It feels like spring here even though It's February. I'm not used to seeing crocus green spear through the ground a few days before my birthday with tulips (or are those iris) chaperoning in the back. The sprouts speak of pregnancy after a barren time. It's said in literature that the great metaphors for life are the river and the garden so it's natural at least for me to think of the new pushing out the old and bringing us new blooms.

It's what I'll hold onto in this time of loss. Our sister-in-law's brother died suddenly at the age of 63 just after Christmas; I learned yesterday that a woman who connected me to Aurora, the colony I wrote about in the Change and Cherish Series, has passed away. She was only 57. Two teen age girls died on a foggy morning on their way to school in a neighboring town. I've taken to reading obituaries of totally unknown people as a way to honor who they were; I'm especially saddened when I see a child has died.

I used to ask Why! Why! Why!

I don't anymore. Instead I'm moved to find better ways to live with these uncertainties, disappointments, grief and losses. I ask for help in finding calm despite all the unanswered questions.

One of the things I find most intriguing about the characters I write about, is how they dealt with loss, suffering and pain. The men and women who crossed the prairie or who settled the interior of Florida or who struggled at the turn of the century making new lives as immigrants in another land, how did they face each day after someone they loved was gone? What gave them sustenance in those hard times? That's the question that comes to me, the one I wish that I could answer for myself. My characters are my teachers.

Scriptures comfort and many of the people I write of had a spiritual life that grounded them.  I will never leave you nor forsake you. There is a time for mourning...and a time for joy promise solace during the darkest times along with the hope that there will be times of joy once again.

Poets and philosophers put living and loss into perspective too. "To laugh often and much," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in the mid 1800s,"to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." 

I'm thinking of Ralph Waldo Emerson of late as he was a friend of Dorothea Dix, a woman I'm currently writing about. She struggled with the suffering in this world and finding a way to address it. But his words also speak to every woman I've had the privilege of writing about from Jane Sherar to Hulda Klager with Marie Dorion and Emma Giesy in between. I waste little time dwelling on the questions of why. Instead, Emerson's words and those of scripture move me forward as powerful words should.

Albert Einstein said that "Life was like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." Today in response to many a bitter blast, I vow to keep moving. Perhaps I can improve the health of a child. Maybe I can find the best in others. I'm certain I can appreciate beauty and I know I can nurture that little crocus pushing through the ground and trust that before long, a bloom with be there nodding in the breeze reminding me of new life growing out of the humus of what was left behind.

I hope you'll identify for yourself those steps toward endurance and trust there is always something we can do that will bring us joy even in the midst of loss.

Tales from the Yucatan Jungle: Life in a Mayan Village by Kristine Ellingson. SunTopaz, Publishers. Available now at retail and on-line outlets.

I've never been to the Yucatan but after reading Kristine Ellingson's book Tales from the Yucatan Jungle: Life in a Mayan Village, I want to. This memoir of a once successful businesswoman, a jewelry designer who chucks it all for the Yucatan is a book you'll finish knowing that the journey will be fascinating. Filled with singular details of both ancient and modern Mayan life, it is also a love story. A love story of a woman in love with life, with family, with creativity and with generosity of spirit and exploration. It's also a story of risk and relaxation. As one reviewer noted, Kris "offers a gateway into a land that we tourists often visit but seldom see."

One can feel the heat of the jungle in this book but also cool refreshment when a water source is captured. We can see the vibrant hibiscus, agonize as Kris is lost on a first visit to a major city. With Kris, we view life and death, healing and mourning. For the reader, traditional Mayan life is opened with a kind knife bringing us a glimpse of how the modern world intersects an ancient culture.

But this is also a story of family, of falling out of love and then back in. Kris is a funny, inventive story-teller mixing her life running a bed and breakfast boutique hotel with that of a mom, step-mom, daughter-in-law, friend. Photographs give us a few pictures of the village near the Uxmal Mayan ruins. Building a life, being married to a Mayan man now for twenty years, makes for a fascinating read.

It won't be long and there'll be lilacs in bloom and a new book to read (April 16). Don't forget the event in Woodland, WA on April 20. Visit http://www.lilacgardens.com to sign up. The afternoon session is full and there are only a few seats left for the morning session. I'll be at the gardens all day on April 21 too. Hope to see you then. Make it a party!

Meanwhile I'm busy writing and getting ready for my part in Beachside Writers. Looking forward to meeting some of you there!

WHEN:  Friday-Sunday, March 2-4
WHERE:  Yachats, Oregon
WHAT:  Beachside Writers. Once again Jane joins award-winning author and columnist (and humorist) Bob Welch. New classes but the same weekend of inspiration, fabulous food, amazing ambiance and nurture from Friday night until Sunday. Beachside is for all people at whatever stage of the writing life you're in, even if you're not sure you are a writer! Check out Bob's websitewww.bobwelch.net for more information. Registration begins in October and space is limited to 50 people.  Give your writing honey this gift for Christmas and come along and enjoy the beach.

WHEN:  Monday, March 5, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE:  Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill, Willamette University, 1313 Mill St., SE, Salem, Oregon
WHAT:  Lecture and book signing. Join Jane as she presents a lecture on the Amazing Aurora Quilters during the Willamette Women Winter Exhibition (January 20 through March 10). For more information call 503-585-7012 or e-mail kenis@missionmill.org.