Winona Daily News

Linda Fort | Community columnist

A favorite poem of mine is titled “Ithaka” by Cavafy. I have asked that this poem be read at my funeral someday by a dear friend. She has assured me she will read it.

One of my favorite lines in the poem is “hope that the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery.”

We have had several deaths in our family in the past month and it seems whenever we are confronted with a death we think of our own.

How much time do I have left? What will I do with it? And then my mind starts racing with all that I want to do, but I don’t want to do it all too fast either. I want to savor each experience, savor each morning as if I were seeing that big red sun coming up for the first time and realize what a miracle it is.

All the beautiful colors of fall seem a perfect time to contemplate in wonder that nature is at its most beautiful before it dies for a short time, only to come back again in the spring fresh and new.

In the poem “Ithaka” we are told to keep our thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body.

One of the lessons I have had to learn over the years is to rise above mean people. I have had what feels like more than my share of mean people in my life and it is very hard to rise above their meanness. But trust me, it can be done with enough grace and prayer. I am at the point now where I just will not allow meanness of any kind in my life. If someone is constantly mean I avoid them and move on. Life is way too short to be small. And small people tend to be mean. Sad but true; perhaps they haven’t taken the time to watch enough sunrises.

Even though it is not always possible I want to experience each day to its fullest. As I write this September has already left us behind, my favorite month of the year went far too quickly.

Looking back over the years I realize that no one could have ever told me that being this age would be the best years of my life. But, they are. It is as if I had to go through a lot of pain and hurt to get to this point of living life as a journey, an adventure full of promises not yet known but there for the taking.

What do I want to take along on my journey of memories? Kindness, gentleness, hugs and kisses. Butterflies and rainbows, hearing the wind whisper through the leaves as my granddaughters and I walk through the wooded pasture.

At this time of year we go on walks looking for beautiful treasures. We have learned to take a small bag with us because our pockets get too full of acorns, hickory nuts, pretty leaves and sticks. A shining and sparkling rock might catch a reflection of the sunlight and amaze us with its beauty. We bring them home and as we empty the bag we get to examine each treasure again.

Last week we made a fall display on the patio table with pumpkins and woodland treasures. Of course we had to take a picture of this to remember it by. Pictures seem to be very important to my five-year-old granddaughter and I am not sure why. I don’t think it’s the actual picture she wants, I think it is the memory that is already stirred in her when she sees a picture of something we did.

I am trying to instill in each of them the awe and wonder of nature. The other evening the sun was going down behind some clouds, I was in the garden and couldn’t see it. My five-year-old granddaughter came over to me and took my hand and said “Grandma come look at this, the sun is setting!”

Oh I love it when they already realize what took me years to see. We walked to the edge of the yard and looked out over the fields to see the sun setting behind the clouds. As sometimes happens when the sun is behind clouds rays of sunlight were cast down and she said “It looks like heaven.”

Yes, Sammi it looks like heaven. Heaven on earth and may our journeys all be long ones full of adventures we won’t even need pictures to remember them by because they will be forever in our hearts and souls.

Linda Fort lives on a farm near Ridgeway, raises calves and heifers and crops. In addition to staying active in the community, she’s enjoying grandparenthood. “There’s a reason they call it �grand.’”

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