Miracles in Edgely ND

After the school reunion in Iowa City, our next port of call was Edgely, North Dakota. Not heard of it? It's just a few miles from Ellendale, and pretty much at the centre of Mid-west Hometown, USA.

Our mission: real-time hugs with our dear friend (and Gen-X) Michelle, finally meet her wonderful husband Clete and stay in touch with the delightful darling Summer.

Earlier this year, in April, Michelle was involved in a serious auto accident. Doctors in Fargo assessed the impact of her spinal injuries as "unlikely to walk again." After her first round of surgery, they told Clete it was even worse than they initially thought.

Fast forward to August 14, and, on our arrival at their beautiful farm, who should be walking up to the front door, beamimg and glowing with vitality? Our Michelle, body-braced and crutches, but positively gleaming.

Miracle you might say? What is the miracle? Michelle regaining feelings, muscle tone and the ability to dispense with her wheel chair despite a seriously damaged spinal chord? Well maybe. God does amazing things, and sometimes He makes us recover from physical injuries and confounds medical science. I'm told these sorts of miracles happen in hospitals every day.

Here are the miracles I saw in Edgely ND:

Indomitable God-given spirit in a wonderful woman; Unbridled joy as old and dear friends reconnect; A home where love is clearly overcoming pain and adversity; A proud family coping with huge challenges and dealing with them one day at a time; A community collectively embracing a family with love and compassion; and friends, artisans, craftsmen, teachers and business people of Edgely and the surrounding district rallying around and sensitively giving this family room to breathe and space to recover - body, soul and spirit.

Michelle is an extraordinary woman. She has achieved extraordinary things and has truly let her light shine. And her recovery, still with a way to go yet, is miraculous. The miracles of love continue to ripple all over the district.

Filled with admiration for her work and determination, I told her as we left that my heart was singing with joy for her recovery, while weeping with the grief of parting again, at least until we see you again in Australia.

Hugs, laughs, tears, joy, quality talk and fond fare-wells. Without doubt, there are miracles in Edgely ND. God bless you all.

School Reunion, so much more than reminiscing

Still feeling the rush of the good vibes of our US visit, Martha's high school reunion provided so much more than reminiscence and curiosity sating.

Last weekend in Iowa City, I accompanied my darling wife to her twenty year High School reunion. In all our previous visits to the US, we had never ventured beyond the Minnesota border, so the road trip alone was always going to be exciting.

[NOTE TO DEAR FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN THE TWIN CITIES: I love spending time with you, and most of my time in the USA in Minnesota. The chance to learn more about Martha's past in Iowa is just too enticing]

Here are a few of my experiences and observations:

Our hosts, Bret and Val, are a couple of the world's best quality and nicest people. Bret, a long term P&G company man (and Martha's class mate) represents so much of all that is good about the USA and peace-loving Americans. He is a seriously good guy, and had he not been such good friends with Martha, probably would have married or at least, dated her.

His wife Valerie, also a native Iowan and a damn fine theatre nurse, exudes intelligence, compassion, empathy and love. She is someone who has accepted some challenges, including those associated with having a brain injured child. She lives her life in a way that brings joy to many, especially Bret, Orion and Aiden, and leaves no doubt in anyone else's mind that they can participate, co-operate, share it... or get out of the way. She makes good decisions. As a couple, Bret and Val support each other and could epitomise the good stuff we scarcely hear about Americans these days.

The reunion of West High's Class of 86

The fact that there were two high schools - "City" and "West" in Iowa City speaks volumes. No stories of when "we beat City" or claims of victorious raids or other rivalry, just a calm recognition that, although City won everything, we are proud of our West heritage.

Bret, surrounded by classmates, some who had travelled a long way to be there and some of whom still live locally but with whom he had lost contact, could not stop beaming. This was infectious.

"Brian," and you know who you are, re-introduced himself to my increasingly beaming wife as the boy she had kissed - his first snog. Martha later told me that there were at least five classmates there that she had snogged.

As a classmate's spouse, I felt welcome and increasingly curious to learn about what such a significant part of my significant other's life represented. It was fun to meet other people in a true spirit of friendship and celebration, and where most were able to check any remaining high school insecurities at the door.

As the only Australian present, it was easy to converse with everyone. My name tag, like all of the name tags of the classmate spouses, was inscribed with the name of the respective classmate to whom I am married. It gave me a good sense of authentication, and secretly, I was thinking "well she night have dated or snogged you, but she married me!" Perhaps not all of us checked their insecurities at the door, after all!

High school crushes, friendships renewed, contact details updated, reminiscing complete for now, the ripple effects of the event will continue. Who knows what will happen to this remarkable group of people who happened to form the graduating class of West High 1986 in the next twenty years? If I am invited, I for one want to know. What a wonderful collection of Gen-X, and now, all with a permanent link with this Boomer.

More about the road trip and our reunion visit with a great friend in North Dakota in the next post.

History of Generations - between Malls

I am posting this from Minnesota, USA where my wife and I are catching up with family and friends, and preparing for her school reunion a few hours drive South in Iowa City.

Not only is our partnership one that transcends generations (this boomer is married to a Gen X), it is one that traverses the great and often misunderstood cultural divide between Australia and the USA. Her twenty year school reunion will offer great opportunities for me to examine these divides!)

Over lunch today, a dear friend Lynn, who also happens to be expert in the Enneagram and has counseled many people in relationship matters spoke about her recent developing interest in figures of history.

As well as seeing the Ben Franklin as a wonderful example of a seven for instance, she has noted that these generational divides are not merely an invention of the 20th century but offer perceptive students of history opportunities to see the patterns we may otherwise believe we Boomers, Gen Xers, Gen Ys and Norties invented.

“Not so,” says Lynn, and she piques my interest to read more about such notable figures of history in the last couple of centuries. Ironically, it might be very boomerish of me to be interested in an historical aspect framed by enneagramatic modeling.

My Gen-X wife, true to her tribe, simply processes the notion that these generational patterns may be being repeated, dismisses it or gives it cursory attention, and gets on with her current project (today shopping for our new year baby). My well-educated Gen Y sons would scarcely see the relevance, as they know that nothing of any value has been developed or discovered prior to the PC, the Internet and SMS.

Just as I convince myself of my trans-generational, cross-cultural position, I am confronted with this boomeristic interest in history… to see what we can learn from patterns of out past viewed with yet another lens. How boomer-like and how culturally arrogant of me to discover this notion.

I find the Enneagram to be a most useful model for seeing ourselves and each other. I celebrate that there are boomers like Lynn who are not only expert in it, but who are also able to see subtle patterns in people. [Lynn, after all, is an important part of our story.] She will, I am sure, challenge our rising power generations to learn from history or be bound to repeat it.

Meanwhile, this trans generational boomer will get on with his trips to the malls – be they outlet, mega or regular. What a wonderful place is Minneapolis. More about my observations at my wife's school reunion will follow.