Eugene – Dear Liza

Dear Liza,

While we were in Eugene, we all had things we wanted to see. On Auntie Bridgett’s list was the Farmer’s Market, which she remembered fondly from her visit there in 2000. It was only a few blocks from where we were staying at the Home 2 Hilton, so early Saturday morning, we walked over.

We were not disappointed! Since it was early, we didn’t have to deal with crowds, and all the vendors were as fresh as their produce. Dozens of varieties of peppers, dozens more of tomatoes, and flowers everywhere were a treat to the eyes.

We got a pint of figs so sweet they melted in my mouth. I didn’t take any pictures of them… just slurped them down, one after the other, until (sadly) they were gone.

We met Ed Jones of Umpqua Valley Pollen and Honey, selling honey and bee pollen. He told us about the benefits of bee pollen and gave us a lot to think about. Could these weird little bits of pollen help my high cholesterol? Could it relieve Auntie Bridgett’s allergies? We will do more research.

We cooled our heels in the shade for a while, then walked a few more blocks to visit one of my fond memories, the Fifth Street Public Market. This delightful warren of shops set into a 1920s poultry processing plant enchanted me when we lived here in the 1980s. It was the “anti-mall”, a tangle of small spaces fitted into interesting architecture, packed with lovely local offerings. Cheese, crafts, wine, kitchen do-dads…. It felt homey and opulent and exotic all at the same time.

It is built on several levels with an open space in the middle for sunny tables and a fountain. The fountain features “Swifty”, a rooster who commemorates the many thousands of chickens processed here over the years.

I felt very pleased that the forty years’ gap between visits hadn’t ruined the Market. It has been updated, of course, but maintained its charm. As we walked back towards downtown, we noticed Swifty-the-rooster’s lady friend, Henney Penney, up on a high pedestal. Thanks, chickens!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

Your Daddy David was born forty years ago this week. I was just twenty four and had been married to your Grandpa Nelson for six years. We were out of college and ready to start our adult lives.

Well, we thought we were. We had moved from Southern California where we knew hundreds of folks to Eugene, Oregon, where we knew no one. Parenthood, we said, was the most natural thing in the world.

How hard could it be?

When your great grandma Billie offered to come up and help, I thought she was being a little silly. “You’ll be busy taking care of the baby,” she said. “I’ll take care of you.” Take care of me? What was she taking about?

But, as she so often was, Momma was right. I nursed Baby David, Momma cooked three meals a day. Plus giant snacks to feed my nursing body. I changed Baby David, Momma did the laundry. She made sure there was enough in ME to care for HIM.

And in the two weeks she was with us, I went from helpless noodle to almost-capable new mother. We were so busy, there aren’t many pictures from that visit. But I learned a lot.

I learned how much I didn’t know about mothering, life, and my own strengths. But mostly I learned that motherhood (and life) isn’t a skill you learn…. it is a thing you grown into, step by step. Sometimes those steps are backwards, but that’s okay, too. I learned that all you can do will somehow be enough.

David marries Olga, with two generations of mothers in attendance

And, with that baby being 40 and me being 64, I am still learning. And I get to watch my son learn those same lessons. Taking steps forward, realizing there is more to learn, learning that you will be enough.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Tag: Eugene

Hitting the Markets in Eugene

Reflections on My Eldest Child Turning Forty