Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Yesterday morning when I was scrolling through my emails I smiled at the Natural Life Chirp saying for the day…and then under the visual quip was an advertisement (as seen above) for unique face masks being sold with portions of the sales going  to buy more masks for first responders in our country in the on-going fight against COVID19.

I couldn’t help but think how far our country has come in its attitude towards wearing face masks as a prevention method against the pandemic virus.

I must admit that initially the idea sorta scared me too…every time I would watch thousands of Asians going about their daily lives with masks on in the news…it reminded me of something out of George Orville’s dystopian book of political prophesy…1984. (written the year I was born)

It seemed so alien and strange..more  science fiction than real.

Most western countries and cultures felt similarly at first…especially France who prides itself on its own individuality, especially in unique styles and tastes of apparel.

But once their mind-set changed… it came in the form of a face mask cat walk in Paris….as far back as February of 2020.

One show during Paris Fashion Week proved to be unintentionally timely as models wore a range of outfits complete with matching face masks. The outfits were shown  by French designer Marine Serre. Once again the French showed one can wear masks and still have individual style.

What started changing western culture to this acceptance? It was the  ‘Woolly Mammoth’ syndrome showing up again. (Working together, as a team, to bring down a huge animal for food and survival)

Once we listened to the underlying medical reasons and logic for wearing face masks to slow down and eventually help eradicate the virus…it no longer was a stand-off between what we wanted to do or not do…our personal individual choices needed to take a back seat.

We had to change our mind-set to collective thinking…not “me, me, me” thinking. Personal feelings aside…what was best for the good of the people? It would be one thing if choosing not to wear a mask affected only the person making that choice…but this was not the medical dilemma we were in…this decision affected everyone around us.

In order to eradicate this virus from our normal daily lives…we all needed to sacrifice for the benefit of the whole. Once people began to realize that by wearing a mask (and following social distancing, washing hands and other prescribed practices) we were acting in the best interests of everyone…that only by practicing this preventive method together... could we turn the tide on the pandemic…then slowly acceptance increased.

I am not wearing my mask for me…I am wearing it for you. This is a very important new mind-set during this pandemic.

So until tomorrow…

As I order my grandchildren super hero masks, princesses masks, Disney characters masks before school begins…I do so to help them accept this new challenge in the world in which they live.

My prayer is that the lesson learned from this new order is that our strength lies in helping each other go through life…putting others before ourselves. It is a hard way to learn this concept, but a lesson well learned and remembered.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Thank goodness for transitional lantana…it keeps floral beauty alive while we wait on the fall mums to start showing up. Love it!

Susan stopped by with the yummiest pumpkin squares Friday …*I will stuff some in my mouth on my way to Mt. P to keep the children while John takes Mandy out to dinner for her birthday. Thank you Susan…I love pumpkin goodies !!! P.S. I will give Mandy her pumpkin square bag from you for her birthday! She will be excited!

Dear Reader:

Since yesterday’s post was a bit of a “downer”… I thought it was time to wake UP this morning to a new attitude! Which means, of course, we need some humor right now…so let’s try to bring some UP!

Starting with one tiny word in the English language that can be a noun, verb, adj, adv, prep…Yep… UP!
This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is ‘UP‘. It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It’s easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and today we have two candidates UP for election (if there is a tie, it is a toss UP) and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP*our friends, brighten *UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.

At other times, this little word has a very diverse range of special meanings. People stir UP trouble (Hummm?) 🙂 line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special!

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is blocked UP.

We open UP a store in the morning and then we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don’t give UP, you may wind UP with ( UP to) a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I’ll wrap it UP for now…… since my time is UP!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

As soon as I saw this fun anecdote on the little word UP...I immediately thought of the Disney movie…UP! If you want to see “Boo Boo” tear UP, boo-hoo UP, and use UP all the tissues in a box…just put on UP as the movie for me to watch with the grandchildren…while the parents go out.

The kids love seeing me sobbing and start giggling every time we watch it and believe me…I pretty much have most of the dialogue down pact now. By the end of the movie I am emotionally used UP and spent UP for the rest of the evening. Exhausted!

Regardless…it really is a two thumbs UP movie! I love it! 🙂

So until tomorrow…See how much fun we can have with just a two-lettered word. If we can smile and laugh at this tongue-in-cheek humor…don’t you think we can start sharing more smiles and laughter on a daily basis….just show UP for people and entertain them with fun…we need it more these days than ever before! Play more…worry less. Okay? Word Up? 🙂

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

If a picture is worth a thousand words…this one sure demonstrates why we should never give UP.

* Most of us can remember (and smile at) the famous Budweiser commercial using the slang expression…“Whassup”! Played especially on Monday Night Football…

Budweiser decided to bring back the commercial during the quarantine…starting out with the fun back and forth tongue wagging “Whassups“..but then it gets serious and talks about checking up on one’s friends, neighbors, and family.

The new spot, recently released puts a twist on the iconic ad by encouraging people to check up on their friends and loved ones just to see “whassup” during this unusual time of isolation. It ends with the caller saying “Seriously I just called to check up on you…”Whassup?”

Dear Reader:

Yesterday…when I woke up I felt down…and I didn’t even know why? I made myself get up around 7 and water the garden and plants in the yard before coming in to shower…pretty typical start to the day. Yet something just seemed missing…and whatever it was saddened me.

Certainly our political climate right now is a real downer, add in Covid19 and our apprehension of the future safety of our most precious treasures (our children) is pending, then there is the unstable economy  bringing great hardship to so many hardworking Americans who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time when certain jobs went under.

Still…these problems have been circulating for quite awhile …why now on this day was I feeling sorta… lost?

I began to wonder if I was experiencing something close to PTSD or at least some form of survivor’s guilt. Here I am…to date….healthy as possible under my on-going struggle with “little c”…with a home, garden, car and most importantly family and friends. I know I am blessed…so why the sadness?

Anne had recently run a copy of an article for me since my copier is semi-dead and I texted her to let her know I would be stopping by to pick it up yesterday morning. When I got there Anne shared a very personal story about a current dream she has had involving her sister, Nancy, who recently passed away.

It was so beautiful and uplifting…I suddenly began to feel my sadness slowly rising up… off my shoulders. Then for no reason…I said that I wished that I had some kind of a daily mantra or a guideline to keep me on the right path without falling prey to troubling situations that I have no control over.

Anne pulled a prayer off her smart phone from Pope Francis that nailed the words I was grasping to find…

A beautiful message from Holy Father Pope Francis: he says, “Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is…Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.

Anne went on to say that when the world gets too much for her …she now just concentrates on doing, at least, one kind deed for one person every day. This is something she can control and kind deeds, as we all know, have a ripple effect like none other.

I realized at that moment that every now and then I suddenly feel like I am not doing enough in this world, that I am not making a difference….that I am not using my time here on earth to its full potential. So much so…that when the world’s troubles occasionally sneak inside of me…I find it hard to fight my way out of the quicksand effect to more solid ground.

I had taken two of Honey’s mouth-watering mountain apples to give Anne…and she started telling me about this delicious new recipe she had concocted that needed apples. So unknowingly, I had helped her by simply sharing what Honey gave me.

Then when I got home…I had a post comment from Jo that Gin-g agreed with in her comment…all of this made me realize that God had sent four, unknowing, guardian angels to me on this “sad” day (Honey, Anne, Jo, Gin-g) to encourage me to follow the course…to not let the boulders or slippery rocks of the world deter me…but to keep giving daily and looking for ways to keep random acts of kindness alive in my small world.

Jo’s Comment:

Big Red became like a family member to so many of us as we watched her grow and bloom. Someone said that we should bloom where we are planted, and she surely did that. How sad we all were to learn of her fate, but now new life is there and filling hearts with joy and pride once more. Thank you, Becky, for continuing to bloom, write and inspire us daily. In Psalm 30, we find these words, “Joy comes in the morning.” Certainly, for me, much joy comes every morning when I find your words of inspiration, fun, family adventures, history, stories and joy. Keep blooming!

Amazing…just when I needed someone to talk with…to reassure me I was not taking up oxygen on this earth for nothing…God sends me four friends/guardian angels to do just that…

So until tomorrow…

(Tammy Bennett/artwork)

“Let’s be human together. Let’s remember that we all need and want the same things. We want to be heard and loved and understood. Let’s admit to each other that things are hard sometimes. It’s okay not to be okay. Let’s remember that each of us is imperfect. It’s okay to ask for help. and each of us can help someone else. Let’s remember that we are not alone. we are not burdens. We are ALL humans. Let’s be humans together.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

When a mother has a child…and stares down in that innocent sleeping face…I think the phrase “Let’s be human together” takes on an even deeper meaning. The first time I considered that idea was staring down in little Mandy’s newborn face….on a beautiful September day…a September 3. Happy Birthday Mandy! My first-born…my forever love.

While Tommy and Kaitlyn were at Folly Beach…they celebrated their fourth anniversary! Happy Anniversary you two…and many more!

Dear Reader:

At one time I would have just smiled at this quote about flowers and hope…certainly true but nothing seriously in-depth or earth-shattering…just a nice little saying.

Today, however, I know first-hand the spiritual relationship one can have with a flower…”Big Red” (my original ten-year old geranium – 2008-2018) taught me this. Today its clone “Little Big Red” is still watching over me and teaching me about life, also.

In fact…right now I am patiently waiting for the last section of red buds to open and bloom (8 buds are in waiting) because I will  then cut “Little Big Red” way back….I must learn from the tragedy that happened to the original plant two years ago.

It got so top-heavy with blooms that unknowingly (hidden under all the green leaves and foliage)…the roots were slowly being pulled away from the soil) until it was too late to save my beloved plant from self-destruction.

Here is a brief history on how I came to acquire “Big Red” (the car gawking) huge geranium that once ruled over the white bench on the front porch for a decade… acting as my ‘health o’meter’ throughout this decade. Whenever “Big Red” was struggling…I found myself in the same position.

Yet when it was blooming…my treatments were over and my color was coming back too…I was blooming again. This occurrence happened over and over until I came to see my life inter-twined, literally paralleled with Big Red’s. It became more important than ever…to keep it alive.

Its existence and relationship with me started in mystery. When I got home from the hospital in late May, 2008 someone had dropped the potted geranium off. It was sitting on the porch, as if waiting for me to come home. I looked all over  for a card…but it was a windy day, perhaps the card blew off… because we never found one. To this day the mystery of the giver has never been solved.

It was while I was recuperating from my initial surgery (my first mascetonomy) at home that I found a book I had used in workshops connecting literature to social studies….a children’s book called…Red Flower Goes West. 

The story is told by a little boy about this father deciding to move his family from a comfortable home back east where much of his family lived… to go out west and start life over.

The child could  tell his mother was afraid and didn’t want to go. One day before departure, he watched her dig up  one beautiful geranium plant, put it in wooden container, and say a little prayer…that if the plant survived, it would be a sign then the family would also…it would be like bringing a little bit of home along with her.

The young boy decided right then and there that nothing would destroy that geranium…and he would re-plant it for his mother as a gift when they arrived at their new home.

This promise was tested over and over again…through ravaging rivers, enemy attacks, droughts, frozen weather, torrential rains and dangerous mountain paths…but through it all he kept the plant alive and gave it back to his mother when they finally all arrived at their new destination.

His mother smiled…”It is a sign, she said, all will be right in our new life as long as we have this faithful persevering geranium to watch over us.”

This is how I came to see my “Big Red.” I would drag it in the house when temperatures dropped in the twenties, water it daily in the summer…it grew and grew and became the talk of the neighborhood. But then when I discovered… that under all the plumage of beauty it had been slowly dying… I was devastated. What did this mean..was my time up too?

Then Chelsey, my new neighbor, came to my rescue. She took nine rootings from the dying plant and placed them in pots all around her home and yard…to try to give each rooting its best shot at survival. Only one “clone” made it…but that was all that was needed. It is now bigger than the original “Big Red.” “Big Red” lives on.

Vickie later took a fallen stem from the cloned plant and got another rooting …so we have clone 1 and clone 2.

Like the frontier family going west with a geranium plant…we now have back-up for “Big Red” to continue bringing enjoyment and life to one and all.

So now you know the history of my relationship with a big red geranium I love and adore…twelve years of life and beauty shared.

I don’t need a guard dog…I have “Little Big Red” who stands as my sentinel guarding the house and me. A “chip off the old block! 🙂

So until tomorrow…Hope lives when flowers bloom! Just ask me!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Voices from my readers:

*The first day of September…finally…for Louise Penny fans…the day her latest Gamache detective novel has arrived…it has been a long wait. So excited to get started this evening. 🙂

Dee said she remembered to say “Rabbit, Rabbit” first thing to her husband, Mike, yesterday morning who replied with his witty quip, “Hare, Hare!” 🙂 Way to go Dee! Best of luck this month!!!!!!!!!!!

Susan made turkey tetrazzini and dropped it off yesterday morning…getting ready to heat it up right now….yum..so excited! Thank you Susan!

I think God purposefully had this amazing moon flower bloom just exquisitely… because I have whined to Anne that of the 10 buds set to bloom…only two have fully opened….now let’s make that 3. (We decided it was just because they were 2020 moon flower blooms…everything is mixed up this year! 🙂

Dear Reader:

Every now and then don’t we experience a “perfect day” in our lives…or at least as perfect as this world allows. Then when we get to share a “perfect day” with loved ones…there truly isn’t  a more magical memory.

The “perfect day” of course, is when everything just seems to effortlessly fall into place. I met Mandy and the children at their home around 9 Sunday morning…by 10 we were off and heading to Folly Beach.

Living about the same distance from Folly as Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms or even Edisto Island…Folly is one beach that I haven’t frequented as much since moving to the lowcountry…at least… not in a long time.

So driving in Sunday morning I was amazed to see how different my memories were for this charming little beach we were rapidly approaching. The children were curious over the first signs that popped up announcing….

Eva Cate  asked why Folly Beach was located at the “Edge of America?“ Good question…I was clueless…(I don’t think it had been named that when Brooke and I used to go, with our fun apartment military neighbors, Larry and Mark, to Bowen’s Island for seafood right outside Folly Beach during our first few teaching years.) 🙂 Good ole’times!

When I looked it up I discovered the “Edge of America” was definitely just a catchy phrase that two owners of a surfboard store at the time created. It does, however, perfectly catch one’s attention…today it is a registered trademark and unique only to Folly Beach.

Folly Beach, itself, got its name from a word used by early English explorers. Folly Island was named after its coastline which was once densely packed with trees and undergrowth, as the Old English name for such a wilderness area was called a “Folly.”

Since then ….the island has grown from a rather bland name of origin… to  a rich colorful history. “The history of Folly Beach Island is a story of pirates, shipwrecks, soldiers, and dancing. It is a story of the hardships and hurricanes that have shaped a thriving beach side community.” 

One interesting bit of trivia is Folly Beach provided a temporary home for resident composer and pianist, George Gershwin. It was while staying here that he composed the classic opera Porgy and Bess.

But all that aside…we were  just anxious to get to Tommy and Kaitlyn’s rental beach house! The kids wanted it to have stairs…they love playing on steps…and they were not disappointed. It was so high up…the house was built on stilts… so that meant there were lots and lots of steps to climb. I got my workout just getting inside! 🙂

If there is one thing kids love more than stairs it is different hiding places and “Pride and Joy” had that too….an alcove on the landing before reaching the tip top bedroom was the most popular one. For the rest of the stay the kids hid up there while playing hide and seek.

I fell in love with this house…it is right on the beach and wide open inside…it had a huge front screened-in porch that offered a view for miles up and down Folly…with a gorgeous vision of the vast ocean… for as far as one’s eyes could see.

It was rather overcast when we arrived and I was secretly delighted…I love sitting on the beach when there is a nice breeze blowing and indirect sunlight. For the first few hours of our stay…that is exactly what we had.

Happiness is….I could feel all my stress oozing out of my pores… as I watched the children initially play in a wading pool and later the ocean.

Jake has had surfing on his mind and he couldn’t wait for Uncle Tommy to take him out for a try. I waded out to get a photo and ended up so surprised I missed the photo of his little sports life so far.

We watched as Tommy put him on the surfboard for the first time and was showing him where to lie…then Tommy explained how to slowly get up and stand….but basically Tommy told Jake just to get the feel of the waves this first time and practice holding on to the board.

Jake did… but he also started to stand up and went right up …straight as a ramrod with his arms outstretched on either side…he, nonchalantly rode the wave all the way in.

We were so astounded, including Tommy, that I never took the picture…by the time I realized what had happened and taken a photo shot…he was already kneeling on the board coming in the last stretch. Unbelievable! A five-year-old surfing like he has done it his whole five-year-life.

Of course it was one of those “miracle” rides and later two big waves plowed him under pretty good making him respect the ocean and its power…but no matter…he had accomplished (on his first attempt what some never do or at least not for quite awhile)… ride the perfect ride!

From a cool, overcast morning through early afternoon peppered light/cloudy skies…the sun slowly emerged and was glistening off the ocean…Mandy and the children stayed on the beach all day and evening…just coming in for refreshments.

We experienced the most beautiful sunset, gorgeous moon, and even a delightful “scary” thunderstorm during the night…we got to embrace a little of everything Mother Nature could throw out…perfect for a family retreat!

We ordered taco’s for supper   and took an evening stroll on the beach while Jake looked for crabs in the jetties and even ghost crabs when night fell. We watched a family movie with the kids (Dennis the Menace) and called it a day.

Of course all my adorable grand dogs had to be loved too and played with…and they certainly got lots of that……Below you will see a collage of photos to help us remember an unexpected (the best kind) but wonderful treat as August came to an end.

Sunset, evening and a new morning….all breathtaking!

*Thanks Uncle Tommy for playing with your nephew and niece for so l-o-n-g Sunday in the ocean….What a trooper! Thank you Kaitlyn for all your hospitality and generosity! Time is the greatest gift of all.

The children did not want to leave Monday…but the reality of some type of a school schedule was looming….still, no doubt, this adventure will stay etched in their memory for a long time…it sure will mine! What a fantastic way to end the summer!

* When I got home my perfect day continued ….”someone” had left something for me by my door! I took one look at the plaque and smiled….”Honey”!

Look at this treasured heirloom Honey made for Poogie’s family (Walsh, Mollie and the kids will be excited when they return today)…You are so talented Honey…and another bag filled with mountain apples and tomatoes….Guess what I had for supper last night?

So until tomorrow….

I knew you wouldn’t forget? It is the FIRST DAY OF SEPTEMBER! We have  survived another summer…unlike any other we have experienced to date….nothing to do with heat and humidity…that is a given in the lowcountry… but surviving a tenacious virus that just doesn’t want to leave and stay away.

Deep breaths this month… for our courageous teachers, administrators and prayers for students/ actually everyone within our school buildings and classrooms….such an unknown start for a school year. Prayers everywhere…for everyone!!!!

Let’s all remember to say “Rabbit” this morning and add a prayer that we are getting closer to a Covid19 departure so we won’t have many more months left looking over our shoulders at an invisible enemy.

ON our first day of September let’s bring HOPE to this month with our “Rabbit, Rabbit” this morning (Remember Dee …like Susan reminded you…no “Bunny, Bunny”….’RABBIT RABBIT’! 🙂

We all need lots and lots of good luck, prayers, and wishes to see how this month unfurls.

Let’s all have a wondrous month…full of happy surprises and life’s uplifting moments of joy!

*I love the symbolism in this whimsical work of art… as the rabbit looks up at the last carrot on the tree… in all its glorious hope.

Dear Reader:

Mandy, the kids and I, “snuck” away from reality for a quick overnight stay with Tommy and Kaitlyn at a rental beach house at Folly Beach that they had gotten for a few days to get a much deserved break.

As many of you already know real estate is booming now and they are doing home closings back to back to back. This has been going on for quite awhile with the low interest rates …and while it is wonderful…it is also exhausting.

Kaitlyn had a scare with COVID 19 just recently….bumping into someone who later called to let her know he/she had tested positive for the virus so she had to be tested- she said thank goodness she had her mask on and that probably saved her…Kaitlyn’s test came back negative but she still had to take even more precautions so this get-away is much deserved and needed.

Saturday afternoon they texted to let the family know the rental had several bedrooms…so come join them if we could. Walsh, Mollie, and the kids left yesterday for Hilton Head so wouldn’t be able to come…but I desperately wanted to get away for just one night…long enough to walk the beach and relax watching the sun go down.

The thought of living this close to the ocean and not even seeing it all summer… was just sad.

Mandy thought it would be a great ending to the summer with school testing beginning later this week….so we hooked up and met Sunday morning at her place…to spend the day and night and come back today.

No doubt we will have had a wonderful time…just long enough to break the monotonous daily routines for awhile. Will catch everyone up tomorrow.

The name of the rental is Pride and Joy... and as the maternal grandmother of my “pride” I am filled with joy when we are able to get together and enjoy a new experience.

My eyes have been longing to see the ocean again, walk the beach, and watch the sunset. I will return today renewed and ready to take on the challenges of living life more cautiously… through a pandemic.

This was definitely an example of a “Woolly Mammoth” invitation of generosity! 🙂

Seriously….Thank you from the bottom of my heart Tommy and Kaitlyn! Just what I need.

So until tomorrow….

We might not have sprouted any “Words of wisdom like “Let it Be” but by simply “being” together the same contentment was achieved…and a long lasting memory!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

The lantana is back and brighter than ever…a lovely transition from the end of summer to the beginning of fall.

Dear Reader:

*Mandy and the kids in front of a replica of the submarine Hunley outside the Charleston Museum.

A few weeks ago when Mandy and I took the children to the Charleston Museum we saw amazing fossils in the natural history section… including the woolly mammoth.

In fact in 2014 the woolly mammoth was declared the South Carolina state fossil. According to SC history slaves uncovered the relics of a woolly mammoth in 1725 on a plantation named “Stono” in a swamp. They found the teeth or tusks of the giant mastodon.

However…the post today isn’t about ancient fossils…but about a “syndrome” named for one aspect of human behavior. Haven’t we all recently read (since the pandemic)  or seen admirable and amazing feats of generosity expressed to others, our fellow man…especially providing for front-line health care workers…perhaps with food… even when the restaurant, itself, is going down the tubes financially.

Why does man help others when, he, himself, is placed in a difficult situation too?

Excerpt from Washington Post article “Why Help Others in a Pandemic?” 

Dear Reader:

As I was straightening up the kitchen table yesterday morning after breakfast…I stopped and gave the table a second glance. Each object, I realized, that was on the table had a separate story to tell…in fact hadn’t they all ended up together on the table as a reminder..but for what?

About twice a week I go out and pick more zinnias for Honey’s adorable little flower vases…they work well on the table when I am about to do some work on it- not taking up much space…and yesterday was ‘pay the bills‘ day when I would need space for lots of checks, bills, and envelopes to spread out…

My initial problem was…I had run out of checks from my primary account and by the time I called to order more I was told, due to postal service issues, it would probably take longer than usual to receive them.

Normally I could probably make due with the few checks left in my book….but these days…all of the local utilities are no longer open to make drive-by payments by credit cards, either due to COVID19 or because local buildings have been closed and checks have to be sent to  central locations…usually out of state.

But I got lucky the “miracle” new checks came Thursday…so I  placed them on the table to remind me to work on them.

Along with that I had gotten some cards, envelopes, and stamps ready to go out.

And then there was the perfect God Wink on the table. Cheetos. I discovered an empty bag in one of the kitchen chairs…a left-over “memoir” from one of the grandchildren with the sleep-over last week. I was just about to toss it in the trash when I realized there was message on the bag.

“Take Time to Call An Old Friend”…. Brooke had been trying to get me… calling earlier in the week when I was in and out between Mt. P and Summerville. I had texted, the night before, saying I would call her the next morning…and now there was this God Wink reminding me to do just that. We had a great catch-up time! Talk about creative…love God’s Winks! 🙂

Vickie gave me some coleus and told me to keep them in water for about 10 days until they grew roots and then plant them in a shady area around the garden. They have been so pretty I hate to take them outside to plant…but it is almost time. Will enjoy the last few days of them as the floral centerpiece.

Tomatoes and bananas...I am really trying to eat as healthy as possible this summer…and getting great ideas from our local Summerville magazine-Azalea. I left the magazine on the table as a reward for when I finished paying the bills. Love all the articles in this local favorite magazine.

Don’t we wait for “miracles” to happen in our life when they, instead,  are part of our every day lives?

Checks, that against the odds, arrive early. Tomatoes and bananas that keep me healthy to fight ‘little c.” Coleus to bring beauty to my eyes throughout each meal each day. Cheetos with a timely “God Wink” reminder for me. A local free magazine that makes me smile. Zinnias that feed the soul.

So until tomorrow….Isn’t God trying to tell us that while we wait and search for “miracles” in answer to our prayers… that they are occurring around us each and every moment of every day…that the real miracle is actually life itself?

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

My “miraculous” flowers….starting with living each day from morning glories until evening moon flower blooms. What a miracle! (This is my third successful moon flower bloom-Thursday.)

Every bloom on every flower is a miracle…but look at my double hibiscus bloom…back to back…incredible!

Dear Reader:

When I look at these homemade canned tomato jars…my memories quickly settle on Dee Dee…my mother-in-law. I remember that receiving a jar of canned tomatoes from her was far better than any other type of birthday present or Christmas gift I could get.

Homemade vegetables soups and homemade spaghetti were never the same when I had to resort to using canned tomato paste or sauce from the store. Oh…it was still good…but just not rich like fresh canned tomatoes.

Actually these two cans, in the photo above, didn’t belong to Dee Dee but were Christmas gifts from Honey back in 2014. I went crazy…when she handed them to me….the best Christmas presents I got that year. Every time I had a spoonful of vegetable soup or a forkful of spaghetti during that cold month of January…I thought of Dee-Dee…and Honey. My favorite canned memories.

And it was within those memories that the story of “Iva Mae” popped back up. The time was the Great Depression and one event was so powerful in one little first grader’s memory that, when she later became an author, she re-told the amazing story of a mother whose strength of character resided in the hearts and memories of twelve little first graders for life… When the poorest little girl in the class became the richest in the eyes of her classmates.

“Iva Mae’s Birthday”

The year is 1936 and Iva Mae Maples has never had a birthday…but this year, in the first grade, she is determined to do so. She has walked around and invited all her classmates (orally) to her birthday party which would fall on the third Friday of September.

It is deep in the Great Depression, all the children are wearing scraps on pants legs and dresses as they would grow taller throughout the year… but at least they all had shoes. Not so with Iva Mae…very quickly the children understood that she was the poorest girl in the first grade class.

Her feet could be seen through the holes in her mother’s shoes. They were too big and kept falling off her feet. She even wore her mother’s cardigan sweater as a coat…even though the sleeves fell down to her knees.

But no matter…Iva Mae was the most popular girl in the first grade…she was funny and giggled all the time tucking zinnias into her pigtails. She would belch and then glare at the poor student sitting next to her saying, “Well. I never, I sure hope you feel better now.”

Iva Mae brought the most wonderful lunches to school. Her mother canned day and night to keep food on the table and the results were wonderful to the other classmates who watched her eat homemade vegetable soup with a big square of buttered cornbread…as their mouths watered…staring down at their peanut butter sandwich.

When the bell rang at three everyone grabbed his/her present and began to follow Iva Mae. But she was suddenly acting strangely….the closer we got to her home…the quieter she became and now her eyes looked bigger than saucers….filled with terror.

Everyone soon discovered why. When the dozen students trouped into Mrs. Maple’s two room house…she looked confused and dazed. Bewildered she stared down at Iva Mae… waiting for an explanation.

In the quietest voice we had ever heard  …while twitching this way and that…we listened to her say: “I just decided to have me a birthday party, and I didn’t think you’d mind. I plumb forgot to tell you and …” She was now staring down at her feet sticking out of her mama’s shoes.

You could have heard a pin drop. Poor Mrs. Maples didn’t know about the party…oh no…no ice cream, no cake!

Mrs. Maples clutched at her throat saying repetitively…”Oh my…oh my.”

We could all feel the indecision as she looked down into Iva Mae’s pleading eyes. Then, suddenly, she started to laugh while tears flowed down her face. She went over and hugged Iva Mae. “You’re right…it’s party time.”

For the first time the whole class began looking around at all the shelves in both rooms of the house. Every shelf was jammed with home-canned produce from her garden. It actually was a beautiful sight of plenty…the different colored jars were catching the mid-afternoon’s sun rays and sparkling like they knew they should be decorative for the party.

Mrs. Maples grabbed four quarts of soup from one shelf and began to warm it up. She then told the girls to go pick fourteen pears from the garden and a bunch of zinnias to decorate the table.

Out in the garden one girl asked Iva Mae why her mother gave so much room to the zinnias when she could grow more produce if she made it smaller. Iva replied that her mother said: “Oh the zinnias are the food for our souls.”

The zinnias were beautiful…every color imaginable!

While snacking on soup and crackers…we soon forgot all about the ice cream and cake. Mrs. Maples arranged the 14 pears on a big platter and right in the middle placed a candle which she lit and we sang Happy Birthday to Iva Mae.

Everyone munched on his/her delicious pear… as Iva Mae opened all twelve presents: paper doll books, coloring books, hair ribbons, lotion, scarves, Old Maid cards, puzzles, yo yo’s and even a kaleidoscope. Iva Mae’s face was pink with delirious happiness.

And Mrs. Maples? She glowed also to see the happiness on her daughter’s face.

Before everyone left mother and daughter gathered zinnia seeds and gave them as a thank you gift…placing them in each child’s palm. Mrs. Maples said, ” Plant these next spring, and remember me when you see them bloom.”

The author concludes it has been 65 years since she was in that little first grade class with Iva Mae and she still remembers the courage of that poor mother surprised with twelve children… expecting a birthday party.

“I remember her good humor, her sweetness, her creativity, her courage in making do during a hard period in their lives. I remember her showing me that you don’t need ice cream and cake to have a great party, and that no gardener is ever too poor not to have something to share with others.”

“Perhaps most of all, I remember how I no longer felt that Iva Mae was the poorest girl in our first grade class…in fact, she was the richest.”

Resource: Nita Waxelman: Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul.

So until tomorrow….”Hard times reveal one’s character… Circumstances don’t make a person- instead they reveal a person.”

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

In these last dog days of August…the selection of flowers have dwindled considerably since early spring…but there is one flower I can always count on...zinnias. I especially love how Iva Mae’s mother decorated with zinnias and gave each child at the party…the gift of life…with the seeds of colorful zinnias for them. What a thoughtful, creative mother! Here are my zinnias! And Iva Mae’s mother was right…”Zinnias are the food of our souls.”

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was definitely one filled with memories. I came across this card of encouragement (title picture) that I received from Susan Johnson and the Presbyterian Women at my church last spring. When I read the note it was congratulating me for finally completing my treatments…graduating so to speak (from my infected foot wound following surgery) that kept me laid up for months.

I paused. Was it just last year, 2019, in the spring of the year when I was finally released from the Comprehensive Wound Center in Mt. Pleasant? Really?

I have pushed this challenging experience so far back in my memory I have almost forgotten about it. Foot surgery gone awry, my car stolen (twice), months of bi-weekly trips for treatments with family and friend volunteer drivers! And pain…more pain than I have ever experienced with my on-going breast cancer treatments. How could I have blocked these memories out?

It was all too “big” for me. I just remember praying fervently for God to take this burden from me….He didn’t… but He did hold my hand every step of the way and in the end the wound healed and today there is only a tiny pink scar on my left foot to show where it all happened. I am off and running again.

Now that I think about it…maybe this experience from October 2018 – April 2019 was just preparing me for Covid19 and the quarantine that has followed…after all I had been quarantined for almost six months in 2018 and 2019.

I then remembered reading an article that spoke to me and gave me four wonderful thoughts to consider when life appears to hand us more than we can absorb. *I finally re-discovered the article.

Dave Willis, in his report (Four Things to Remember When Life is Hard)… recalls vividly one particular morning that about took him under… until he stepped back and remembered four important things about his relationship with God.

“I was getting all three of our boys ready for school which is a massive undertaking and makes me respect my wife even more because she is normally the one doing it! Amidst the screaming infant and complaining grade schoolers, there was a mess in the kitchen, a dirty diaper on the floor, toothpaste on the sink and stress in the air. When we FINALLY got out the door, Connor had forgotten something and had to run back in. The door was open just long enough for (I’m not making this up) a bird to fly in the house.

Now, I’ve got to figure out a way to get the bird out of the house and all the kids loaded up as fast as I can. I eventually got the bird out (unharmed) and the kids loaded and just before I pulled out onto the main road, a garbage truck cut me off and started driving about five miles per hour and stopping at every other house. I wasn’t sure whether to scream or laugh at the irony of it.”

After Willis dropped the children off at school and he finally had time to calm down and re-think life’s trying moments he decided on these four important “tools” needed in our daily dealings with life.

1. Remember that your Character should always be stronger than your Circumstances.

Circumstances will come and go but what lives forever, in the memory of others, is how you reacted to trying circumstances…your character.

2. Remember that your Struggles always lead to Strength.

All pain has a purpose. God uses difficulties to strengthen our faith and perseverance.

3. Remember that God’s timing is always perfect.

We must learn to stop trying to force our preferred timing upon a troubling situation but instead, learn to wait on God’s…because it is always perfect timing upon reflection.

4. Remember that God will never leave your side.

Once you ask God in for help you are not alone and never will be.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

So today…as I walk around my garden with absolutely no pain from my foot…I need to remember to thank God for delivering me from this potentially disabling physical challenge. I am once more an independent woman who recognizes just how precious and hard-fought this independence is.

So until tomorrow….We must remember….“Our problems are God’s opportunities to show us new possibilities.” 

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

I promised Rutledge I would come to one of his LaCrosse practice/ games before the end of the season…but unfortunately just as were packing up to head over it was called for the third Wednesday in a row…due to distant thunderstorms.

Still we ate supper together and I got to read some chapters from Rutledge and Lachlan’s favorite series...The Magic Tree House.

Walsh was leaving for work but got some good loving in with Eloise before he left…

I had just given Lachlan and Eloise their lollipops to watch Rutledge’s practice with…when the game was called off…Rutledge was practicing for me as we loaded up.

The sunset was gorgeous as I readied to leave…

Mollie had bought this home decor wall hanging long before the quarantine began but it really works now.

And as I drove in at 8:00 with darkness quickly settling in…I hurriedly checked the moon flower trellis and look what I found…it was huge …like a gigantic moon pie! My first successful moon flower bloom! Just Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  🙂