A call to mindfulness...

It's always good to start the day with a good deed. I was lucky that my day started this way. Read on...
This morning as I was biking onto campus (after a pick-up stop at the Jack-in-the-Box), I was flagged down by a lady on foot. She and her son (who was staying in the dorms) were here in Flagstaff for his freshman orientation. She was staying off campus, and was a little turned around as to where she was, and where she should be going. To top it off, she had left her orientation schedule back in her hotel room. Since my Jamie is an orientation leader, I whipped out my cell to inquire where the parents group was to meet, and walked with her to the Union.
As we walked along, she was in complete awe of the kindness she had encountered in Flagstaff and related several stories of how helpful people were- not just on campus, but out in the community as well. She immigrated from Armenia 20 years ago, and had lived in an LA suburb ever since. Her son was some big athelete and had had offers from much more well-known schools (I am paraphrasing a bit), but his HS coach was an NAU Alum, and he had encouraged him to try a smaller school, with more personal attention.
She shared with me how fortunate she felt about his decision to come to NAU, and that surely the Holy Spirit was at work here. (God bumps!) I assured her that Flagstaff was a lovely place for her son to be going to school, and that she could rest easy (as if a parent ever does!) because the community was wonderful, and her perception of it was spot-on.
We reached the parents' meeting place in the Union so I bid her adieu and she gave me a hug and a "God bless" and I rode off across campus to work feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
It is so wonderful to see the town that I love so much appreciated by strangers for all its' unique qualities: friendliness, helpfulness, kindness, and natural beauty. This ain't LA or PHX, and I hope to heck it never becomes anything like those places. And people need to know that there are still places in our country like Flag.

No, I haven't died...

...I have just been extraordinarily busy with my new job (looovvvee it), being an empty-nester, etc. The last 9 months have included the following highlights:
1. Celebrated 1 year car-free, yahoo!
2. Sent my son off to college- no kids at home, boo-hoo:(
3. 5 day Rim-to-Rim in the Grand Canyon
4. Natural Bridges camping trip
5. Lotsa hiking
6. Saw Bruce Springsteen in concert
7. Adopted another Boxer, Madigan, from Boxer Rescue in PHX
8. Parents Weekend at the U of A
9. Bike to Work Week, and LAB "Bicycling 101" certification :)
10. Purchased 2 more folding bikes- bringing total to 4, and qualifying me as an "enthusiast"
11. Replaced all the PCs at my work with new PCs- extraordinary to be able to do this, given the economy. But the ERI is expanding. They treat me really well.
12. Went camping/hiking in Zion
13. Toured Best Friends Animal Sanctuary- lots bigger than it used to be! Thanks to "Dogtown", they are getting lots of exposure.
14. Backpacking trip to the White Mountains in a few weeks.
15. Started sewing

All in all, life is good, busy and fulfilling. Me and mine are happy and healthy.

Just updated my transportation expenses since going car-free last March, and see that I have passed the $1000 mark- $1022.50 in 15 months. Average monthly transportation costs: $68.17!