The Adventures of Iron Man

 What happens when your grandson hands you his most favorite, precious toy, Iron Man, to keep you company as you head to the beach? You create a beach adventure!

It had been over a year since I had an opportunity to spend unmasked time with some very old friends (our friendship is old — and, well, we are old too!) on a trip to the beach.

We all strictly quarantined for two weeks before arriving. For me, this involved separating from my friends at Elderberry and removing myself from a quarantine bubble with my grandkids. 

Saying goodbye to 5-year-old Evey and 6-year-old Miles was hard. There would be no hugs for many weeks (once out of their bubble I would have to quarantine to return to my grandkids’ bubble). They live on Elderberry Lane, a stone’s throw from our community, and are a regular part of my life.

As I was saying goodbye, Miles handed me Iron Man. He told me he wanted me to have Iron Man at the beach to keep me company.

Baba (grandma aka Mary) dressed for our first cold day on the beach. 

Iron Man decided to brave the weather without a jacket or a hat. 

“Well, I am Iron Man you know!”

Did you know Iron Man was a lifeguard when he was a kid? 

He and Riley (Mary’s sweet old dog) made sure everyone kept safe. 

“Sorry, no body surfing today!”

Don’t we all just love getting our feet buried in sand? 

Even if they’re just tiny little Iron Man feet?

Iron Man is such a tourist, collecting and even wearing sea shells. 

“Hey, I need pockets. I don’t have any pockets!”

Maybe time for just one last selfie before we leave? 

“Wait, my arms are too short!”

We’re back at the beach house, happy, tired and covered in sand. 

“Hey, does anyone smell wet dog in here?”

Iron Man and Barb play a friendly game of cribbage. 

“Yes, and no one got skunked this time!”

Now this is an Iron Man-sized drink! 

“Watch me pop this can with one finger!”

Today, a visit to the Veggie Wagon, and Iron Man assists. 

“The ladies will have hot chocolate. I’ll have a great local brew!”

“Forget my figure! I’m coming back for thirds on everything!”

“I’m sitting on top of the world! 

Ruler of all the sweets I can eat!” 

Iron Man loves health food stores. 

“Someday I might even visit one!”

Iron Man likes practical-minded souvenirs.

“Do you think Evie and Miles would like a koozie?”

“I know, I’m underage, but everyone tells me I look 25. 

Hope the sales person doesn’t check IDs!”

I don’t like vegetables. I love vegetables! 

They come is so many cool colors and shapes, you might not see me. 

“Let’s thank all the gardeners among us!”

“Home again! How about a healthy smoothie from those 

vegetables? Life isn’t all about chocolate and pastries and brew, 

although I might reconsider.”

Snuggle bunnies. 

“Thanks for a wonderful adventure, Baba!”

Miles and Evey loved the daily photos Mary sent, and their parents said 

“Now everyone is jealous of Iron Man!” 

2021 - Looking Back; Looking Forward

2020 is certainly a year we will all remember.  At Elderberry, the year began with the death of a very beloved member, Dick Bennett, who died after fighting cancer for over a year.  He died at home, with Elderberry members able to share time with him in his last days.

Dick Bennett cut nearly every tongue-and-groove board for the beautiful ceiling of our common house (which we built ourselves)

Only days after the memorial service, the news of Covid became real for us all, and changed the way we lived in community this year.  Gone were the group meals, the hugs in passing, the meetings and events in our common house, and - worst of all - the parties.  We are great at throwing parties at Elderberry!  But in spite of the loss of a sweet member, the pandemic, and the craziness of the elections, we learned to have fun together and support one another in different ways.  Our creativity paid off!  We feel like we have gotten through this year surprisingly well as a community, and now we even feel like we can have some fun on Zoom calls!

Some of the creative ways we have stayed connected in 2020.......

We started by making over 60 masks for our members and neighbors outside of Elderberry!

We continued to have workdays, figuring out how to work together at a distance but still be close enough to talk.

We also continued to have our Monday morning coffee on the log cabin porch - just spread out a bit more.

We played outdoor games that allowed us to keep social distance.... like croquet.

We had a great 4th of July party, playing games and making S'mores - at a distance!

  Some members went kayaking together but in separate kayaks (the perfect socially-distanced sport!)

Others figured out how to play on-line games together, like cribbage and pinochle.

We continued to renovate our old log barn and log cabin - plenty of ways for people to work on those projects without getting too close.

We held a silent auction (in our common house over the course of a week) and raised over $1600 for our local food pantry.

We've had walks together, including silent, meditative walks, in our beautiful woods, at a distance.

We had a great Bingo game and a poetry reading outdoors - with participants sitting socially distanced (except couples!) out in our central area.

We continued to have trail workdays, and had a major workday when a huge tree fell across one of our creeks, obliterating two of our trails!

We had a solstice bonfire - so big that people had to stand back enough to be distanced - and a lighted labyrinth for a night-time solstice meditation.

We had Zoom potlucks and Zoom bookclubs, and Zoom yoga and all kinds of Zoom meetings.  We're now planning Zoom cooking parties and Zoom dance parties and Zoom discussion groups and Zoom games.  We're Zooming right along!

And all through the year, we stepped outdoors onto our porches or our pedway every evening at sunset to wish one another goodnight.

And 2021?  Well, at today's monthly business meeting we brainstormed loads of new ideas for how to continue to connect and have fun together in 2021.  At today's workday, we worked together on a new path to the back door of our common house, did maintenance on our other paths, and continued renovation work on our old log barn.

And this afternoon, we planted a new oak tree to replace a very old one (over 100 years old) that we had to have cut down due to disease.  As as we did that dedication today, we circled back to the beginning of this crazy year, when we lost our dear member, Dick Bennett..... and we dedicated the tree to him.  It was a beautiful start to our new year.

Richard dedicates the new tree today, with members spread out across the common area to listen