Author: paedwards

Sweet Lorane Community News; August 26, 2021

August 26, 2021Newspaper Columns, , Leave a comment

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.

Sweet Lorane Community News, August 5, 2021

August 5, 2021Newspaper Articles, Newspaper Columns, Writings Leave a comment

Fern Ridge-Tribune News
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
August 5, 2021
By Pat Edwards

Jim and I lost a huge part of our lives this past week when we were notified that Leona “Lee” Lyman had quietly passed at the age of 95. Lee entered our lives in the spring of 1993 and the story of our meeting and the strong ties that have bound us together ever since is longer than I can include here, but I want to honor this beautiful and compassionate woman regardless. Our story was recorded on the pages of the weekly Veneta paper, the West Lane News, on September 2, 1993.

Jim and I were home that evening in the spring of 1993 when the telephone rang. I answered it. I didn’t recognize the feminine voice on the other end of the line, but she sounded cultured and kind. She said she was trying to reach Patricia Edwards. When I told her that was my name, she then asked me if I would confirm my middle and maiden names. Again, I told her she was correct, but I was puzzled. She then went on to explain…

She introduced herself as Lee Lyman. She lived in Eugene and told me that she and her first husband, Paul Sowers had adopted a baby girl 30 years ago in Portland… in August of 1963. She also mentioned the name of the hospital. She asked if that held any meaning for me. I felt as though I had been hit by a train. I somehow knew that someday I might get this phone call, but only a few people besides Jim and me knew the story, and after 30 years, it was a huge shock. Our four children did not even know they had a half-sibling.

Lee and Paul named their baby girl, Stacey, and later adopted a son, Walt. When they were old enough, they told the kids about being adopted and assured them that they were chosen to be their own. When Stacey was 5, she told her mom that “I would like to see this lady that ‘borned’ me.” Her search, however, did not begin in earnest until after she was married, living in California, and had children of her own. By then, her adopted father, a former basketball player for the UO, had died and Lee eventually remarried.

To quote from the news article, “Lee admitted that, early on, she had some misgivings about Stacey’s search for her birth mother. Eventually, she accepted that if the birth mother was found, she wouldn’t be losing a daughter, but sharing her.”

That day, true to her word to help Stacey in her search, Lee was the one who was able to find us and bring us into her life as well as her daughter’s. We respected her well-earned position as Stacey’s mother and our families came together in one loving unit from that day forward. Oh, how we are going to miss Lee and her presence in our lives. She was a remarkable woman and Jim and I feel blessed that she was the one who loved and raised the baby I gave birth to so many years ago. We maintain a close and loving relationship with Stacey and her family and all of our children are very close.

Thank you, Lee, for all that you gave by sharing Stacey with us. We love you so, and pray that you rest in peace.

To read our full story, go my website at https://allthingslorane.com and look under the “writings/newspaper articles” links)