Lupus Adventures at the Arizona, Walk to End Lupus Now 2013

Registration & Check in Area

Walk Day

Today, I am sitting here in the shade of a ramada at Chapparal Park in Scottsdale, Arizona enjoying some beautiful spring weather.  I am writing from the registration table at the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) Walk to End Lupus Now in Scottsdale, Arizona and joining today’s festivities as a virtual walker.  The other (real) walkers took off on the 3.1 mile long course a little while ago.  Today’s walk is much too far a walking distance for my lupus arthritis and joints, and too much sun exposure for lupus sun sensitivity.  Alas, I am relegated to the ranks of sun dodgers sitting here in the cool shade of the registration table.

Key LFA Staff Joined Us

Attendance at today’s walk is impressive!  Key members of the LFA national office staff joined us to support and help with today’s walk arrangements.  Countless participants turned out, so we spent more than an hour checking in a massive crowd of  pre-registered and walk-in teams and individuals.  Including the over $39,000 dollars tracked online ahead of time, today’s fund-raising efforts should net many thousands of dollars to support the LFA.

Many sponsors supporting the walk

We had several sponsors today helping with costs of putting on the event, including co-sponsor, the City of Scottsdale that donated park access without charge for the event.

Walk T-shirts & Prizes

Also, we had support from AllSup disability representation company, Data Doctors computer services, GoDaddy.com, Blanco mexican restaurant, TinySolder.com screen printed clothing.  Additionally, health partner Arizona Arthritis & Rheumatology Research (AARR), the research arm of a large Arizona rheumatology practice, sent representatives to speak with today’s walkers about current and future lupus research studies.

Anne from Glendale, AZ

Today’s walk was a complete success!

As I sat around in my shady oasis, I met several interesting people today.  The first I want to highlight is Anne from Glendale, AZ.  Anne agreed to let me tell her story and told me a little about how her lupus problems have frustrated her over the years.  Her CNS Lupus was diagnosed in June, 1999 on a date she remembers vividly after many years seeking a correct diagnosis.  Before lupus interrupted her career, she worked in and around the Arizona legal community as a court reporter.  Eventually, her central nervous system lupus disrupted her job-related mental skills and triggered her medical retirement.  She began receiving Social Security Disability benefits, and these eventually converted to Social Security Insurance retirement benefits after she reached normal retirement age.  Anne was a joy to speak with and we shared a few enjoyable minutes in the shade chatting.

Liz and Friends after the Walk

Also camping out at a shaded picnic table after the race, Elizabeth and her group of close friends and family conversed about their lupus connections with me.

Liz was hospital nurse for many years, until she reached a point where she felt her CNS lupus might be posing a medical risk to her patients.  It was a wake up call when she realized she was using way too many post-it notes “all over her patient’s medical records” to keep track of their information and things she needed to do in their treatment.  She felt her CNS lupus might be a threat to the lives of her patients.

Eventually, Liz retired because of the  essential physical and mental functions her nursing career required.  She shared her amazing story of personal strength and persistence.  Nearby, the family and friends on her walk team demonstrated the genuine and encouraging support circle every lupus patient needs and hopes for.

Finishers Cross the Line

Also, in my shaded corner of today’s walk was Toni, today’s walk chair, as she stood briefly after the walk talking with ex-nurse Liz and David, the Arizona LFA representative.   Tony moved so quickly without stopping I never managed to snap a good picture of her!

Toni is an amazing woman with lupus who eventually retired from her army career.  While serving our country in Afghanistan, acute lupus kidney failure quickly sent her stateside and terminated her activity duty status.  Eventually, lupus led to her medical retirement.

The winning team raised thousands!

Toni’s team brought in today’s highest combined contributions totaling well over $4,000  from over 60 individual donations ranging from $5 to $500 dollars each. Her team’s efforts are an outstanding example of people joining small efforts together to make a great difference!  Her team of sponsors and walkers showed their overwhelming support of Toni and the Arizona 2013, Walk to End Lupus Now.

The day after the walk

The day after the walk…

Now it is “tomorrow” and Sunday afternoon, and I am finally finishing up my summary about yesterday’s walk.

My husband, advice giver and walk volunteer!

Today, I have stayed home from church to rest — in strict adherence to my husband’s wise and persuasive advice.  After yesterday’s walk, I rested all afternoon while my husband volunteered to do our weekly laundry for me.  Today, I feel as if I walked 30 miles yesterday, but all I did was watch a throng of people do all the walking!  I just sat in the shade chatting, taking a few pictures, processing walker registrations for a couple of hours and watching as real walkers completed their course.

Lupus is unpredictable!

Lupus is unpredictable and funny that way.  Sometimes, just having an eventful day is enough to bring on exhaustion and fatigue in its wake the next day.  Today, somebody (lupus!) pulled my plug and I am all out of steam to run my little engine.

Alas, today I am not even the “little engine that could.”  I thought I could, but I can’t!

Thank you, donors!

Last, but not least, I would like to extend a very special thank you to  my family, friends and co-workers who supported me and invested in the Arizona Walk to End Lupus Now, 2013.

More walk pictures…

Join Lupus Adventurer in Arizona Walk to End Lupus Now April 27, 2013

Walk to End Lupus Now – Arizona 2013

I am extremely excited to announce that on April 27th, the Lupus Foundation of America, Arizona Chapter and the City of Scottsdale, Arizona are sponsoring the  Arizona 2013 Walk to End Lupus Now™.  This spring, all over America and the world, local communities are holding their own Walk to End Lupus Now™ in an annual fund-raising campaign to support the Lupus Foundation of America.

Would you join Lupus Adventurer’s Walk Team?

My team’s goal is to raise $500.00

I would be extremely honored if each one of my readers would consider supporting the Walk to End Lupus Now™ in any of these four ways.  Would you please consider supporting me and my team?

1. Sign up to join my walk team as a walker if you live in Arizona and can come out on the day of the walk.  I would love to meet you!!

You have probably noticed that my identity is a careful mystery here on my blog, out of necessity for internet security reasons.  However, the Lupus Foundation of America Arizona and National offices staff know my true identity.  If you are able to join my team and you can come out on the day of the walk, I would be honored to meet and get to know you personally on the day of the walk.

How could you support us?

2. Sign up to join my walk team as a virtual walker, and get supporters to sponsor you or simply make a modest donation.

3. Sign up to sponsor me for the walk – Although I am unable to physically walk due to lupus arthritis and sun sensitivity, in my “virtual walker” role I will be busy supervising the walk registration booth. Supporters can sponsor me personally at http://lupus.donorpages.com/Arizona2013/LupusAdventurer/.  I will collect no money myself.  All donations supporting me or my team can be made directly online for the Lupus Foundation of America.

4. Join my walk team as an enthusiastic member of our cheering team, and encourage my team with your comments here or on my Lupus Adventurer Virtual Walkers Team Page.  I know everyone cannot support us with money.  However, your encouragement and prayer support for the safety of the lupus patients, and their friends and family who come out on the day of the walk would be simply awesome!

Why have a 2013 Walk to End Lupus Now™?

The purpose of the 2013 Walk to End Lupus Now™ is to raise funds for the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA).  The Arizona walk goal is to raise $50,000 for the 90,000 people living with lupus in the Arizona area. Your donation will help me reach my personal fundraising goal of $500, and I hope that you’ll help me reach this goal!  I realize these are tough times for many people, but every bit helps!!  Separate small donations together would be enough to make a difference.

Join the Lupus Foundation of America and thousands of walkers in nearly 60 cities across the nation to raise money for lupus research, increase awareness of lupus, and rally public support for the estimated 1.5 million Americans who suffer from its brutal impact.

Walk to End Lupus Now™ events give all people affected by lupus the opportunity to come together for one unified purpose, to end lupus.

Before donating, I would urge you to check out the Lupus Foundation of America‘s web site at to learn more about this year’s Walk to End Lupus Now™ and to verify the credentials of the walk registration site.

Arizona Walk Information Site:

http://lupus.donorpages.com/Arizona2013/

Lupus Adventurer Virtual Walkers Team Site:

http://lupus.donorpages.com/Arizona2013/LupusAdventurerVirtualWalkers/

Lupus Adventurer’s Personal Walk Page:

http://lupus.donorpages.com/Arizona2013/LupusAdventurer/

Thank you so much for considering your role in support of the 2013 Walk to End Lupus Now™.

Lupus Fatigue and Finding a Fighting Spirit

A tidal wave of lupus fatigue.

As I stand barefoot on my cold, wet beach and watch the receding tidal wave of lupus fatigue ebb away from my shore, I see surrounding me the vast lifestyle devastation the overwhelming flood of tiredness left in its wake.  Mayhem is everywhere.  Laundry sits unfolded, dust accumulated, real and junk mail sit in an unsorted stack overflowing my desk, and my rugs and floors are looking pretty sorry indeed! All around is a general sense of disordered clutter and mishap.

While seeking a means to withstand the exhaustion and bone-tired feelings, all my work seemed half-abandoned at home and at the office.  I spent many days sleeping until noon, some days telecommuting, some days lounging in pajamas all day, a few days going in for half-days, but braved only a couple of full in-the-office work days.  The siege of fatigue waters have left an unkempt landscape about me as my physical weariness finally begins to recede.

Domestic and professional
disorder after a flare

Once again, I begin to pick up the scattered domestic and professional pieces of my normal life following a lupus flare.

Although this flare has been quite disabling and my lupus arthritis was very aggravated, I am thankful that neither my central nervous system lupus nor neuropathy flared.  Through the last couple of weeks, these often clear manifestations of my lupus have remained unusually quiet, and for this I am grateful.  At least, this was not an all out every system lupus attack, it was merely physical and not mental.  The only predictable thing about lupus is its unpredictability.

Hope and snow yesterday!

I had hope yesterday and even more this morning that my two-week flare of lupus fatigue is finally ending.

Yesterday brought a massive real weather storm to Arizona, and parts of the Phoenix valley saw snow, sleet and hail – a rare phenomenon in our desert city!  I stood on the second floor balcony at work with co-workers, as we held our hands out to catch and look at the soft white substance that melted on our hands and accumulated on ground below.  My son-in-law, a native Phoenician, regaled us last night with a report of his first experience driving in snow.

Although we had heavy rain and icy forms of precipitation all day long, I was feeling measurably better and was able to work a full day at the office.  My joints were still very sore, but my spirits and energy were on the rise.

Birds, singing in the rain!

This morning, as I hear the birds singing outside my window, I feel a little like joining them.  Perhaps a couple of the areas of disorder that are now beginning to bother me will get tackled this morning. Earlier this morning, I stood outside in the 48 degree morning chatting with husband while his rain-soaked car warmed its engine and dripped into the puddles on our driveway. The cool, moist morning air felt refreshing today instead of wearying.

With near exuberance I heard myself proclaim, “I feel almost like myself again.”

We will rejoice and be glad

Indeed, every storm has an ending, and today, I have once again found my fighting spirit!

I am just now reminded of the scriptural words I sang to a simple hymn I played yesterday morning at the piano.  “This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it,” Psalm 118:24.

Lupus and fulfilling my civic duty

5:00 a.m. – a minor system shock!

On Monday morning, I had the privilege of reporting to jury duty at 7:45 a.m.   It was a minor shock to my system having to get up early enough to leave for the downtown court at 6:30 a.m.  I have fulfilled my civic duty several times before, including twice sitting as a juror on criminal trials.  With all my 30 plus years working in Arizona law offices, I am probably the most unlikely juror, but I have concluded after being selected twice, that I must have the “perfect juror” face that both sides of a case want.

So, Sunday night I headed straight to bed. I enlisted my husband’s help waking up in the wee hours of the morning in time to join the morning commute.  Before hitting the road safely, several things were necessary, due to my CNS lupus involvement.   First, a couple of cups of coffee, medications, a shower, and some breakfast, all early enough to make sure I could “connect the dots” between my brain and my reflexes.  All was well, so I had green light to head out to drive to the court safely.

Civic duty

Jury duty is an important piece of our American judicial system, and I am very willing to do my part.  After thirty years as part of the Arizona legal community, there is a high likelihood that I might know the attorneys or have some familiarity with they type of case being tried.  I always hope that reasonable people (like me?) would sit on a jury if the tables were ever turned, and if I were ever accused of a crime.  I would hope the people in the jury box weighing facts and the law would take it all very  seriously, realizing that a real person’s life, reputation, livelihood and family life may be preserved or crushed by their decision.  Such a fate should belong only to the guilty, and Jury duty should remain a sobering, albeit enlightening experience.

Guilty!

Twice, I have been part of a jury that found someone else guilty of their crimes, and those defendants both went to prison.  My prayers going into jury duty were for good health, the desire for a day without lupus pain, and clarity of mind to serve well as a juror should I be selected.  Those of us with chronic illnesses and disabilities like lupus are entitled to an opportunity to take part in this important civil responsibility.

The trials “went away”

When the judge in a previous jury duty stint found out that I had arthritis from my lupus, he made every effort to make sure that the entire jury had frequent enough breaks during the trial to help accommodate my lupus-related needs.  He periodically asked me if I was still comfortable, if I needed a break, of if I needed to get up and walk around for a few minutes.  I don’t think the rest of the jury minded this one bit, as it helped break up the tedium of our 4 day trial a little when we were given chances to leave the court room and stretch.

This time, after half the day of watching a descending list of pending trials “go away” (a not so technical legal term) I was not selected for a trial, and the remaining jurors were released just before noon hour.  So much for the jury duty adventure, this time.  I made my way back to my end of town, to catch some lunch and then head out for a afternoon’s half-day of work at my office.

Lupus and Benlysta – After 11 months and 12 infusions it is a milder, gentler monster

 

In a hurry and in brain fog

This week I passed the milestone of 11 months since starting Benlysta infusions for my lupus.  On Monday this week, I had my 13th infusion.  I woke up just a little over one hour before I was supposed to be downtown at the hospital.  Ironically, the day of my infusion was probably the groggiest, foggiest morning I experienced all month long, so I was grateful my daughter had volunteered to drive me there.  If not for her help, I would have had to cancel my infusion due to the intensity of my morning CNS lupus symptoms.

I didn’t have time to get ready for work before going to the infusion, especially after turning off my alarm and falling back asleep for an extra hour.  So, we left shortly after I got up, and my daughter expertly navigated Arizona’s heaviest freeway heading south in the traffic of a sluggishly moving river of morning commuters.  Sipping my second cup of wake-me-up coffee and feeling nearly “brain-dead,” I was especially glad to be a passenger, and that I was not me behind the wheel at 7:00 a.m. that morning!  The thought of me driving that early is a scary proposition!  We arrived at the hospital’s outpatient infusion center with a few minutes to spare.

sluggish river of morning commuters

My daughter hung around to keep me company for the next couple of hours, but we only spoke occasionally as Benlysta trickled into a vein in my right arm.  She was engrossed reading one of her two-per-day books as I played Angry Birds on my Nook Tablet.  Somehow shooting an endless string of little birdie missiles from left to right at grinning pigs on a digital screen was very therapeutic.  What amusement, what mindless occupation, what trivial activity!  But, it kept me occupied through my early cognitively challenged morning.

at work lupus fog had cleared

Later in the day at work, the lupus fog cleared and  my mind  functioned much more clearly: filled with thoughts of legal ethics opinions, employee development recommendations, cash-handling policy making decisions and recommendations for contract terms for our outside counsel law firms.  But, right then, in the peaceful hour in the infusion chair, I enjoyed the effortless, untaxing, carelessness of my handheld computer game.  Such simple bliss!  By the time we got back home, I had time to get ready and was finally clear-headed enough to drive myself to what ended up being a pretty normal work day.

I never seem to suffer ill effects from the Benlysta infusions themselves.  After nearly one year of infusions, the only side effects I have repeatedly experienced are tiredness and extreme exhaustion for a few days after some of the infusions.  After the first two infusions I had a couple of sharp quickly passing “zinger” headaches, but they never returned.  Also, in the first few months I had several sinus and bronchitis infections complicating my asthma.  But now, after the last few infusions, there have been none of these side effects except post infusion fatigue.

Has Benlysta mad a difference?

Have the Benlysta infusions made a difference?  I am measurably better now than I was before I started them a year ago in July, and can really sense a change.  Comparing my health then and now, I would say that using scale where 100% is totally healthy and 0% is hospitalized, I was at 50% a year ago just before starting Benlysta, and now after almost one year of infusions I am at 75-85% most days.  I still have up and down days, but the bad days are milder and less frequent.  The days when I feel as sick as before Benlysta are rare.

Lupus is now milder & gentler

During the past year, I have been able to successfully get my prednisone dose back down to 5 mg per day, and my rheumatologist is really pleased with this outcome.  For over a year before Benlysta, we could not successfully get my prednisone below 10 mg, and then it was only briefly dropped between repeated bursts back up to tapers from 20 or 30 mg.  It has been several months now since I have had to do a prednisone burst, and I have enjoyed the increased stability and quietness of my lupus.

Benlysta has not made fast changes, but rather slow, steady modest changes that are improving my lupus over time.  Benlysta is not a cure, lupus is still there, but after 11 months and 12 infusions, it is a milder, gentler monster than before!

 

Lupus and leaving town without hiring a sitter

visiting Tucson, AZ

For the past several days I was out-of-town and visiting Tucson, Arizona for a professional legal conference, followed by some extra time off with my husband.  While I travel, I would like to be able to hire a lupus sitter, someone to take care of and feed my lupus while I am out-of-town.

If I can hire a dog sitter, a baby sitter, a plant sitter or a house sitter, why not a lupus sitter?

Well, no lupus sitter was found to take the job before we left last week, so without any other likely options, I was forced to take my lupus along with me on the trip. Some days, it seemed to be a good traveling companion, and others it was a bit pesky and annoying.

Tucson, AZ monsoon storm

When we had some stormy monsoon weather and overcast days pop up, my lupus did a lot more whining and complaining.  I told it to hush up and not ruin my time away, and it mostly complied.

The most unwelcome part of the humid muggy weather is the way it tends to trigger joint inflammation.

The good part about the inclement, monsoon weather in Arizona is how the clouds form quickly and darken the sky in the late afternoon, cooling things off a bit and opening up a couple of hours before sunset for safe low UV outdoor time.

strolling at sunset

We went for a couple of lovely (slow) strolls before sunset, with thick dark clouds on the horizon effectively blocking the remaining weak late-day rays of the sun.

On Sunday afternoon after church, we strolled through Tucson Mall, and did some relaxed shopping.  We watched through the glass sky light ceiling of the mall as a drenching monsoon rain storm descended upon the city, and dodged several splashes of water leaking through the roof.

thankful for “cell” as a flashlight

We kept shopping while waiting for the intense rain to let up.  After a couple of hours of non-stop deluge, I found myself sitting in a pitch black ladies room as the electricity to the mall and to over 13,000 homes in the surrounding areas was knocked out.

Thank goodness for cell phones that double as flashlights!

Now, back home and back to work I am feeling a little more exhausted in the mornings, and have slept in for the extra hour or two required to recover from a productive few days away.

still looking for a “lupus sitter”

Now, my lupus is acting up a little, and I think it must be slightly disgruntled from being taken along on our trip.  I am sure it will soon settle down and behave again.

Perhaps next time, I will look harder for a “lupus sitter” before leaving town!

Any volunteers?

iGive.com Lupus donations with each online purchase

A new way to give to lupus!

This is an awesome way to give to support for local Lupus research, lupus awareness and patient services without spending an extra penny from your own wallet!  The online stores make donations to a non-profit cause while you shop.

You and your friends can make a real difference for Lupus Foundation of America, AZ Chapter or another worthy non-profit organization through your everyday online shopping.

Here’s how you can sign up to start making free donations to the Lupus Foundation of America, Arizona Chapter:

All you have to do is join iGive.com, install the iGive Button, and keep it installed for 90 days.

Follow the link here to iGive.com.

Sign up for iGive.com and follow the simple on-screen instructions to install the button to your browser menu.

• Always Free – the stores pay
• The average iGive.com shopper raises over $50 a year with the iGive Button
• Easy to install and uninstall browser add-on / extension for PCs and Macs
• No pop ups, ads, toolbars, special search engine, or unwanted emails
• No sharing your email or other information
• At least $5 is received by the Lupus Foundation of America, AZ Chapter, even if you don’t shop. All you need to do is keep the Button installed for 90 days.

A donation for each purchase

Then, each time you make an online purchase, online vendors make donations to the Lupus Foundation of America, Arizona Chapter, or another non-profit organization of your choice, at no cost to you.

If you sign up through the link in this post, it will also increase the donation amounts for my purchases.  If you also refer others to iGive.com from your own blog or Facebook page, each time you make purchases online, an extra donation will also be made on your behalf for their purchases.

Donate to lupus while shopping!

To see the Lupus Foundation of America, Arizona Chapter (LFA, AZ) link to information about this FREE donation option, go to their official website.  You can also sign up directly from the LFA, AZ link, rather than going through the link here on my blog.

Just by signing up, even without making a purchase, my first iGive.com $5.00 donation was made today.  My next online purchase will donate another $5.00, and more will be donated with each future purchase.

Please consider joining me in using this creative method of raising support for Lupus in Arizona!

[Please Note:  Lupus Adventurer receives no profit or personal gain of any type through her own or a reader's use of the iGive.com donation services.  The only beneficiary of this service is the Lupus Foundation of America, Arizona Chapter or another designated non-profit organization selected by the participant.]

Lupus arthritis, and how to shake my hand

When we meet don’t hurt me!

I am so glad to greet you,
and want to know your name!
But, when we meet, don’t hurt me.
My joints might be inflamed!

Please do extend your hand,
in a solid gentle way,
but just don’t squeeze too hard,
or I will ache throughout the day.

If you forget and squeeze too firmly,
remembered you will be!
And the next time that we meet,
I won’t shake so willingly.

I’ll remember my last wince
while gazing at your grin
And pull my hand away from you
to shelter it from pain.

Remember I might be sore!

So you can shake my hand,
but remember I might be sore
and I’ll let you shake it again,
and trust you so much more.

I won’t shrink back or shudder
at the thought of your hello,
and I’ll gladly shake your hand
each time we come and go.

Lupus Adventurer

Copyright June 2012

This poem is dedicated to  one of my newest friends in Arizona who is just learning about lupus in efforts to help the Lupus Foundation of America, in its new outreach to Arizona lupus patients, their families and others affected by this auto-immune disease.

Upcoming May 2012 Lupus Awareness Month Activities

May is Lupus Awareness Month

It will soon be May and Lupus Awareness Month! Thousands of people with lupus, their families, and friends will put on their purple in nearly 60 cities across the country and register for the Lupus Foundation of America(LFA) WALK FOR LUPUS NOW®. WALK FOR LUPUS NOW raises awareness and critically needed funds for this unpredictable and life-threatening disease that affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans.

Every step you take and every dollar you raise supports the LFA’s mission of advancing the science and medicine of lupus and improving life for all people affected by lupus.

To find a lupus walk in your area, visit the Lupus Foundation of America.  Arizona is working on the plans for a lupus walk sometime later in the year, possibly in the Fall of 2012 during one of the cooler months here in the Arizona desert.  It is already over 100 degrees here, and it is only the middle of April!

People in support groups here and a Lupus Foundation of America, Arizona steering committee are working together to build new services for lupus patients in the area.  Our next Arizona walk will be part of the efforts to expand services and raise Lupus awareness in our local community.

Walk for Lupus Now

For more information or to register for a walk in your community visit www.WalkForLupusNow.org, or call the LFA at 877-910-9779 and they will personally help you find the closest walk.

LFA support groups give a warm and caring environment where people with lupus, their family members, caregivers, and loved ones can share their experiences, methods of coping and insights into living with a chronic illness. If you are looking for a lupus support group in your area, there are many all over the country that might be close to you.

Contact the Lupus Foundation of America to find out about a chapter or support group near you.

As part of my own efforts to promote lupus awareness, beginning on May 1st,  Lupus Adventurer will share a different lupus fact every day.  Drop by and do your own virtual daily lupus walk through May!

Have a happy Monday!

Lupus Adventurer

Lupus Adventure’s memory of an ideal, perfect day

Birthday mountain escape

A few years ago was one of those absolutely ideal days that take your breath away and become timeless memories in the patchwork of life. The day was in mid September, on my husband’s birthday, when the blistering heat of Arizona summer still gripped the Phoenix valley and surrounding cement jungle like a sweltering heavy blanket.

We escaped up winding mountain roads to the north for the day, planning to poke around one of Arizona’s rural mountain cities. We found ourselves in the small town county seat of Prescott for breakfast. Sipping coffee and enjoying a quiet morning meal, our café table looked out on the picturesque town center and court building.

Prescott Town Center

The day’s weather was dreamy, with a perfect balmy breeze tossing the leaves and our hair gently as we strolled along through antique shops and other small businesses in the town’s historic district near the town center.  After a while, we picked up a picnic lunch and drove around the wooded town for a few minutes looking for a good spot to enjoy the perfect climate and eat outside.

Always looking for shade, mostly because of my lupus sun sensitivity, we delightfully discovered  just the right spot!  Gathering our lunch, and me donning my sun hat and sweater, we entered a beautiful shady park carpeted with lush green grass, and surrounded by a border of towering mature trees.  The park’s leafy canopy created an inviting and seemingly secluded shady green oasis for our noon meal.

Williams Granite Creek Park

We stretched out the picnic blanket on the grass under some trees, and enjoyed our lunch, lingering for what became a whole afternoon of rare perfectness. There were a few visitors that briefly shared our quiet mountain retreat: a family with a couple of cheerful laughing children playing at one end of the park, a younger couple that passed through strolling together and quietly chatting, and a pleasant young man with his playful golden retriever who stopped to visit us briefly and pass the time of day.

Because we had taken a vacation day off from our jobs to spent the day together, most of the town’s residents were in school or at work that day.  For that reason, there were few other visitors, and for most of the beautiful afternoon, we had the park to ourselves.  We visited peacefully in the dappled shade of our secluded resting place at the midst of the park’s grassy expanse.

Reclining on our blanket and chatting about our dreams and thoughts for hours, eventually we both drifted off into the calm rest of an unplanned peaceful afternoon nap.  After an hour or so in a dreamlike sense of complete physical relaxation and utter peacefulness, I was still laying there quietly stretched out on my back when I first awoke.

Eyes closed and listening

I held my eyes closed while I listened.  I heard my husband gently snoring beside me on the blanket, the breeze was rustling through the leaves in the trees above, a few birds were singing and chirping all around us in cheerful chorus, and the faint buzzing of a few bees could be heard nearby hovering over the lawn.  I remained motionless for the longest time, breathing in deeply and drinking in the mingled sounds.

The slightly warm breeze quietly brushed my closed eyes and lashes, touched my upward turned face, and barely moved the hair around my face.  I didn’t even want to open my eyes, for fear the magic spell and stillness of the blissful afternoon would be broken.   Later, after we both finished napping, we and stayed on and cherished the rest of the afternoon, remaining until the last rays of light began to disappear through the tall trees and the cooling breeze penetrated our light sleeves.

Headed home

As we drove back to our home in Phoenix, heading back toward our children, home, blistering heat and the real world, we carried away from that day a sacred sense of having spent some perfect, restful, dreamlike time together.  We sighed deeply in contentment and emotional refreshment, and still share a memory of that unforgettable day when life seemed to stand timeless and still for a few precious peaceful hours.  That was for us, an ideal, perfect day.