may have read as a child.

How to Eat Fried Worms
Little House in the Big Woods
Farmer Boy
Little House on the Prairie
A Taste of Blackberries (a favorite of mine)
My Side of the Mountain
Where the Wild Things Are
Skippyjon Jones
Holes
Tuck Everlasting
Kansas in the Heart of Tornado Alley
S is for Sunflower-A Kansas Alphabet

A message to a friend....

Two or three months ago, just shortly after writing a blog post about heading out to Maine to see a lighthouse, I came home from school one day to find the "lighthouse" tin (shown above) propped up against the inside door of my front porch in Hutchinson.  It was a strange thing to find, no note attached as to who gave it to me....obviously placed there by a person who knew I would be in school all day long.  A mystery, just like many others that  I've experienced since this bucket list idea was born in May of 2011.

I posted online the day after I found it, wondering aloud who on earth would have known that I loved lighthouses so much~who on earth would have cared enough to go the trouble of finding the tin in the first place and then driving all the way to my house to "secretly leave it".  Couldn't for the life of me figure out who had done it.    And since no one "fessed up" to it, well their identity remains a mystery to me.

For whatever reason, it seems like I've seen a lot of lighthouse "decor" lately, especially during my drive back and forth to Hutch each day.  As I head north on Meridian, a few miles out from Valley Center, I go past a neighborhood whose entryway is marked by a tall, "Kansas" version of a lighthouse.  Just the other day, as I was walking my usual path around town, I turned off on a different street for a change and much to my surprise, I found a house whose yard was filled with different sizes and styles of lighthouses.  I couldn't believe it!  Seemed like everywhere I turned there was a reminder of the journey that was awaiting me.

Since I doubt I'll ever learn the identity of the "secret" person who left me the tin that day...I want to leave them the following message....I hope they are reading this~I hope they understand how much it means to me to write it.......

To my dear friend:
Sure hope that you are reading these words right now and understand that this message is for you.  I can't tell you how strange it felt that day to walk onto my porch and find your wonderful gift propped up against the door.  Who ever you may be, once again I say to you your gift was a very special one.

Since the days that I received it, I have gone back and forth many times as to whether or not I should even go at all.  I'm sorry to admit that I have "second guessed" myself many times in the past few weeks.  Sometimes when I look at the map and realize just how far I will have to go alone, it scares me.  Frightens me enough to make me stop and pause to wonder, "Can I really make it?"  But you'll be glad to know that I indeed am still going and will hope to make it to the Portland Head Lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth, Maine by one week from this Friday, on June 1st.

If I speak the truth, then I need to admit that it's a little unnerving to think of doing this by myself.  3,600 miles, to and from Ks-Maine, is about 3,000 miles MORE than I have EVER driven on my longest solo drive.  But I am preparing as best I can to be ready to go so that when next Monday rolls around, I can pull out of my driveway here in Valley Center with confidence to know that I CAN DO IT!

Thus, in the summer of my 57th year, I am setting out to do what I have at times thought impossible~and I'm doing it alone.  For more than half of my life, I've either been someone's daughter or someone's wife.  There has always been someone to rely on....if I got in trouble along life's way, help was always just a phone call away.  This time, I believe without a doubt that I'm ready to do this on my own  It's been years since I truly believed in myself.  Today, dear friend who ever you are, I believe I can do this and you know what?  It kind of feels good.

Thanks for the gift and the inspiration.  Who ever you are, keep watching this blog.  My dream to find a lighthouse is about to come to pass.  I am beholden to you for your wonderful part in it.

Sincerely,  Peggy

Upon the ending of school......

You know, I never really blamed my good friend, Ruth Bacon, for what she had to tell me that last hour of the last day of school our 3rd grade year.  And in her defense, she's probably long ago forgot that she was the one who said it to me in the first place.  But I gotta tell you, little Peggy Scott never forgot and it was the kind of question that NO ONE wanted to hear asked back in those days.


We were having so much fun that very warm May afternoon and our teachers had let us have an extra recess that day because, what the heck~school was going to be dismissed for the summer in less than an hour.  Ruth and I, as well as several other little kids, were jumping rope over in area on the Haven Grade School playground that I recall children referring to as "the shack".  Oh it was fun, not a care in the world.  Life, for all intents and purposes, was pretty dang good.  Well, that was until she asked the question.


"Peggy, why do you have all of those little red dots all over your face?", Ruth asked me.  


What?  I wasn't sure I heard what she said and when she repeated it again she told me to look at my arms.  Sure enough, Ruth wasn't kidding about the little red dots.  Not only were they on my face but they were on my arms and legs and everywhere else between as well.  A person couldn't count them, there were so many.   Gosh dang it!  I had come down with the hard red measles!  On the last day of school before my glorious summer break, I had come down with one of the most contagious diseases a kid could get.  


Before I could say, "Hey, maybe I just got too hot jumping rope or something people!", I was ushered into the office where our school secretary, Alice Oehlert, took one look at me and immediately sent me to the sick room.  Within a short time, my parents were at school to pick me up and thus, the worst summer vacation I EVER had began.  


For the next 3 weeks, I was banned to my bedroom never to see the light of day until it was all over.  And when I say, "never to see the light of day", well guys, I really mean it!  The two windows of the bedroom that my little sister and I shared were covered over with thick blankets so as to not let the sunshine come in.  I was told that the exposure to the bright light while I was sick with measles could damage my vision.  As if it wasn't bleak enough already, there wasn't going to be any TV watching for me either.  No reading, no drawing, no NOTHING.  And going outside to play?  Oh yeah, forget that too!  In fact, I can recall asking my mom if I could go outside and play in the dark.  Oh yeah, forget that one too!  I was only allowed to just lay there and get well.  I didn't worry about dying from measles cause I was sure that "sheer boredom" would take me long before any little red dots could!


Thankfully the years that have passed have dulled the senses a bit and I don't remember every agonizing detail that happened.  I know I had one heck of a fever and headache and  nothing really seemed to taste good to me at all.  But I survived and got well just in time to witness my little sister come down with the very same thing in the short weeks that followed.  As a matter of fact, I think we shared a couple of other childhood illnesses, like the mumps and chicken pox, before we finally made it out of the stage of life where those kinds of things happened.  


I was telling some of my students about getting the measles on the last day of school and they looked at me like I was from another "world".  They didn't have a clue what the measles were and  I told them that this was one time that I was GLAD they didn't know!  How fortunate that they live in a time when immunizations are there for those kinds of things that when I was a child (oh boy, old geezerdom) were serious enough to put you to bed for many days.  For those of us who suffered through them, the chicken pox, whooping cough, measles, and mumps were some of the most unpleasant things a kid could have to endure.


The last 4 days of school lie ahead for the students that I teach at Lincoln Elementary .  They are excited, more than ready to get out for the summer.  Their freedom will be proclaimed with the ringing of the last 3:10 bell of the school term.  When they return in August and write about what wonderful and exciting things happened to them during the time away from school, it's thankfully and hopefully a  "sure thing" that no one will start out their paper with....."On my summer vacation, I got the measles."  

"Proof" that I survived my "summer of the measles".....my 4th grade class photo taken in the fall that coming school year.  I'm sure you will have difficulty (LOL) picking me out of this lineup.  Geesch, some things just never do change :)  From time to time, I try to look back at these old photos of when I was a kid.  Life was so very good then and life is still very good today.  It's all in the way you look at it.....it's all in perspective.  Oh, and by the way...may the "little child" that we all once were, still live strongly within us today.  LeRoy, my friend...borrowing your sage advice here~You may have to grow old but you never have to grow up!  Life is short, live it happily my friends.  Good night everyone!

I didn't get into this for the money......

You know, I have always said that it was a darned good thing that Peggy Miller isn't a "high maintenance" kind of girl because living on a teacher's salary probably wouldn't take me too far along THAT road of travel in life.  34 years after finding myself in this career, I still make much less annually than many college graduates seem to start out at these days in other fields.  And you know what, I don't even care.  I have learned over the past 3+ decades that a teacher's "real reward"  doesn't get deposited into a bank account on the 15th of  each month.  No, instead sometimes it shows up at your classroom door when you very least expect it.  Kind of like it did today....

Tears are in my eyes right now as I type these words to you all.  This young man was one of the very first students I had when I taught here at Lincoln Elementary for the first time, now over 10 years ago.  His name is John Mayfield Allen, Jr. I was his teacher in the Developmental First Grade class that year and I love him very much!  He came to school to visit me today and surprised the "living daylights" out of his former first grade teacher.  John's story is pretty remarkable and I want you to know the kind of young man he has grown up to be.

John Allen captured my heart from the minute I met him, a tall gangly-legged, nearly 8 year old boy who was one of 10 students in my class here at Lincoln.  One thing I will always remember about him, in fact we talked about it today, was how much trouble he used to get into in class for laughing and "cutting up" while he should have been paying attention.  When I brought it up to him today, in my meanest  (LOL) teacher voice, he reminded me...."Oh, Mrs. Miller I stopped doing that finally when I was in the 6th grade."  We both laughed!

John and his little brother, Shaquille, were raised by their maternal grandfather and great-grandmother.  I can still close my eyes and see their great-grandmother, Dorothy, bringing them into school for conferences or special programs.  I can hear her sweet and now sainted voice calling out to them, "Boys, get over here by me!" when they would be wandering around or getting into mischief.  And trust me, when Dorothy Moye told you to "get OVER here", well that's just exactly what you did.  Her son Doug, the boys' grandfather, loved those two little guys with all of his heart.  He worked hard to make a living for them all and still played  an active role in their growing up years.  Every kid would have been blessed to have a "Poppa" like Doug and a grandmother like Dorothy.  John Allen and Shaquille Henderson WERE  blessed and because of that very thing, they had a chance to grow into the fine young men they are today.  Their blessing later became "my" blessing as I was privileged to work with them both in the classroom for the two years I was at Lincoln.

John had a twin brother who didn't live long after birth and I always wondered what it would have been like to have "two John Allens" running around the place.  Even though he was the survivor of the two, he had his own share of health issues but managed to grow up into a reasonably healthy young man.  When I saw him today, actually for the first time in over 10 years, I had to look twice.  The little boy that I remembered from my "teacher's heart" so long ago  had grown into a very handsome young man.  One thing had not changed...his beautiful smile and twinkling eyes were just like I had remembered them from so many long years passed.

Sunday afternoon, John will walk across the stage with the rest of the Hutchinson High School graduating seniors of 2012.  This summer, he'll begin his journey through the next part of his educational life here at Hutchinson Community College.  John will be the recipient of a scholarship from HCC that was promised to him and the rest of his 3rd grade classmates, now many years ago.  That particular group of third graders were part of a special group of kids that were "taken under the wings" of our local community college.  If those 3rd grade students could keep their grades up all through high school, stay focused and out of trouble, and in some way give back to their community, then they were guaranteed a "full ride" scholarship for two years of study.  John is one of 3 seniors who actually fulfilled all of the criteria to receive the award and it doesn't surprise me a bit.  He loves math and will major in accounting once he gets there.  Without a doubt, I KNOW he will make it.  He HAS to!

I'll be sitting in the Salthawk Activity Center on Sunday with all of the other proud family and friends of this year's graduating seniors.  When the name "John Mayfield Allen, Jr." is called out there will be a lump in my throat and yes, ok, ok...I'm pretty sure a tear in my eye!  I give thanks to God for having been afforded the blessing of knowing him, teaching him, and loving him.  He's one kid that I will NEVER forget about and THAT is a promise!

For the hundreds of children I've been fortunate enough to know and work with, for all of the "John Allens" of this world~I give thanks to God for the chance to help guide them along the way.  I hope to have made a difference.  As their teacher, I can say that I have tried my very best.  I pray that it may it have been enough.

DAY BY DAY BY DAY

I moved to Valley Center, Kansas 47 days ago with the intent and purpose to find out just what I was supposed to do in what was left of my life, what essentially I was going to FINALLY  be when I grew up.  As  I sit here tonight typing this blog post, I must be the first to admit that I still don't have a clue.  I guess I kind of expected to find out almost immediately~oh yeah, there's my middle name showing up again, "impatience".  But so far, no mysterious man has rung the doorbell nor has Tom the mail guy  delivered the letter that lets me know what brought me here in the first place.  And so I wait and wait and wait.


For everything that I STILL don't know, there are a whole bunch of things that I have learned so far about myself and my new community. For these things, I do so give thanks!


~I have learned that it doesn't kill anyone, especially me, to walk the mile to the post office and back to mail a letter.  And even if I DON'T have anything to mail, one mile is still a good healthy distance to walk each day.  If I'm really lucky, the little kid that lives a couple of blocks away will be out shooting baskets in his front yard and he ALWAYS smiles and waves to me.


~I've found out that you CAN make a difference in a community just by the the smallest act of kindness and pride in your neighborhood.  That "infamous" flower plot that was filled with weeds in the alley back of me, now looks like this:

I know it doesn't look the best yet, but in another month there will be some of the most beautiful zinnias in the world (ok, ok maybe NOT in all of the world but at the VERY least the best of the alley) blooming for anyone to see.  And all it took was a little "elbow grease" and $12 worth of zinnia seeds.


~It's nice to know that the "new guy" of the back alley (AKA the very big, black dog who likes to really bark at me from behind what is left of his wooden fence), is now kind of used to me and doesn't seem to mind my being there at all.  Of course I'm hoping that's not just his way to catch me off guard and someday still take a flying leap over that fence and come after me.  But I'm trying to see the positive in him and gonna say that he and I could someday have the chance to be friends on a "first name" basis.  We'll see :)


~I have figured out that the Wichita Eagle is NOT the Hutchinson News, nor could I ever expect it to be.  One thing they do have in common, even though I have subscribed to both of them....I'm so very busy that I seldom take the time to unwrap the paper and read it any how.  It just gives me something to look forward to seeing on the lawn in the mornings.  I am sorry to offend any of my friends/family who prefer to read the online versions....Peggy Miller has to have the written word in her hands....Just one of the those weird things about me.


~The daily drive to school each  morning, a distance of 46 miles one way, may be long and the traffic congested at times.  But oh how it is worth it!  I wouldn't trade the time I spend each day with my colleagues at Lincoln Elementary or the blessing of being a teacher to some of the finest of students anywhere for any other job.  And I mean it!  From the "kids say the darndest things" file....a comment from a wonderful young fourth grade student that I work with  each day....


HIM:  "Mrs. Miller, when are they ever going to let you be a REAL teacher?"
ME:  "_________________, I AM a real teacher."


HIM:  "You are?  I didn't know that!"


(a word of explanation, I'm a Title I Reading/Math teacher.  I don't have my own classroom but instead I see kids from all the different grades for 30 minute segments through out each day.  Bless his heart, he only meant when would I ever have my own classroom.  It was precious~he was extremely serious.  I love that guy!)


And finally, among the things I have learned, perhaps this is the most important-and friends maybe you will see yourself here too....I have learned that the answers to life's problems can never be found behind the refrigerator door or in the kitchen cupboards.  Nothing you can pour from a bottle or shake out of a pill dispenser can solve EVERY single problem in life.  And just because you know that you have already seen the most beautiful sunrise in the world, doesn't mean that there isn't an even MORE beautiful one waiting for you to see it too.  And what a shame to close your eyes to that opportunity.  


And lest I be remiss in saying so, this is what I believe:  I think sometimes we all are in a hurry to make things right in life.  When we are hurting, for one reason or another, it seems like we are so quick to try to take away the pain that life is bringing us.  I wonder sometimes if we wouldn't be better off to, instead of masking the pain, rather to just "lean into it".  There have a been a couple, ok, ok, ok, about a dozen of the 43 days that I've been here that I've said to myself "What in the world am I doing here?  I miss Hutchinson and I want to go back!"  And being homesick doesn't feel so good.  But each morning as I've arisen, life doesn't look so bad as the "dismal" night before and you know, it hurts but it doesn't last forever.  And I STILL believe that no matter what, God has brought me here for a darn good reason.....and little by little I am starting to figure it out.  I just keep on,  keeping on....Day by day by day.  


Good night from Valley Center my dear friends.  Love to each of you....get some sleep you guys!!!

NOT EVEN THE YEARS CAN SEPARATE US...

I had the privilege and blessing of growing up in the small Reno County town of Haven, Kansas.  Even though I moved away from it, now 30 years ago, I kept the memory of that beautiful little place and the people who lived there tucked deep inside of my heart.  You know, it won't matter how many different places that I live in during this life, if I am asked "Where are you from?" the answer will ALWAYS be "From Haven."  


So very many of the former residents that I once knew while living there have moved on to different communities, just like me.  Today, I was so thankful to be able to catch up with 3 of them in the north eastern  Kansas city of Lawrence.   Please meet my good friends, Nita Grier and two of her children, Jim Grier and Sara Grier Pistorius.  

Sara-HHS Class of 1972

Jim-HHS Class of 1975

Nita and her husband, the late Paul Grier, owned the only pharmacy/drug store/picture processing center/ soda fountain in Haven.  It was located at the corner of Main Street and Kansas Avenue right smack dab in the middle of town.  Grier's Pharmacy was the place that I had my first taste of cinnamon bears, my first sip of a vanilla Pepsi and this interesting concoction called a Green River.  And when  my family was sick with coughs that just wouldn't quit, I learned about a pretty nasty medicine called Terpin hydrate.  It was the kind of stuff that was potent enough that you had to sign for it to even buy it.  Funny, I remember as a kid my mom sending me in for some and my having to write  my "Peggy Scott" on the dotted line even though I probably wasn't even in high school.  Things are so different today....a similar kind of medicine would probably take at least 12 forms of ID to even think about being able to  purchase it.  Man, I guess the times have changed...not always for the best.


I have many fond memories of Paul Grier and the man that he was.  Paul was the guy who, when my parents' house burned to the ground on Christmas Eve of 1976, filled EVERY single one of my dad's prescriptions within an hour of hearing about the fire.  When it came time to pay him for it, he waved his hand "no" at my mom and said he wouldn't take a thing for it. Not sure you would find that a prevalent practice any more these days.   But as far as Paul Grier was concerned, it was the only way to do business when one of his friends/neighbors needed a hand.  The entire Grier Family, Paul and Nita and their children, Judy, Sara and Jim hold a special place in the memory of this "former" Haven kid.  What a joy to be able to spend time with them today.


A wonderful thing about being a lifelong friend with someone is that uncanny ability to just "pick up" where you left off in life and in our case, the "left off" part happened now over 35 years ago.  We shared a wonderful meal together in the living room of Nita's home and swapped stories of what we remembered  life to have been like in the land of "long, long ago and so very far away."  Our time together passed much too quickly and before we knew it, the time had come to say good bye to one another with a promise to meet up again in the future.  I intend to keep my part of the promise.


The 5th item on the "Miller Bucket List", to meet each of my Facebook friends in person, buy them something to drink and talk about life for a while, remains very important for me to accomplish.  The four of us talked at length about how the medium of "Facebook" has enabled folks to be in touch with one another.  What a true blessing it is to be able to connect with friends from years past, no matter where they may be at in the world.  My blessings were "three fold" today and to Nita, Sara, and Jim I say "thank you" for inviting me into your lives today and sharing the joy of a long overdo reunion with friends.  


I would be remiss, if I didn't mention one more thing...It would have been easy for me to say that instead of travelling the 350 mile round trip to Lawrence this day, that I should stay home and get some work done around here.  I'm behind on my laundry, the yard needs mowed, and if I don't get with it and finishing unpacking the remaining boxes from my move here now going on 6 weeks ago, people are going to start talking.  :)  Yet the one lesson that stays with me more than anything else from "old lefty's" accident now almost 10 months ago is this:  LIFE IS SO VERY SHORT-DON'T WASTE IT ON THINGS THAT WILL MEAN VERY LITTLE BY NEXT WEEK.  Next week there will be more laundry to do and crazy thing about grass, it just keeps on growing! 


What meant the most to me this day was to see my dear friends in Lawrence and spend some time making a nice memory with them.  I will still remember the joy of this day next week, next month and in the years to come.  Sorry, but a perfectly manicured lawn and stack of neatly folded laundry really mean extremely little to me.  They can't "hold a candle" to the reward of spending time with friends.  


Have a good Saturday evening all....hey, why not call a friend tonight?  Just because.....

Upon the subject of Mother's Day

For the past four years, I've avoided the "Mother's Day" section of the card aisle as if it had the infamous "plague".  In year's prior, I had always searched for the perfect card to send to my mom.  When I say "perfect" that didn't mean that it had to be expensive or mushy~that the verse inside HAD to rhyme perfectly.  The "perfect" card was sometimes the most simple one and for dang sure it never referred to her as "MOTHER".  :)  She wasn't fond of being called anything but "mom" and I always honored that when I purchased my yearly Mother's Day greeting for her.


When Mom died, two weeks after her September 12th birthday in 2007, the Mother's Day tradition died with her.  Even though I was a "mom" to my own three children, it didn't seem right to celebrate without her.  When my kids (Ricky, Grahame, and Ursela) would ask me how I would like to spend that special "2nd Sunday" in May, I'd always have some excuse, some really good (LOL) reason why we should just skip it that year.  Most of the time it worked to say that~seldom were they ever able to surprise me.  I missed my mom and in my own way of thinking, if she couldn't be here to celebrate, well then why should I?  Kind of pathetic, isn't it?  It's ok to say "yes" because even I admit it. 


This coming Sunday, May 13th, marks the day on the calendar when folks pause and remember the woman who gave them their life.  Cards will be purchased, roses delivered, meals enjoyed together at favorite restaurants, and long distance phone calls will be made.  This year, on the 5th anniversary of mom's passing, I have decided that "enough is enough."  It's time for me to start observing the tradition once again.


Can I ask you to do something?  Take a moment and think about all of the women who, in one way or another in your life, have had a profound influence on you.   If you are like me, then there have been a plenty.  Perhaps it was your grandmother or one of your favorite aunts.  It could have been your 5th grade teacher or the secretary at the high school who always "took a liking to you."  Maybe it was the sweet little old lady who lived next door or even the ultra-bossy "Gladys Kravitz" type woman who watched you tarrying along the way to school each day and opened up her door to yell out to you, "Hey little girl...you better get a move on!"  Chances are very good that there have been total strangers, angels in your midst that you didn't even notice, who have kept a close watch on you, lest you got hurt or lost along the way.  So it's a pretty good chance that if you were to buy a card for every woman who has at one time been like a mother to you, well then, the card aisles would be totally bare by now.  And what a testament to the love and kindness we have all been blessed with from those women who, in spite of it all, loved us dearly. Did you think of some?  I sure did and the list could go on and on.


Friends, I encourage you to say "Happy Mother's Day" this year to someone who made an impact upon your life.  No cards, flowers or fancy gifts are needed by the way.  I think all women would just be thankful for the gift of "your time" instead of some fancy and expensive gift from the Mall or flower shop.  Wow, imagine that~a present that doesn't cost anything but just the time you spend putting into it.  


I want to take a moment to thank all of the women who have made a difference in the life of Peggy Ann Scott Miller~mom, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, teachers, neighbors, other family members and friends.  And oh yes, even the total strangers that have been sent my way to make life's very rough and rocky road so much easier to travel.  Would not have gotten this far in my 56-year old life without you dear family and friends.


We were blessed to be with our mom as she passed from this place unto the next.  A few hours before she left us, while she was still semi-coherent, she gave me the most beautiful and precious gift that any daughter could have asked for.  As I sat on the foot of her bed, she opened her eyes for a moment and looked straight into mine.  She said, "Peggy Ann, you are a good girl."  That my friends was the last thing she said to me and to this day, I can pause and remember what her voice sounded like as she said it to me.  In two hours, she was gone.


If I could send a message to my Mom, I would choose to tell her this.....


"I have tried my best to continue to be the "good girl" that you told me I am.  Thank you for raising me up to know that when times happen that I slip and fall or make a bad choice, that it doesn't mean I have to stay that way.  I have learned to be a "survivor" Mom and I learned it by watching you.  Thank you for teaching me life's lessons, even though many of them were learned the "hard way" by me.  I was child #6 Mom and you were 35 years old....yet you loved me enough to "keep me" and bring me into the world and HOME to a very loving family.  It couldn't have been easy, but you did it any way!  I miss you and Daddy but I know that someday we will see each other again in Heaven.  For that day, I will rejoice.  Happy Mother's Day "up there" Mom!  Your "little girl" is fine and loves you very much, even still."  

Mom and Grandma Scotty~two women who loved me very much.  I am who I am this day because of them.  And you know what, I wouldn't have had it any other way.  

Me as the "baby", little sister Cindy would follow two years later.  She gave "life" to 7 of us and would have gladly "given" her life for any of us.  Love you Mom~now and always!




   

Hey, at LEAST I didn't crash....

This past Saturday was the running of the 3rd annual "Sand Plum Bike Classic" in Hutchinson.  After trying it for the first time last year, I decided "what the heck", I'd give it another shot.  The bike ride is for a very worthy cause with proceeds from our $25 entry fees going back into the development of the bicycle trail system in Reno County.  Lots of people like to support it and they showed up in great numbers to ride either a 12, 20, 40 or more mile ride.


When I left my home here in Valley Center about 5 a.m., the sky was clear and the stars shone brightly.  There was no wind to speak of and it looked like a picture perfect day for a ride.  By the time I arrived at the Kansas State Fairgrounds at 7:15, the skies were dark and cloudy with that ever present "wind in whatever direction Peggy Miller rides into" starting to stir up.  Remembering the cold and windy day of a year ago on the very same ride, it seemed like the weather just was going to refuse to give anyone a break once again.  But there's something about the spirit of a bunch of crazy bike riders~most people there were "rain or shine" riders and they were going to be flexible enough to ride no matter what happened with dear Mother Nature.


I was fortunate enough to meet up with many of my friends from the biking community of Reno County.  3 of my teaching colleagues, Patti, Tonya, and Shelley were there for the ride.  We had all done the Sand Plum Classic last year and it was Shelley who was my riding partner for the BAK last summer.  And one thing about cyclists, even if you don't know one personally, they are all friendly and supportive to one another.  So you always have this feeling of being with "family" no matter where you are or who you are riding with. 


The ride started at 8 a.m. sharp and there we were, more than 300+ cyclists all bunched up together ready to go.  With an escort by the Hutchinson Police Department ahead of us, we were able to make it safely out of the city limits with little difficulty.  It was actually kind of interesting to watch the folks who lived on the streets that we went down.  It was as though a parade of sorts had come to town and everyone and their brother was out to watch and cheer us on.  I kind of liked that part of it all.  


Everything was going pretty fine as we got through the first 5 miles or so.  Oh, I had managed to get a little close to my friend Tonya's bike and we both kind of "lost it" for a bit but all was well once we got settled in.  I grinned at her and said, "Hey, I've already used up 8 of my 9 lives so I gotta be careful!"  So at LEAST I didn't crash but I did have a little issue, ok, ok...a big issue.


As we headed north towards the Highlands, an area I'm really familiar with having done a lot of training rides for the BAK there, I realized that my bike tire just wasn't quite right.  As we neared the ascent of the first long hill, I knew exactly what the problem was....it's a strange thing about bike tires~without air and in a "flat as a pancake" condition, they just don't seem to go very well.  "Miller's Bad Luck" was back!


Thankfully for a "good Samaritan" named Dave and Kwik Shop only a few miles away, I was saved!  Tomorrow I'll be taking my bike into Harley's Bicycle Shop in Hutch to get it fixed and back in riding condition.  I've been trying to be careful as I rode around Hutch and especially on the trail in the past few weeks.  But undoubtedly I picked up something there that wasn't very "tire friendly."  But all was well that ended well.  Even though I didn't finish my entire part of the 12 mile route, I was able to put in plenty of miles before the ride on Saturday to give me a 15 mile total for the day.  Hey, as I said earlier....AT LEAST I DIDN'T CRASH THIS TIME!  :)  That's gotta count for something!  


I still don't ride as hard and fast as I did before my accident last year.  Some of the hills that used to be commonplace for me to fly up and down are now "killers".  But the "bottom line" remains the same....I am back on a bike and I intend for it to stay that way~and THAT'S a promise friends.  


Wishing you all safety in everything thing you do!  Oh, and by the way...if you ever want someone to ride a bike with, give me a call.  It's way more fun to ride with another :)

Life is always good....but on Saturday, May 5th of 2012, it was even better!  Such great fun to be back on my bike.  It gets easier and less scary all the time.  And by the way, don't fret...this was before the ride started.  My helmet was actually nearby...I promised you all, no more riding without one.  I shall keep my word~