Fern Ridge-Tribune News
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
August 26, 2021
By Pat Edwards
The recent cool mornings and milder days these past couple of weeks are a welcome change. I haven’t had to worry about having to go out, either in the early mornings or late evenings, to water plants because of the heat. Some of my plants have gotten a bit sunburned because I was forced to water them mid-day a couple times. It was either that or not water them at all when they needed it.
Thanks to our neighbors who have been following the restrictions and taking care during this extreme fire season, we have not had any major fire scares closeby. There were a few small fires that were quickly put out and I think we all owe our local fire fighters a big ‘thank you’ for being so well-prepared. Of course, it’s not over yet, but it almost feels as though an early fall is beginning to settle in on us. Goodness knows, we could use some good rain showers. It seems that the East Coast has a monopoly on the rain right now, though.
The road construction on Territorial Highway at Stoney Point is progressing nicely. We can now see the route that the new road will take us as we slowly work our way through the flaggers and gravel detours that keep changing on us each day or week. There are still some long delays at times to allow drainage work to be done in areas next to the road and most of us who travel Territorial often know that we need to tack on an additional 10 to 20 minutes to our travel time if we need to be somewhere at a certain time.
The other day, I had an appointment in Cottage Grove, but was late in leaving the house. Normally, the 30 minutes I allow myself for travel time would have been enough, but as I approached the construction zone, I decided to head over the hill to Creswell instead of chancing being held up too long at Stoney Point. Even at that, I was 10 minutes late to my appointment and had to call ahead to let them know I was on my way. The lab tech was not too happy, but I was eventually forgiven. Today, I had a 7:00 a.m. appointment in Cottage Grove and allowed myself 45 minutes. This time I decided to go through the construction zone and take Cottage Grove-Lorane Road since traffic was not too heavy going south and it was being controlled by traffic lights at Stoney Point. I got to my appointment with time to spare.
We all need to plan ahead and adjust our lives to the constrictions we feel each day from construction zones, speed limits, mask mandates, and unforeseen circumstances that might interfere with or interrupt our plans. We’re all in this—whatever “this” is—together. Getting angry, frustrated, belligerent or placing the blame on others is only going to complicate our lives. If we are always looking for the thorns, we will miss the beauty of the roses.
Looking back at my years on earth… and that’s almost 79 of them… I’ve experienced many more roses than thorns. Even the thorns are important, because they make me realize how beautiful the roses were (and are), and how blessed I have been.
Let’s strive to be kind to each other.
All Things Lorane 