A Brand New Colony

So a fellow in our office had a pretty bad fever yesterday. I just ran into him on my bathroom break and he seems to be doing well. Our bodies are so strange. 103 degrees yesterday and now he's feeling peachy-keen. Reminded me of the time I was about seven and Mom was out of town and I got a high fever. Cheryl took on her natural role as the caregiver and offered me toast and steaming Jello to eat. She took my temperature, which was 104 and immediately talked to Ryan. I learned in my CPR and First Aid certification class that once your temperature gets to 105-106 you start experiencing brain damage. As I weakly lied in my pink bed in the girl's room downstairs, Ryan gave me a blessing. I don't remember too many details after that, but I know I drifted off to sleep sometime soon and felt much better the next morning, as my had fever subsided. Although I don't remember a lot of details from this memory, I do remember the feelings; the healing power of the blessing and the love of my siblings, Cheryl and Ryan, the two people in my family who I consider to have the gifts of comfort and healing. I really miss Ryan, and Genene. In a perfect world we could establish our own little colony with our family. Ryan, Clay, and Ryan G. could be the doctors. Dave Southam and Kelly would oversee our colony's finances and Dave would also help with construction developments. We would have gorgeous grounds, thanks to Jason, Shaun, and Darrell, and David could arrange all of our out-of-colony excursions. And Daniel? Shoot, he could do anything! Marty could keep all of our kids spiritual and Emily could teach them music theory. We'd have some amazing musicians. Christy will keep our houses smelling sweet and our scrapbooks a comin'. Kim, of course, would be our building designer and decorator--our buildings would be stunning. Genene could run the gym and teach the gymnastic and aerobic classes and the yoga and biking classes could be Andrea's. Rachel could be our chef and artist--we would eat like kings! Kris Anne and I would keep the young'ns educated and literate and during my time off, I would take to gardening with Mom. Neil could be the great story teller--the one the kids would gather around during bonfire festivals to hear legends and folklore. No question that our cars would all run soundly--our family's just brimming with skilled handymen. Greg could teach us all to be bilingual, in Spanish and English, and trilingual in humor. Heather could be in charge of the athletics; volleyball would be a must. And Maren, she's like Daniel: she could do anything and do well. But, I'd place her in the school with me and Kris, and I'd also put her on the party planning committee, and generally put her wherever I would be because then we could hang out all day. Debbie's family would naturally be part of our colony. Her kids would keep us entertained with their plays and speeches and concerts. And Debbie could take a load off of her feet and just hang out by the pool, sipping a cold glass of Pepsi. Heidi could be in charge of importing hot Hawaiian boys for me and Andrea to date, and then she could take a load off of her feet as well and join Debbie by the pool. I'd place Mom by the pool too, but I know she would get restless and start working on project or another and leave the pool--plus, she hates the heat.
While we probably couldn't provide our colony with ever resource, I can think of a few resources that would be vital to our survival as a people: food and music. We would have acres and acres of field and pasture and then we could put all the grandkids to work (ok, not in any sort of child labor way. We'd give 'em water breaks every ten hours or so...) and teach them the art of farming: the crisp coolness of June mornings before the sun comes up, soft dirt under your fingernails, the sun on your neck, the smell of cut grass, the dry itchiness from powdering corn, and the satisfaction you feel when the sun is going down and you can set down to a cool glass of water or lemonade after a long day of work. Or better, sitting down to a homegrown Sunday dinner: red potatoes, cucumbers with vinegar and salt, cherry tomatoes, corn, beans, and steak from the beef cow that was once so lovingly our pet.
I miss the simple life. I miss my childhood. But most of all, I miss my family.