Ferry Dock construction.

If you have never lived on an Island you might not be able to imagine just how much your life is impacted by boats.  Consciously or not boats are critical to our lives here.  This week their has been drama over the method of loading the boats on the Fauntleroy side (I have only been reading about it online as I haven't car commuted all week).  It has made some of the buses later than usual.

The good news is that the all the work that has been done on the Vashon North End ferry dock is getting closer and closer to finished.  My guess is there are a few more months left but every couple of days you notice a significant difference that is closer to finishing!

I guess all that means is that whenever I find myself worried about the impending horrible earthquake I can be glad that if I am on the Seattle side...and I survive...and I am uninjured...and I manage to steal a boat to row across the sound THEN the dock will still be standing when I get there.

The Episcopal Church Labyrinth

I noticed the signs for the labyrinth when we first moved to the Island. It has been on my list of things to do since then.

Alas today I finally went to the labyrinth, mostly because my kiddos have been begging me to go there.  Their childcare provider has taken them. Like many parents I find the hour or 2 before dinner to be hard when I am at home with the kiddos.  So around 4 o'clock on this sunny May afternoon we headed to the Labyrinth.

Next the the church the labyrinth sits amid a clearing in the forest. At one end are the names of deceased members of the church community on stones and the labyrinth is clearly the highlight.   I have prayed a labyrinth before so with the kids running around I just started.

I lasted about 4 minutes. I would like to blame the kiddos I really would. After all, my 1 year old really wanted to hang out up by the road and my older kids were running amok.  But the truth is my problem is with the width of the path.  The path is so narrow it's like walking on a beam.  Literally you must place one foot in front of one another. I twist my ankles easily so it was no good for me.

I really wanted to like it.  I really did. I wasn't expecting peaceful quiet prayer- I brought my 3 kids after all. But I was hoping to take in a reflective moment, let my kiddos run around, and be intentional about a moment.  I did that.  The problem is that I did that on the bench next to the labyrinth.    It's just too narrow for me (and for most people to be honest).

So alas it isn't for me.  But my prayer life isn't really about movement. I tend to be more about awareness of the sacred around me and also embracing of silence and stillness.    It is located in a lovely area but the noise from the highway makes it not the quietest place on the Island.  To be honest I think that might be one of the selling points- it's away from the chaos but the chaos is close enough to invite reflection.

All in all it is a lovely lovely little prayer space.  I could imagine myself bringing a journal and sitting there for a bit.  I just can't imagine praying the labyrinth there.

Vashon Island Facebook Groups

I like and use social media a fair amount.  I used it in work, private, and in other spaces.  There are, of course, many Vashon related facebook groups.  There are groups for birders, gardeners, farmers, historians, community members, parents, power outages . . .

Seriously there are a lot of Vashon related facebook groups.

My very straightforward advice.  If you aren't spending too much time on the Island then don't spent too much time trolling the facebook arguments, disussions, groups and various posts.

Some of these groups foster more debate than others. Some of them shut down debate faster than others, sometimes things run wild.  In my Vashon social media impression Vashonites are very whiny.  That cannot possibly be true. But it sure seems true!

I guess it is no surprise but when I look through facebook discussions it makes me feel like an outsider, or sometimes it makes me feel unknown or misunderstood.  For me, and maybe for you, it is important that my social media that is unrelated to my personal relationship and more related to my geographic

Vashon EMTs. Our experience.

Several weeks ago our children were in a car accident (with an adult other than their parents).  I don't want to go into the details of the car accident.  Except to talk about Vashon EMTs.

Our two kids (ages 1 and 6) were transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  When I got the call that something had happened I talked to one of the EMTs.  I believe it was a Captain.  He introduced himself and said, very reassuringly, "Everyone seems to be just fine. We are doing this as protocol." He walked me through what was going to happen. And called 2 more times before they arrived at HMC (I was in Seattle when I got the call).

When they finally arrived at the ER, our 1 year old was sound asleep on on EMT's shoulder.  Our 6 year old had been well comforted.  They had thought to scour the car for things like a bottle, diaper bags, car seats and all the stuff we would need for a long day in the ER.

What they brought most of all was a load of compassion.  They talked to us in a humane way. They were gracious, communicative and did their job so so so well!  I honestly couldn't believe how kind they were.

We also learned weren't going to receive a bill.  An emergency transfer to a hospital is apparently part of our property taxes.

Vashon-spiration

Before we ever moved to Vashon and were living in Seattle we came over to buy a piece of furniture from craigslist.  It was rainy wet,  I was pregnant and we were trying to figure out some furniture for the baby's room. . .

So on this day trip we stopped at Cafe Luna.  We had coffee and a pastry and while we were there I used the washroom.  It was the washroom that convinced me I wanted to move toVashon.  No not the toilet or the soap or whatever, it was all the signs in the bathroom.  The events, the discussions, the classes, the sales...it all seemed like stuff I could appreciate in my community.

Winter Closures

The Vashon Bakery and Snapdragon are both closed for a couple of weeks.  I find this quiet charming!  After all shouldn't people be able to take vacations.

It does however seem to me that they would benefit from not being closed at the same time.  

The Ferries and the Seahawks

Basically if the Seahawks are playing in Seattle at any point during a given Sunday and you want to go to Seattle (via the north end ferry dock) on that day- schedule for at least a 2 hour wait (to be safe).  It is not because the lines in Vashon are necessarily long.  It seems to me that the difference is that the traffic from Southworth is so much more substantial.  Thus, the ferry takes on fewer cars.

As if I didn't struggle enough with football.