TwTB16: It has been a YEAR!

We’ve had quite the year here at DLP. I have only uploaded one new post this year, yet we have had the most successful year in terms of viewership. I can only imagine what the stats would look like if I had been more diligent with posting.

We thought we’d offer a sample of the year’s events through the experiences of all four of our tiny buddha friends.

Harmony of weddings

There were two weddings in our family this year. Considering I wasn’t directly involved, both weddings took up too much of my time. They were totally different in every way. The first, a couple who met in the middle years of life, both resigned to never finding their life partner, married in a quiet courthouse ceremony followed by a backyard reception. The second, a young couple, held a grand event overflowing with all the bells and whistles of a modern wedding.

Here our little blue friend poses with the all-important wedding favor.

Finding wisdom in chaos

A storm in early July changed the whole landscape of our lives. The weather service determined we were hit by “straight-line” winds. No official wind speed was attached to the storm, but the winds were strong enough to topple 13 trees and rip the tops off countless others. The destructive energy left us with a lot of damage.

Wisdom buddha is sitting on what remains of the 85 ft oak tree that squished the back of the house. in the background, the root ball still has the fence raised about 5 feet off the ground.

Faith in medicine

The one event that has affected me most this year revolved around my mom’s health.

My mom suffered a stroke that was sudden and debilitating. We have been adapting to a new way of living and learning to move forward in new directions. Over the past six months, I have spent half of my time on the campus of our local hospital.

Faith buddha is sitting on the wall of the nursing center where my mom has been living, overlooking the main hospital in the background.

Love of a New Pet

I never considered myself a cat person. At the start of the COVID lockdowns, we adopted a young cat to keep my mom company. She lived with my mom for two years. When the stroke happened, the cat came to live with us. Having a cat is totally different than a dog, for sure. While I still consider myself a dog person, I am warming up to the quirks of a cat.

Love buddha is being investigated by our newest family member, Nicole J. Feline, Nikki for short.

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” – Dolly Parton

One of the central themes of this site is nature. The adaptability of nature is is one of the traits that draws us to seek strength in the world around us. When life throws conflict our way we must adapt to survive.

We are taking this past year as a learning experience. We will adapt, learn from what has happened, and move on stronger than before.

There is always wisdom, harmony, faith, and love. There are two additional friends to the set, peace and happiness. Visit the Travels with tiny Buddha page for the link.