Debby Detering Wordcraft

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Panama and Beyond

At my mother’s estate sale, an elderly gentleman with interest in local history purchased a box of newspaper clippings, twenty-some years of local history that we were about to toss into the recycling barrel. A few hours later, as we stuffed the last few mementos in our van, that gentleman—bless him!—returned with a manila envelope of “some papers you might want.” That envelope included a journal mailed from my grandfather, William Richard Hobby, to his cousin Mabel Louise Potter in 1914. He wrote that journal aboard the S. S. San Juan, a steamship from Panama to San Francisco.
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Onward…

07.22.2020 by Debby Detering // Leave a Comment

We began 2019 with the January wedding of a grandson in Texas, a ceremony in pastureland under the tree where the bride’s grandparents had been married.

In July we flew to Washington for the wedding of a granddaughter with a SeaHawks theme and potluck reception in a local park. 

At the same time, unofficially so it wouldn’t compete with the wedding, Skus and I celebrated 60 years since our first date.  We thought it would be best to celebrate that #60 because at our age one can’t count on another full year of celebrations.  While in Washington, we began looking for a house to buy jointly with Younger Daughter and family. They wanted out of a crowded apartment, and in that area it takes two families to pay for almost anything.  As for us, living outside of town with no public transportation, groceries 15 miles away, doctors and church 20-25 miles, local family 25-40 miles, did not work for us.

In October, Elder daughter and a niece drove us to Canada to visit Middle-daughter-the-Nun at her convent.  We drove back as the first snow melted from the highways after a short but very satisfactory visit; the Abbess and sisters are loving and welcoming, our daughter obviously where she belongs.

Before our 59th anniversary, on Thanksgiving Day, we had purchased a home in Vancouver with a daylight basement for us, Younger Daughter and family on street level and second floor.  We moved a carload of things to Washington, Skus planted tulips and daffodils, and we returned to California to clear, clean, put that house up for sale, and move.  Packing and repairing took months instead of weeks. 

January 22, 2020, we left the house in the hands of a realtor and flew to PDX with a pile of unfinished business, like Christmas cards and address changes—but on the 24th, instead of cleaning up business, we visited the ER. A whirlwind of medical appointments, home health aides, and Hospice followed. Skus and I celebrated Easter with a live-streamed service (thanks to Covid) and a few days later I said goodbye to the man with whom I held hands for 60 years, figuratively when not literally.

I am thankful that I can associate anniversaries with Resurrection instead of Christmas or someone’s birthday.

January 2020, the day grandchildren were helping us pack.

I’m trying to balance—sometimes successfully—60 years of blessings with loss.  Floyd traveled on to his final Home with his work done; I have a dozen books to write, two or three bushels of family letters to transcribe, great-grandchild #9 due in August, and good health so far. 

Friends and family who have already traveled this grieving road inspire me; the world-wide Covid-19 tragedies encourage a totally different perspective; and there are baby robins in a nest above our patio.

Robins in the rafters over our patio sheltered not one but three nests of robins. Life goes on.

Categories // About Debby Tags // death, life

Downsizing Books

09.24.2019 by Debby Detering // Leave a Comment

A few Sundays ago, the Scripture was from Luke 12:

Then he told them a parable.  The land of a rich man produced abundantly.  And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?”  Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many year; relax, eat, drink, and be merry, “ but God said to him, ‘You fool this very night your life is being demanded of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

We can relate to that lesson.

The shelves of our parents held three generations’ collection of books, and used-book stores amplified our own collection.  So we said, “What should we do?  We have no place for more books!”  So we agreed together, “We will build a garage and park our books there.  We will keep every book we have either read or intended to read.  And we will say, “Soul, enjoy!  Prepare a cup of tea, relax, settle back on your cushions, and enjoy them.  We can live to 100 or more and not run out of books.”

One of our bookshelves.
Books on One Side of our Bedroom…

But life happened, we need help dusting books, and we need to move closer to family.  We can’t carry our garage with us, and they actually park cars in theirs.

So we donate the most valuable to the man who sells books on E-Bay and donates the proceeds to our church.   We donate some to the library.  We put paperbacks and kids books in a non-profit yard sale where those who can’t afford books can pick them up.  We wrap specially selected ones for family and friends at Christmas.

But our children see what remains and ask, “Why do you keep all those books?”

A child’s storybook in miniscule type with a few black-and-white line drawing has a faded note in the front, written by Uncle Charley who died long before I was born. “This was almost the only book in our house, other than the Bible.  My mother read it so much that I memorized my favorite stories.”

“The People of Our Town,” with my great-grandmother’s name in it, tells how the best housekeeper in town hardly closes the door after visitors when she’s grabbing her dustpan and broom to sweep where they had walked on her floors and shaking the rugs out the window.

Rudyard Kipling’s poems: My grandmother knew how I loved “The Bell Buoy,” and others.  I was sixteen when she gave it to me for Christmas, old enough to know she stretched her small income for that gift. 

A book of fairy tales with pages about to fall out, and my favorite version of “Cinderella,” came from my mother.

Longfellow’s poems:  Cousin Mabel read from that when I sat on a footstool by her chair near the fireplace.  Reading those now is like leaning on her knee again and watching flames leap from log to log.

“Mammals of the Yellowstone Park:”  Daddy read about beavers and bears, and then we made “beaver houses” or places to hibernate with our bedding while Mom made Sunday morning breakfast.

“Bambi.”  Mom read that to me when I had measles.

“Little Women.” The first long book I read all by myself, and memorized my favorite paragraphs.

“The Lonely Doll.”  How our little girls loved that series!

Robert Service and “The Creamation of Sam McGee.”  My Other Half memorized that and recited it when we camped on the shores of Lake LaBerge, which Service had renamed “LaBarge” for his rhyme.

We’ve carried off boxes and bags of books, but when our children see the remaining shelves, they won’t believe we weeded out any.

Categories // About Debby

Life Piles Up

08.29.2019 by Debby Detering // Leave a Comment

June 15, 2019

This is the home we planned, built, decorated, finished (almost–I don’t think one every truly finishes). We’ll spend the rest of our lives here.

Spoiler: Every home we have ever owned, we have thought we would live there until God calls us to one that will never fade away.

June 22, 2019

  • We’d see more of our grandchildren before they are all grown up and out of the nest.
  • Skus would see his brothers more often–while there are still four.
  • If we combined assets with the daughter and family there, we’d all have more of what we want in houses than if we bought separately.
  • Now we’re living outside city limits with no public transportation available. What happens when we both give up driving?
  • Skus settled it: “We have to move while we still can.” Because if we wait too long, someone else will have to do it for us.

August 26, 2019

Our joint offer was accepted on a home with an accessible daylight basement suite for us, main floor with a lovely kitchen and suitable living space, upper floor with bedrooms for the two generations following us.

Therefore…

I’m sorting stuff, stuff, and stuff. Packing boxes. Finding out what children and grandchildren want, either now or later. Trying to let people know I have two books DONE, Three Tales and Panama and Beyond. Hoping to finish the first draft of the next book (a novel this time) before we move, while I’m living near a good editor. Learning to care for a cat with thyroid trouble and very thankful she’ll take her fish-flavored medication mixed with food. Setting aside furniture we won’t need to sell locally. Collecting, copying, sending financial information necessary for the joint mortgage. Totally NOT thankful for August heat.

Categories // About Debby Tags // California, Washington

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Debby’s fiction explores family relationships with mingled conflict and caring and reflects her experience in emergency foster care, often for teenagers abandoned in one way or another.

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