Helene Hadsell’s Observations on her Birthday
Helene Hadsell would have been 100 years old today. I can only imagine the celebration if she were still with us.
This article was written on May 31st, 2007, the day before her birthday on June 1st.
OBSERVATIONS ON MY 83rd BIRTHDAY IN TEXAS
I continually remind myself that all one has to do to bring his or her human brain into line is to look at a sunset or listen to the song of the birds that are at the feeder outside my window. I sit and watch as their wings beat, fighting for spaces on the curved perches. When I raise the blinds, they all scatter except for one red bird that looks in at me. I become quiet, and suddenly, the bird flies to the window, clings to the window ledge, and pecks on the window. Is the bird communicating –perhaps thanking me for the food I supply? I think she or he is grateful.
I go out on my front porch and feel the breeze that started in a faraway world and traveled softly just to caress my shoulders. The tension leaves, and I feel blessed.
In the evening, when I sit on the front porch as the sun sets, I listen to the song of the frogs and watch the fireflies wink and glide. I know that a Supreme Being has not left his perch. It just seems that way sometimes. This I must remind myself of constantly, living as I do in a small town with an abundance of small-town apathy and dullness. But there is always one that makes it SPECIAL—knowing you!
I have traveled worldwide and found peace and human fulfillment in so many places on this planet. The romantic portrayal of sun-gilded beaches and lovely villas that Pat and I experienced during our stay in Spain soothes my soul just to imagine it again. The tropical beaches in Portugal with jewel-blue lagoons, or high on the mountaintops of Peru, or even Kansas if you’re Dorothy, offer a warm feeling of contentment, satisfaction, and peace. All is obtainable for me simply by switching gears when I put on my stash of classical CD’s.
The world moves so fast, and the electronic devices we keep inventing make it faster, blurring out vision and eroding the humanness of humans.
At night I watch the sky fade to dark blue, Venus shows up, and my summer sky becomes velvet with small diamonds, and the wisps of clouds go pink, then gold, then disappear.
A special time of each day that I look forward to from six to seven p.m. is when my son Chris walks in the back door greeting me with, “How was my young mother’s day?” We exchange our daily activity report and sit down for an intense game of Canasta.
There are also the weekends when my son Dike and his talented wife, Pheona, visit- another special time.
I spent my 83rd birthday with no party or presents in the usual sense but with the greatest gift of all: the ability to see the sky, walk without aid, fix my meals, write my thoughts, and read other people’s concepts by the books they write.
I smile every time I observe the BIG PICTURE. Consoling myself with my philosophy that Life Goes On, Who Cares, and Get Over It.
I’m content—happy—blessed. I thank the gods for the senses I have. Even in my rural Texas town, this Dorothy doesn’t need to follow the yellow brick road to go back to Kansas—she had found her Heaven on earth here in Alvarado, Texas.
Helene Hadsell
