BY PAMELA JO BOWMAN – MESA ARIZONA – This summer started with so much promise! We went to LA and then to NY. My son came home after being overseas for two years. Then life shifted. Issues arose and all of a sudden I can’t seem to find sense or reason for so many things. At night I lay in bed and I try to understand and put things right, but I can’t. I can’t fix things or people. It is what it is. All I know is that I felt like a pressure cooker without a release valve. I knew I was going to explode soon. Everywhere I looked I saw a problem I was unable to solve.

We decided to go spend the night up in the white mountains where it was cooler. To tell you the truth I didn’t want to go. I thought I would still be too close to all these unresolved issues. We ended up going. We arrived safely, unpacked and I sat down and fell fast asleep. When I awoke this morning I could see outside the window. I could see the pines. My son said he saw a bunny running across the meadow. I ate hotcakes on the back porch and watched Ciera swing happily. I breathed the air and wanted to just stop time and treasure the moment. Chris got a bee in his bonnet to take a drive down to some springs. Again, relunctenly we all piled into the vehicles and off we went.

We weren’t prepared to swim, but we swam anyway. We splashed and rode the current and remembered how it felt to feel. A magical two hours of playing with my kids. Jumping rocks and sliding down the rapids and feeling the murky ground between our toes. Latter we ate pizza at an enchanting little italian restaurant. We were famished, but happy, even giddy. It felt good to be alive again.

I needed this day to remind me why I am willing to fight the fight against the goliaths of this world. They are worth it and so am I. This summer started with so much promise. It has ended with renewed hope and restored energy. I am back. Ready to fight the good fight…and even the bad ones.