Dear Reader:

For the past couple of weeks the tripod sprinkler system Michael installed for me in the garden has had a ‘mind of its own.‘ It was, originally, set to come on for 45 minutes each morning from 7 to 7:45…to get the garden off on a good start with a refreshing drink of water first thing in the morning!

Lately, however, some days the timer  would come on…others days not…as if it just decided to sleep in some mornings. 🙂

When Michael came to to cut the grass two days ago I told him about the  persnickety timer and he discovered there was, also, a flaw in the tripod mechanism…instead of watering the whole garden…it was getting stuck on one spot and drenching it…a faulty purchase. So he returned it and got a new one and re-set the timer.

He told me to check and then let him know yesterday if it came on at the right time and watered the whole garden evenly. I got up and went out to check on it…then scurried back inside to get a coat. It was in the forties…burr! It felt like a beautiful fall morning. The sprinkler was doing its thing.

After the watering stopped I walked around the garden where the sun’s rays were catching water droplets off the flowers, bushes, and trees. It looked like fairyland.

As I walked behind Lachlan’s Japanese Maple the sun, suddenly, burst through the oak tree branches lighting up the top tips of the little tree… to the point that it looked like the “burning bush” from scripture. It was glorious. I was filled with God’s Presence right in that beautiful moment…the  gift of being at the right place at the right time…a special spiritual “surcie.”

No matter the circumstances we find ourselves in during different passages of our lives…there is always something good, exciting, and beautiful we can discover… if we keep looking up instead of walking around down-trodden and worried.

It is true “Good things are coming” but we shouldn’t sit back and wait for them to come…we should be making and finding “good” in every single day. What is that noteworthy cliche…“Every day might not be a good day…but there is good in every day.” 

The people who wait on life to come to them end up letting life pass right by them. I don’t think there is anything sadder than to see someone wishing they had lived their life differently towards the end of it. The time for action is now…so there won’t be regrets later.

Whatever we spend our time on…manifests itself larger and larger. If we spend our time worrying about the here and now and even more so of uncertain futures…these negative feelings and thoughts manifest themselves completely out of proportion to the reality of the situation.

If we decide to spend our time, instead, focused on all the beauty and joy God has given us on a daily basis…this becomes our reality…our mantra for life. The choice is up to us.

So until tomorrow…Let’s treat our negative thoughts and worries like I decided to treat my cancer…by diminishing its importance in my life…I was determined, no matter what or for how long “little c” was not going to steal my joy.

Let’s not let the cares of the world, the problems beyond our capabilities to fix them, dictate our life. Let’s turn what is beyond our control over to God and live the life He created for us…a world of laughter, joy, compassion, and love.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Stopped by yesterday afternoon to drop some spaghetti off for Anne…and she showed me her vegetable garden…squash, egg plant, peppers, tomatoes…etc. She also showed me her new and improved deck on the back…she has someone in the process of fixing it up. John and Mandy are doing the same thing with their deck.

In Anne’s “spare time” she continues to make more masks- so colorful…like quilting! 🙂

With so many summer vacations being cancelled it appears that Americans are fixing up their homes…especially outside grill areas, putting in a pool, adding a recreation room…so summer vacation can be in-station this year.

My mums are starting to pop up now in spring time…especially love this one- hanging basket on the pear tree…so pretty!

After Anne fell a few weeks ago on her bike when her flip flops ‘flipped’ at the wrong time…she cut and bruised herself badly…and broke a toe in the process. The wonderful zany adorable Dee from our church heard about the accident from me and sent Anne this card.

Dear Reader:

I pulled several videos off the internet that I missed last Sunday from the CBS Morning Show…and particularly liked a segment on the types of comfort foods that we “stay at home” Americans are craving during these uncomfortable days. The pendulum swings far out in many directions with very diverse selections….(when celebrities and average citizens were questioned about their favorite comfort foods now.)

As different foods were discussed…I found myself nodding my head…finally realizing that I  was and am  craving all of the selections that everyone else is during these pandemic times… and the craving circles around texture.

For my personal night snack attacks… the comfort calling can go one of three directions for me…something crunchy and salty…something chocolate and soft, or something smooth and cool… like ice cream.

But as far as meals go…Difficult hard days (more about the psyche of an uncertain future  than anything else) are making my palette crave soft-textured foods. The harder a day…the softer the desired foods.

* Remember me talking about craving mashed potatoes these past several weeks… to the point that I will go to all the trouble to make mashed potatoes from one baking potato…because that is all I want.

Other soft dishes run the gamet from different types of pasta dishes to creamy tomato or potato soups.

We  had a “cold” snap (low fortes-high sixties) arrive in the lowcountry yesterday after the nineties earlier this week…so now I am ready to make another batch of spaghetti…in fact I just did …last night.

I associate spaghetti with warmth, fun, and family memories from the past and now…it always makes me feel good to just smell spaghetti cooking…and the tasting is pretty  darn good too! 🙂

Tomorrow night I will probably make a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato cream soup…it is just Campbell’s Tomato kicked up several notches with some fresh herbs and heavy cream…to die for. Another night mac n’ cheese…After all it is the Queen of comfort food!

So until tomorrow…When the going gets tough…go soft…soft comfort foods! 🙂

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

(Comfort food means something different to everyone…even Pooh!)

The lantana is getting ready to make its grand entrance. I actually planted two more pots of lantana in the garden yesterday because I know that by July (no matter how well advertised certain sun flowers are) the garden will be pretty dried up and pitiful looking…except for the lantana. It is the anchor of a lowcountry garden or yard…no matter how hot, how long…like the energizer bunny it will just keep bouncing-ly blooming along.

Smile:

Yesterday was Tommy and Kaitlyn’s third anniversary- the theme- leather. Kaitlyn ordered a beautiful leather case for Tommy to keep his wedding band in – made on Dingle Peninsula in Ireland!

Tommy sent Kaitlyn a beautiful bouquet of flowers…with green for Ireland….a friend of Kaitlyn’s made them shepherd pies for their special dinner… and then to top it off Mother Nature gave them the last super moon of the year– The Flower Moon. Plenty of God Winks on this anniversary! Happy Anniversary Tommy & Kaitlyn! Many Many more! 🙂

***I took this photo last night around 9:00 through a branch off the pear tree aimed upward into the cloudy evening here. Eerily beautiful!

Earlier in the evening I was sitting on the garden bench listening to the fountain gurgle when the garden lights started coming on…the one right above me on the pine tree cast light on the luscious scented Confederate Jasmine. So many senses touched me all at the same time!

Later as I started back in the house from walking around the block…I took this picture of my house…my happy place…waiting for me to come back in to the comforts of home.

Dear Reader:

I read once that hope was defined as ” Hope is a match in a dark tunnel, a moment of light, just enough to reveal the path ahead and ultimately the way out.”

There was a study done on children who lived their entire lives growing up in poverty. What separated those who continued to live in despair and poverty, as adults,  from those who were lead out of that darkness into the light was hope. The researcher, Dr. Valerie Maholmes, who worked on the research, said hope involves “planning and motivation and determination” to get what one hopes for.

As we are all going through a global transitional period (unlike anything with which to compare)… with more questions than answers…the one common denominator we all desire is hope…hope that a better tomorrow will reveal itself…as the ‘new normal.’

My personal hope is that I will never take the joy of hugging for granted ..not once when we are able to use our human tactile gifts from God again.

Yet still…I just want a hug. I miss a hug.

I was thinking the other day… as Mollie and Mandy sent me pictures of new discoveries and fun daily incidents taking place around my grandchildren… that I do so enjoy hearing from family any time during the day now. This has been a blessing…more communication…even if it is in the form of email, texting or a call.

Rutledge discovering a marine animal partial vertebrae…Jake and Eva Cate discovering a baby turtle that wandered into their yard.

I used to have to wait till evening or even the weekend… sometimes to hear from family or friends who were working and children attending school. Life was just so hectic…it was hard to find a moment of quiet long enough to communicate without falling asleep in sheer exhaustion from each day…for both my adult children and grandchildren.

So…I suppose in a way it is a trade-off…more computer communication and less up close and personal tactile encounters. I’m sorry…I just need a hug now and then. We humans were made that way for a reason…I’m counting on God being a really Big Hugger when I meet Him…and then I will have an eternity of hugs to look forward to…

And hope…the one entity left in Pandora’s box…when all the other evils flew out into the world….disease, pandemics, illnesses, suffering, sadness, etc. I believe that the reason hope was captured and left inside is because “Hope dies last.”

Humans need to be able to hope for good even in the darkest hours. Even in a situation where there there’s no escape… people still hope. Hope was the eternal gift left humans…and remains with the human throughout life. The gift from the “gods” ….today the gift from God. Once we get to eternity we won’t need hope any more. We will become hope in all its magnificence.

So until tomorrow…C. S. Lewis explained hope in this fashion.

“Hope is a continual looking forward to the eternal world. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that true Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought the most of the next. In other words…they tried to bring a little heaven into human life on earth while they lived in it.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Susan sent some funny sayings yesterday and one really hit home. When the quarantine began, in March, I had about half a tank of gasoline. Yesterday I filled my car up for the first time. Another blessing…saving money on gas and helping pollution in the bargain! I am sure the earth enjoys one less cough!

No explanation needed…too much togetherness obviously   🙂

The new hugging Facebook icon…even Facebook needed a hug too.

Dear Reader:

I remember hearing a reporter make a statement, recently, that after 9/11 we never looked at a fireman the same way. After this pandemic ends, we will never look at our medical personnel, doctors, nurses, researchers, and all various forms of medical assistants, the same way either. How true that statement is! They are our heroes!

I want to give a personal shout-out to the nurse who personally held my hand and got me through several series of chemotherapy. Without Linda Carson (my oncology nurse)...there was the potential of ambiguous paths that might have followed without the same fortunate results.

Linda’s word of the year should always be “SMILE.” She has the sweetest smile I have ever seen and the most compassionate thoughtful expression that fills her face around this smile. God gave me the perfect oncology nurse…she was and will always be a guardian angel to me.

Linda taught me how to look on chemotherapy, not as something harmful to me or scary, but as a giant ally fighting hard to knock down “little c” and keep it penned in so I could keep living my life. It worked.

Twelve years later…I still am taking oral chemo and hormone pills… but I am also able to continue living my life, writing my blog. and loving every breath I take.

*My favorite gift from Linda was a pillow I still have and love that reads “Choose Happy!

During my first round of chemo (started in the summer) Mandy and little Eva Cate would go with me on various occasions when Brookie wasn’t there…we always took Linda flowers…she deserved so much more but they added color to the chemo treatment room. *And besides Linda always made sure that there was a cherry and orange tootsie roll pop…one for me…one for Eva Cate!

This year, particularly, I think there is a greater respect and admiration for teachers than ever before.

There have probably been more cartoons depicting frustrated home-schooling parents than any other type of cartoon.

“It ain’t easy.”

It is true what they say about the teaching profession…it is the hardest thing you will ever love…and it is not for the weak of heart.

I loved it but teaching 13-year-olds can be challenging…I realized one day recently I have lived most of my life in a crazy harmone world…First teaching students go through puberty and  later me going through breast cancer with harmone therapies galore. Welcome to my “harmonious” world! 🙂

I am proud of my daughter Mandy who is an art teacher in a downtown Charleston school and my niece Carrie…a speech therapist in Dorchester Two school district. Both are wonderfully amazing educators!

One year in May (many years ago) the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper called and asked if I would write a little “ditty” for Teacher Appreciation Week. I wrote a poem and it went like this:

Why I Teach?

“Why do you teach? I was asked one day. There are so many problems and so little pay.”

The question was simple…so why couldn’t I…Think of an answer…an instant reply.

I had taught for years, but never taken the time…To look within me…to answer this rhyme.

It was then that it happened…Like a flash in the night…I knew why I taught…to me it FELT RIGHT.

It felt right to tell a story and see students’ eyes now shine…to feel a link in the classroom …as friendships began to bind.

It felt right to give back knowledge…that someone had given me-“What goes around, comes around” …we share from the learning tree.

It felt right to watch a child, help another struggle to learn…Who once was teased and bullied… but now had someone… with whom to turn.

It felt right to hold the future…and mold it in my hand-Knowing this clay might make…the next leaders of our land.

It felt right to let them go…and take life’s journey on their own- Knowing  I had planted the seeds that one day would be sown.

So why do I teach?…I was asked one day. Because I can’t imagine life…spent in any other way.”

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So until tomorrow….My love and admiration goes out to our front-line nurses and our front-line teachers. The world couldn’t turn without either. Today Thank a teacher….today….Thank a nurse!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Exciting news… Walsh and Mollie’s family plus sister Chelsey and Pajak’s family (the cousins) went to Bull’s Island…an environmental island filled with all kind of diverse vegetation and …. and perhaps whales’ backbones!!!

They are going to check with the SC Aquarium and find out more but while strolling on the beach…this piece of an animal’s vertebrae was discovered and the kids were so excited…as was the rest of the family when they sent these pictures!

A sign for my gate arrived yesterday and I was so excited! My Orange Trumpet vine reappeared…such beautiful blooms.

Dear Reader:

The best lesson that I have learned from my garden…is patience. Life never gives up…and neither should we.

Those first couple of garden seasons when so many wonderful friends and family members were giving me seeds, plants, bushes, and even trees to plant…I was beside myself with joy!

But then just as soon as anything looked too droopy, too weary, or brownish or just pitifully gangly I was ready to toss it…and actually did. (Much to my later dismay as a more experienced gardener.)

Both friends and mentors… Doodle and Anne… repeatedly reassured me that “whatever foliage I thought had to go…probably didn’t. Just be patient…give it some time…even some more seasons…sometimes beauty takes longer than we plan.”  But it is always worth the wait.

So  true!

Cast-in-point:

A couple of weeks ago…I was adding more soil to my rectangular planter filled with portulaca…the plant that actually loves sun, humidity, and heat. (Not easy to come by in the low country)

Without realizing it I must have pulled one stem out with the portulaca flowers clinging…while tidying up and taking the bag of potted soil back to the garage. The stem fell on the other side of the deck table and for days when unnoticed.

During that time it rained one night and we had cooler temperatures than usual ...Then two days ago I was sweeping the deck and noticed it. I was surprised to see two blooms still on it. When I went to pick it up…to toss it over the balcony from old habits…it was wedged tightly between the deck planks…yet somehow still surviving on its own. 

I gently pried it loose and replanted it back in the planter with the rest of its “family.” I am happy to say it has “settled back in” and is doing well. Another lesson learned. Life is not a giver-upper…not by a long shot…nor should we be.

Anne receives notable author Louise Penny’s newsletters and she sent me a copy of the May Newsletter. There isn’t room to copy it all…though every word is wonderful…like her writing…but here is an excerpt that I think we can all relate to…as we continue to find our footing during this extraneous time.

MAY NEWSLETTER

Dear Anne:

Am really hoping this finds you safe and healthy.  I am both, and relatively sane.  Have decided I am not actually stuck at home – I am now a “writer in residence”.  And this quarantine is beginning to feel normal.

How comforting, how disconcerting is that?  Comforting that we can indeed adapt, and quickly, to this radical new reality.  But disconcerting that it can feel anywhere close to normal.

I find I am both more relaxed and more anxious.  The rapid, scary, dismantling of all that we’d known and taken for granted, has slowed.  The restrictions on our freedom are now in place.  So there is less shock.  The ground beneath our feet has stopped shifting.  And so have we.

I find I am now less frightened.  But more worried.  About what the world, our lives, will look like when this is over.  About what ‘over’ even means.

But then, I eat another chocolate bar, go for a walk, phone a friend, and feel better.

***Can we uninstall 2020 and reinstall it again?… I think it has a virus …

***After years of wanting to thoroughly clean my house but lacking the time, this week I discovered that wasn’t the reason.

***Homeschooling Day #12: they all graduated. #Done.

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Yesterday I didn’t get a chocolate bar like Penny but I tied on my mask…and went curbside to Tastee-Freeze and ordered several sundaes! After all, I figured it was Sunday…actually a pretty hot Sunday…near 90…so the thought of ice cream intensified with the escalating heat.

I bought a sundae for every neighbor who lived alone…it was much appreciated and we all had fun laughing and remembering sundaes from our past as I dropped each off.

So until tomorrow…life is always worth fighting for…even if it is just to have a little more time to share a sundae with a neighbor. 🙂

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

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When Tommy and Kaitlyn were dating and later married…Rudy was their only dog. (He was Kaitlyn’s dog from home and a witness to their romance and subsequent marriage.)

When Rudy died from cancer…they began adopting senior dogs that no else wanted or ones who had come from puppy mills and lead terrible lives.

Soon there were four little dogs…with Schatzi and Khaleesi being the last. We forget that this pandemic, by affecting small businesses… affects animals too. Many small businesses are  involved in dog adoption  and rescue centers. Many of which are in dire straits now.

Please read the information below my daughter-in-law Kaitlyn texted me Saturday night.

*Thank you ahead of time for anything you can do to help.

Valiant the Rescue where Khaleesi and Schatzi came from is in dire straights. They need help.

*****WAYS TO HELP*****

**Donate Much Needed Funds**

Venmo Account @Valiantanimalrescue

PayPal Account PayPal.me/valiantrescue

ValiantAnimalRescue.Org

Mailing address:
Valiant Animal Rescue
PO Box 13477
Charleston SC 29422

**Donate Much Needed Supplies**

ChickSaddlery Valiant Wishlist
https://www.chicksaddlery.com/wish-list?WishList_ID=21218

Valiant Amazon Wishlist
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3NKI3U5P7EC9R?ref_=wl_share

Tractor Supply
•Rubber Stall Mats for kennels
•Mini Horse Feed
•SandClear

Feed Stores
•Coastal Hay (Horse quality, stored out of weather)
•Alfalfa pellets
•Salt and Mineral Blocks

If anyone missed the previous post regarding our account being closed by Wells Fargo without any prior notice or authorization by Valiant, please follow this link https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157206375197358&id=142379622357

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Garden Lovelies…Zinnias!

Surprise:

Mike Burrell stopped by yesterday and dropped off “surcies” from Honey. Here are the flowers she is now making…they look like they were always supposed to be part of the hanging flower vase she molded by hand and gave me years ago.

And look at the little adorably cute “Go with the Flow” flower vase…I filled it with mini-zinnias. During the day I put it on a side window table and last night moved it to the bed table.

Wouldn’t this make a wonderful memento to family and friends remembering the good parts and good people during our ‘stay-at-home’ transitional period? 🙂 Best Advice: “Go with the flow”! We can get through this together!

These are two of Louise Penny’s cartoons she had in her newsletter…love them!

Dear Reader:

One thing that has flourished under the pandemic quarantine (for me) has been the retrieval of personal memories…the ones tucked so far back…if not for the mandatory “stay at home” policy… would have been lost forever.

I finished  A Man Called Peter about 4:30 Saturday morning. I am one of those type of readers…once I get into my “zone” reading a book..it is all over. Nothing else matters… except turning the pages on the story I am reading.

Sometime early Saturday morning…probably around 2 a.m. I found myself laughing out loud. Catherine Marshall was describing the imaginative language games the “boys” created for fun.

Peter and “wee Peter” or Peter John could make up their own language and never blink an eye…conversing for long periods of time…both to Catherine and the maid’s smothered giggling in  the next room.

A game of nonsense conversation might go like this:

Peter…to his son: “What happened to you today?

“Oh nothing’ much.”

Peter: “Well, tell me…did the radiator get fixed, so that ballawags could get warmed up to the fuminas, when it bit the elephant?”

Wee Peter: (Grinning because daddy was ready to play the game)
“No daddy, but the rug scooted under the budgums, and the scheezechs ran into the big fat man.”

Peter: “Oh really!”

Wee Peter: ” Yes, that was the big red fire truck that run over the booky, and the boy went running down the street yelling “Blankybats!”

Peter pretended to draw back in horror.

“Peter, that just can’t be? Why would a little boy yell “Blankybats!” Do you mean to tell me that the pretzel, the marzipan, the football, and the apple dumpling didn’t try to stop the radiator when it sizzled the big fat man smack in the dockum-budgums?”

“No daddy, it was in the snookum-dookums he got sizzled,” corrected Wee Peter, and it never did stop the radiator.”

The game of nonsense conversation could go on and on and on…at least until Catherine called everyone to supper.

Don’t we all remember imaginary words we created as children, sometimes because we heard a word wrong or had difficulty saying the word and improvised with another?

Before “Wee” Peter was born…Peter Marshall never brought personal anecdotes into his sermons…thinking he was sparing the congregation a verbal ‘family album’ gathering. But, of course, that all changed after the baby was born.

Peter discovered that every time he made an alliteration to something little Peter had done or said the crowd loved it…they wanted more. Peter had a hard time remembering jokes…but there was one he heard after “Wee Peter” was born that he never forgot…he loved to tell it.

I remember my Aunt Lessie, my father’s youngest (and only) sister telling me stories about my daddy and me when we would go to Durham to visit them and Grandmother Barbour. I lived for those stories…since daddy died when I was five so I had few precious memories of him.

She assured me that he adored his “little princess” since I was the only girl surrounded by two brothers. But…that said..I drove him batty…I was the kid who never ate. I do have vague memories of mother and daddy, aunts and uncles, trying everything they could to get me to eat something…finally storming off in total frustration.

They obviously thought  (at the rate I was going ) I would never “Flourish and be.” 🙂

Aunt Lessie finally said my daddy gave in after months and years of futile attempts to get me to eat regular food and started disguising a little piece of meat or a vegetable in a potato chip…because, when all else failed, I was the “potato chip” princess.

I think it was this memory that was brought back when I read Peter Marshall’s one remembered joke which had me laughing again early Saturday morning.

It went like this:

A little boy in Aberdeen, Scotland, was disciplined by his mother, who used to say to him when he was naughty, “Now God won’t like that.” And when he was particularly unruly or disobedient, she would say, “God will be angry!’

Usually these admonitions were sufficient, but one night when she had prunes for his dessert at supper, he rebelled. He refused to finish the prunes on his plate. She pled. She coaxed. Finally…she said, “Now God won’t like this. God doesn’t like little boys to refuse to finish all their prunes.”

But the little fellow was quite unmoved. She went further to say, “God will be angry.” But for some reason or other, the little boy stubbornly refused to take the last two prunes which lay on his plate-dark blue, wrinkled tokens of his rebellion.

“Well,” said his mother, “you must now go to bed. You have been a very naughty boy, and God is very angry!” So she packed him upstairs and put him to bed.

No sooner had she come down, than a violent thunderstorm broke out. The lightning was more vivid than usual. The thunder clumped up and down the sky with shattering reverberations. 

Then suddenly angry wind threw handfuls of rain against the windows. It was a most violent storm, and she thought her little son would be terrified, and that she should go up and comfort him.

Quietly she opened his bedroom door, expecting to find him whimpering in fear, perhaps with the covers pulled over his head.

But to her surprise, he was not in bed at all, but he had gone over to the window.

With his face pressed against the windowpane, she heard him mutter,

“My, my sic a fuss to mak’ ower two prunes.”

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So until tomorrow…Use the time we have been given to go back down memory lane and try to remember those precious bits and pieces of our childhoods …that once released from the ‘attics of our memories’… remind us of the little person we used to be. They are still there inside of us…just waiting for a chance to play Peek or Boo…I see you…I am you!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

I know I sound like a broken record about the beauty of this particular spring …but I never tire of looking at the amazing shade of blue in the skies…we must have very low humidity (a rarity in these parts)…because the blue is crystal clear….Here are some more pictures of the beauty found beneath the skies in the low country.

Anne’s hydrangea Oakleaf bush- so pretty…think I will add one if I can find some shade somewhere to plant it.

Ady is singing a solo  for our (Z00m) church service…one of my favorite songs…Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep.) I watch White Christmas just to hear that song every year. It will be beautiful Ady!

Dear Reader:

Many of you have heard my story about why I personally call my particular cancer (breast cancer) “little c.” I certainly didn’t originate the term but have used it ever since hearing it.

It’s hard to believe but it has been several years now since I met my daughter-in-law (who was still Walsh’s girlfriend then)  Mollie at Folly Beach to volunteer for a program she was involved in called Surfers Healing.

The program was  founded in 1996 by pro surfer Izzy Paskowitz and his wife, Danielle. Paskowitz co-created the program after he discovered  that surfing was an outlet to bond with his son Isaiah, who has autism. For whatever reason…autistic children, with physical and emotional outbursts, remain calm and peaceful while surfing with a professional surfer…their whole demeanor changes…with smiles included.

I still remember how amazing it was to watch the bond between surfer and autistic child on that beautiful  summer day. I was under a tent giving out bottles of water and bananas with a young volunteer who had driven all the way from Spartanburg to Folly Beach early that morning to help out.

We got to be friends as the day wore on…and she discovered that I had been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She then told me the story of “little c.” Her grandmother had recently passed from a stroke, but prior to that had fought breast cancer too and won. The young volunteer said she wanted to tell me a story her grandmother told the family about her cancer fight.

She decided that since cancer was rude, showed up when not invited, was hurtful and just plain nasty-tempered… that the “c” in cancer (even if it started a sentence) should never be capitalized! To her way of thinking… capitalization showed respect for something or someone and cancer deserved neither!

I thanked her for the story and never forgot it. In fact from that day on…I began referring to my breast cancer as “little c.” In talks and speeches I gave I always told that story and passed it on. Never turn your power over to cancer…you are the biggest opponent by fighting with your attitude!

It was about that same time that the popular cable television series “The Big C” began. It starred one of my favorite actresses, Laura Linney, as a Minneapolis suburban mom and school teacher, who’s diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma.

The whole series dealt with the different stages of her ‘coming to term’ with her frightening prognosis. As you can imagine…even though it had humor, compassion, and love in the show…it was also an emotional roller coaster series from beginning to end.

Though I never did it…I thought many times about writing the producers of this show and sharing my “little c” story in hopes they would change the name of the show to “The little c.” 

And now we all have Covid-19 (at least its ramifications) to deal with in our daily lives. How about it…this disease from the “little corona virus” doesn’t deserve any respect either…so I think we should name it  “little c-19“? 🙂

Libby sent me a list of items that we don’t have to worry about being cancelled or eliminated during this confusing stay-at-home time…it reminded me of the list on the wall in my first chemo infusion room on what cancer  (“little c”) can’t do.

There is a saying that there are many things that cancer cannot do. It cannot cripple love, shatter hope, kill friendship, erode the spirit, take away faith, silence courage, destroy peace, suppress memories, or conquer the soul! ( All so very true …I know! ) 

“Not Everything is Canceled” (*Libby)

Sunshine is not canceled. Love is not canceled.  Relationships are not canceled. Naps are not canceled. Devotion is not canceled. Music is not canceled. Dancing is not canceled. Imagination is not canceled. Kindness is not canceled. Conversations are not canceled. Hope is not canceled. 

So until tomorrow…Once we realize that nothing, no matter how horrific the circumstance, can take away our inner thoughts and our soul which encases our unique”being”…a special child of God…there is nothing of value anyone can steal.

We should never let a disease or any other misfortune define who we are. No matter what is going on around us or even to us…we are the same person inside whose blueprint belongs to our Creator. Nothing will ever change that….

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Smile:

I was out at it again yesterday…my neighbors’ bamboo is growing faster than I can cut it down…it leaps over fences, bushes, even trees to make it into my back yard.

(*Maybe I can rent my back yard out to a movie producer doing a documentary on Vietnam….hum…just a thought.)

Here are two of my over twenty bamboo stakes that I chopped down yesterday…instead of Johnny Appleseed…I will be known as  “Boo Bamboo” !!! 🙂 🙂

Mollie’s sister’s family is visiting from outside the D.C. area while they are in-between moves.

So the cousins all went on a fun picnic yesterday…we are having beautiful weather.

Rutledge has been visiting the SC Aquarium virtually… He met Michael Myers…a sea turtle patient recovering in the “hospital” there…so Rutledge drew him on a mask to remember the sea turtles plight…great creative and environmental  lesson Rutledge! So proud of you!

Dear Reader:

When Michele came across this visual inspirational message…she texted to let me know she immediately thought of me when she saw it. As soon as I read it…I texted her back to say she was absolutely right…it would be the post title picture to start off the beautiful month of May…one of my favorite months.

The first day of May…it has lots of different meanings and memories for all of us…for me it was being selected Erskine College May Pole senior class representative to ‘dance the traditional welcome spring dance’ around the May Pole…which has lead to one of my Ya nicknames now…”Maypole Queen.” 🙂

(This outfit for my Erskine Maypole photo (for the yearbook) dates time…doesn’t it?)

Besides the tradition of the May Day Maypole dance on the first day of May each year…for others, like the wonderful Miss Minnie Kennedy who once lived at Hobcaw Barony …the original home of Bernard Baruch…she remembers the first day of May (from her childhood)…as one of the happiest…it was known as “Barefoot Day” and in the south it was the first day children were allowed to go barefoot. Sheer happiness for children!

(*Carol and I… interviewing Minnie…a tiny woman filled with history from her barefoot toes to the top of her head. An amazing human treasure chest of Americana!)

May 1, in addition to, pulling up scenes and memories of spring flowers and Maypole dances…is also Labor Day in many countries around the world. (Even though the U.S. celebrates their Labor Day at the first of September….other countries celebrate the International Workers coalition that started the Labor Day commemoration…on May 1.)

* It was May 1, in our country, when the famous strike that started the workers eventual victory for the 8 hour work day began!

This year,  in correlation with the coronavirus lock-down, several states are looking at May 1 as their starting point to begin the process of re-opening some businesses.

The vast majority of states, who originally hoped school could resume in May, have decided to keep schools closed until  fall. (And then pray hard!)

So on this May 1, 2020, we have a lot of things going on but it is up to us to choose the way in which we want to remember the day…what we want to write in our story for the perpetual memory of May 1, 2020. How do we want it remembered?

Like the title photo message says today…we can choose to let go of what we thought our life would be like…and instead find joy in the here and now. This can be done with God’s help guiding us through the barriers of life to arrive at the place we were intended to be.

By closing some doors and opening other windows with faith we can one day understand why our own personal dreams were not in God’s plans for us…and how lucky we were that He lead us to our Happy Place…in His direction!

Last year, for my birthday, Brooke gave me a copy of A Man Called Peter…one of my favorite all-time books. It had been decades since I  last read it.

I put it up in a drawer and then never opened that particular drawer again… until just recently while searching for something else.

Presently I am half-way though the book ..and find it hard to stop and even write the blog post for wanting to return to Peter’s story. It is told by his equally famous author wife, Catherine Marshall, after his death …(that came way too soon…died at 46)

I have a personal interest in the story through some cousins, the Craigs, who lived in Washington, DC.

They were member of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church …when and where Peter Marshall eventually came to preach. After mother and daddy married…they purposefully went to visit the cousins so they could attend church to hear him.

Years later in reminiscing this experience…mother used a word I wasn’t familiar with as a ten -year-old. It was the first time I heard the word “charisma” (in reference to hearing this amazing man of faith preach.) I was ‘all-ears’ listening to mother re-tell the memory to her sister, my Aunt Eva.

I remember asking her what it meant. ( I have always loved learning new words.)  She thought a minute and responded “A special gift from God.” To this day…I think her definition still stands alone in its sacred meaning.

The young Scots boy, Peter, had to learn the hard way (like most of us do) that his personal dreams and plans for the future and God’s aren’t always the same…God’s are always better.

Catherine writes “Peter Marshall did not grow up wanting to be a minister. That was God’s idea-not his. In fact, it took quite a lot of divine persuasion to get him to accept that plan.”

Young Peter was obsessed with going to sea initially as a deck apprentice in the British Mercantile Marine…and, of course, eventually rise to nothing less an admiral. At 14 he ran away from home to do just that…but got “busted” for lying about his age and promptly returned home…with his school mates laughing at his experience the next day at school…much to his humiliation!

Instead Peter found himself working in different machine shops, doing difficult assembly line work…anything to make money while growing up in an impoverished region of Scotland. But as he grew God started sending lots and lots of guardian angels to point him in the right direction….this included immigration to America and ministry.

He soon recognized these callers for who they were…as they would recite the same scripture…”Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all things shall be added unto you.”

He was literally called one dark night…a night that changed his life because it saved his life. He was crossing the moors  when suddenly he heard someone call, “Peter!” There was great urgency in the voice.

He stopped, “Yes, who is it? What do you want?”

Only the sound of the lonely wind responded. The moors seemed completely deserted.

He walked a few more paces and heard it again, even more urgently.

“Peter!”

He stumbled and fell to his knees…putting his hand out to catch himself…he found nothing there. Just one step more would have sent him plummeting into space to a certain death. (He had been on the brink of an abandoned stone quarry.)

From that moment on…he turned his faith and life over to God and even though it took a long time, eventually every window or door that needed to open (to get him where God wanted him) was eventually unlocked…by friends of his father who had died early, men of faith, and kind-hearted strangers.

In the end his journey would take him to the U.S. Senate… elected its Chaplain unanimously. Both political parties kept him in the senate after each election calling  him “The Conscience of the Senate.”  

What a journey God had for Peter! He might not have gone to sea....but thousands of people could “see” the sacred “charisma” of this man of God to His Creator… and it changed their own lives for the better…forever.

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So until tomorrow….“God will not permit any troubles to come upon us unless He has a specific plan by which great blessings can come out of difficulty.” Peter Marshall

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Don’t forget to say “Rabbit, Rabbit”! It is the first day of the month…the first day of beautiful May. We want all the good luck we can get!

It will certainly be a month of changes…it’s how we handle these changes… and the beauty we seek within… that will dictate the story we write.

So glad I could get a photo of Mr. Bunny today…he’s missing one ear and one eye…but he still has a lot of bounce in his hop! I love my day lilies..having one or two each day burst into bloom makes me happy!

Smile:

Mandy sent me this picture of Jake dressed up like a cowboy (with a Nerf gun) and suddenly everything seemed all right with the world. If little boys still want to be cowboys…we are going to be alright too…the world hasn’t turned upside down.

Dear Reader:

Yesterday as I rode around Summerville… just to basically get out of the house…with my cars windows down and my radio playing…enjoying another beautiful day…I noticed new billboards that had gone up….some saying “Stay Home…Save Lives” …others referring to doing out part to “flatten the curve.” Here are two examples from New York City.

Sign put up in Memphis by the Mane t-shirt manufacturers…Mane being slang for ‘man.’

When I drove over to Mt. Pleasant last Saturday the highway signs read:

In just a few short weeks we have all learned practically a new language …and leave it to Gen Z (our teenagers entering their 20’s) to already have created new slang expressions for many coronavirus terms. (As a Baby Boomer I am glad I haven’t heard one of their first slang expressions directed at us in awhile…hope it “died” out…”Not nice.” The term was:

Boomer Remover — For a few weeks, some particularly callous young people were calling the virus the “boomer remover,” referring to their belief that only old people would die or be seriously affected by the coronavirus. (*Of course it backfired when many baby boomers recovered from the virus and Gen Z realized the virus didn’t differentiate with age as young people were having a hard fight when they caught the virus.)

Some of these young peoples’ other slang expressions are….

1. Miss Rona or Rona.. nicknames for the coronavirus
2. Post-Rona- young people are already planning their outfits, making reservations for their ‘coming out’ party when the whistle blows…so to speak.
3. Covidiot- someone who is not taking the virus seriously…not practicing social distancing and not staying home
4. Coronacation– with school on-line and students home…many young people are calling it the corona…vacation zooming in to party.
5. Quarantine and Chill- instead of “Netflix and Chill” parties they used to have with friends over.. now one takes selfies of themselves doing different things and sharing them in different ways.

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For the rest of us…the older generations, starting with the Millennials, Gen X and finally us Baby Boomers…we are still learning what all the new terms surrounding these new phrases truly mean…like:

1. “Flattening the curve“ – Hospitals can only cope with so many patients. Flattening the curve is an attempt to reduce how many cases of COVID-19 occur at the same time so that hospitals aren’t overwhelmed. (This is an early goal towards working back to “normalcy.”)
2. COVID-19: The disease, not the virus, that causes the disease. * The virus is named SARS-CoV-2
3. PCR test: This is the test used to find out if you have a COVID-19 infection. It’s a genetic test. A swab is taken from the mucous membrane lining your nose and throat.
4. PPE– This is personal protective equipment. Stuff front-line healthcare staff need to keep them safe. Things like masks, disposable gloves and goggles. The level of protection that PPE needs to provide is different depending on how risky the activity being performed is.
5. Pandemic: When many people in several countries on several continents have a disease. COVID-19 is considered a pandemic with  over 203 countries and territories reporting confirmed cases.

For the First Time: Top causes of death in the United States: Heart disease, cancer and COVID-19

Latest sobering death tolls in the United States put COVID-19 3rd in the top three categories of deaths in our country. The federal government warns that the 35,000 deaths reported in the first three weeks of April… coming in from state and local areas is less than the final verdict will show…due to the delayed death certificates coming in from these areas.

So until tomorrow…

Jo Dufford told me recently…she has lived long enough now to have seen many historical tragedies, including a  world war, in her life…but she has never lived through something this big that is affecting the whole world and bringing it to a stand still..to its knees. And that’s where we all need to be …on our knees…to get through this challenge together with our Creator showing us the Way!.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

To date…I have heard back from Gin-g, Patty, and Jo …adding their “I’m old enough to know better than….” Let me share them with you!

Gin-g

I’m old enough to know to “keep my thoughts to myself and to just keep praying and smiling …and maybe say a few naughty words under my breath…lol…” 🙂

Patty

I’m old enough to know better than to “think I will remember everything on my grocery list!”  🙂

Jo

I’m older enough to know.…Should be old enough to know better than to always think “Age is just a number.” Sometimes it really is more than a number. Sometimes my mind says, “You can do that. You’ve done it a hundred times. How hard could it be?” After a lot of embarrassment and many bruises and much pain, your body says, “Really? and just how old did you think you were?” 🙂

The garden is calling and a new plant for the water pitcher planter on the front porch! The earlier plant needs planting in the ground so I am putting varigated lysimachia in the planter for awhile!

A Big Shout-Out to my Sistah BROOKIE! Since her birthday always comes first…she has been designated “The High Priestess of the YaYa Sisterhood.” (Rather ironic in the sense that she is also the shortest YaYa.)  🙂

But the Ya Ya’s wouldn’t be the Ya Ya’s without Brookie…she loves planning and getting us all together which makes this birthday a little sadder….we had planned to do our May Edisto get-together celebration in a couple of weeks…but, of course, that is out so I got my presents in the mail early to her.

We actually both live right off Highway 17…about 30 miles apart…so if I mail something one day…she always gets it the next and vice-versa… she got my gifts yesterday…if nothing else..I was the earliest to say ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE…I LOVE YOU and miss you!”

But feel my hugs  old friend because they will be coming all day…back at ya girl!

Smile:

Dear Reader:

Yesterday my eyes wandered to the top of my desk top computer…wherein lies a wooden plaque with the saying:

“When is old enough to know better going to kick in?”

I smiled to myself and whispered…”Never!” If nothing else…I do know myself in this personal arena and ‘putting my foot in my mouth’  is a familiar past time occurrence. Then the idea hit! What if I called, texted, and emailed around to see what some of my friends would come up with to finish the statement….

Anne was the first to respond back and she had me laughing ..along with her neighbors Shirley and Al.  She wrote:

I’m old enough to know better than:

…to wear flip flops while riding a bicycle (still suffering after my recent “spill”)

…to only get one quote for work to be done (I have finally learned that it doesn’t cost $867 to have your gutters cleaned out; paid $150! Go me!)

…to speak too soon (as in, “Oh, I’d be happy to help with that…)

…to NOT wear snake boots while weeding the garden (Shirley Scully)

…to count those proverbial chickens before they hatch (i.e. spending the tax return money before it hits the bank account and then realizing the CPA’s fee is the exact amount of the refund)

…to cut through a red wire with a spade while planting a shrub and THEN continuing to pull out five more feet of said wire before realizing it might be a problem (Shirley’s husband Al is splicing the wires to their irrigation system as we speak…!)

***Can’t wait to read what others will admit to!!  Anne

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Libby texted next…and I told her that she and Anne had both experienced similar “accidents” based on age over childhood practice memories. Here is Libby!

“Boo…I’m old enough to know better than…to think I can still roller skate! At 68 I went to my grandson Trey’s birthday party held at a skating rink. (I always loved going to the Orangeburg Skating Rink as a little girl. Different moms would load up a group of us girls and take us there…we had so much fun! They would darken the place and light the big sparkle ball during the evening. I was in total bliss…those memories came rushing back …filled with music, friendship, and star light. So, of course I thought I could experience this again at 68…recreate the magic.)

I put my skates on with much excitement…and then proceeded to fall…landing on my wrist…I knew it was broken immediately. Betsy (Libby’s daughter) took me to the ER and I heard the words “Bad break”! It would be in a cast a l-o-n-g time. Trey, later, asked me “NaNa what were you thinking?” I replied, ” I was thinking I was going to have FUN!”  

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Honey came next….

“I’m old enough to know better”… than to put plants outside before Mother’s Day.

Old enough to know better than saying “I told you so.”

Old enough to know better than saving brown stamps!  🙂

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Brooke and I were talking on the phone yesterday morning and I mentioned the idea I had for the blog today. She said she immediately thought of her adult children when she thought about being old enough to know better and wanting to give her opinion to them more…I had to laugh…Brooke and I had done it again…just like when we were roomies at college…coming up with the same thought at the same time. So here we go….

We are old enough to know better than giving our opinion to adult children (who don’t ask for it) because it will come back to bite us ten-fold. (Instead we should keep our mouths shut and the welcome mat out!)

We are old enough to know better than to think adult children will welcome our opinions…quite honestly they didn’t like’em much as children either… if we are honest with ourselves…if we wipe the memory dust off our glazed eyes. (They were just stuck living at home with us then…no escape but to nod and promptly forget what we told them!)

We are old enough to know better than to think our tongue will grow back if we sever it in half rather than say what we want to say to an adult child. (However if we just bite down on our tongue without severing it in two parts…it will heal itself with time…moral of the lesson…bite your tongue as needed before giving an unwanted opinion to an adult child…just remember not to sever it completely!) 🙂

We are old enough to know (even more so or better now) that leaving a mother’s  guilt trip behind works so much better than saying something you regret for a long time…Instead a mother should say something “saccharine” sweet like…

” Always remember sweetheart…I didn’t give you the gift of life. Life gave me the gift of you.” (pretty good, huh?  🙂

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Jackson was tied up for a good part of the day yesterday but she came through like a champ…with her “I am old enough to know better” (because the rest of us remember her college memories exactly the way she tells it! 🙂

“I am old enough to know better” that a “pristine clean” home doesn’t matter any more.

When the Ya’s (Brooke, Libby, Becky) and I were suite mates our senior year at Erskine, there was only one person who ever cleaned up..that was me!

This urge to keep things clean, continued until 2015. In October of that year, I lost my home in a flood, and moved into an apartment. I realized that cleaning the bathroom and kitchen every day, was not what was important in life, living life was.

My mother used to tell me that you never saw an headstone that said, “She kept a clean house.” So I have ‘gone to the other side,’ as the Ya’s say. I enjoy friends, family life, and laughter! I now clean my bathroom once a week, with a smile on my face.” 🙂

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So until tomorrow….Come join us…”Fess it all up”…Think of your own personal example you can share with us….starting with:

“I am old enough to know better”...  We can all enjoy your tidbits of daily humor and wisdom blended together. A great gift to all of us  during this rather bewildering time.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Do you see what I see in the garden? Fifty shades of green…:)

When I talked with Honey she said the ‘stay at home’ policy had rev’d up her creative juices. Take the pottery vase below…it is called “Going with the Flow”….a bright outlook on how to best withstand the pandemic…and then have this adorable memento to remember this historical period when it is over.

Honey is also involved in another giving project called “Heart Art.” It is  a benevolent project created by the John C. Campbell Folk School calling on former participants and artists of all trades to contribute anything that has to do with the word heart. All proceeds will go to First Responders in Clay and Cherokee counties.

I definitely want a “Going with the Flow” memento vase…and if anyone else is interested…let me know and I will get information to you how to contact Honey!

Laugh…Desperate times call for desperate measures!