Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

In recent days, especially since the turbulent weather and “tornado” Monday morning scare, at the beginning of the week, Mother Nature has  been extra kind to us. The days have been  breathtakingly beautiful…with practically zero humidity, thus creating bright colors that look like a technicolor Disney animated movie.

The new greens from the oak trees have fully emerged…backed by azure skies. Thursday I shared a pasta dish with one of my neighbors and while waiting on her to walk over to the side yard (where she had been working) I looked up and saw the scene in the title photo….that glorious blue between the vivid green leaves on the oak branches.

For a split second…I thought to myself…life just doesn’t get any prettier or better than this.

It was, also then, that I fully realized the blessings we have been bestowed during this fragile period of ambiguity…having time to immerse ourselves in the “beauty of the earth.” Suddenly my rather childish pouting of not knowing when this (sometimes uncomfortably scary period) will end…ceased.

I came across this painting by Kellie Rae Roberts and quickly drew the conclusion that this must be one of her latest artworks..the timing seemed perfect for the pandemic… but it was not…

I had seen a March date by the painting and “assumed” it was drawn in the last few weeks in connection to coronavirus. But I was wrong! Kellie had completed this painting last March- 2019….shortly after her family’s move from Portland to the small artistic community of Sisters, Oregon.

She was still acclimating to small town life…still praying she made the right decision to uproot her family for a slower-paced life and small town influence that she thought would benefit them all. She had started riding her bike to the post office …and just being able to simplify her life with these daily rituals was reassuring her that she had made the best decision. She wrote!

“Oh hello, new life. Hello, riding my bike to the post office with ease. Hello, sunshine and creative energy and inspiration rushing in. I have missed you. 

As I make my way into this new life here in small town Sisters, Oregon, I keep discovering gentle reminders everywhere. They sound like this: “Yes, it can BE that simple.””You can take your time.””It takes as long as it takes.”, and “Enjoy this.”

As I slooowly drop into a way of being that values less doing and less hustling, I’m finding more s p a c e for other things to drop in. Things like nothingness, ease, peace. Middle of the day walks and conversations with friends. More inspiration dropping into my consciousness. More enthusiasm. Joy. FREEDOM.”

Kellie ends with a toast that we can all raise our glasses to …

Here’s to inviting ourselves into the lives we want to be living. It is such worthy work.

So until tomorrow…Instead of complaining about what freedoms we have had to give up to the pandemic….let’s appreciate all the moments of “nothingness, ease, and peace” we have been given. Once life returns to “normal” I have a feeling we will miss the freedom of simply “being”…don’t you?

Life Lesson: Simply “Doing” should never define us…now or in the future. 

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

“Rivers know this; there is no hurry. We shall get there some day” Winnie the Pooh

Here are some more “Pretties” from my garden…my refuge and love.

… And the Confederate Jasmine is blooming its beautiful little white flowers…and the scent is out of this world!

Dear Reader:

Don’t we all remember, as children, going through the phase of having to look under the bed and in the closets before going to sleep each night…to make sure there were no bogeymen in the room?

We eventually outgrow this stage of childhood development…but do we ever really let go of our “bogeymen” fears…even as adults?

Or do they simply turn into  “What If” night-time monsters…that keep us awake in the wee hours of the morning?

Since I always did an extended historical unit of study on The Presidents…for my eighth grade class…I read lots of books on the personal sides of the different Presidents’ personalities and individual quirks.

Personally…I don’t know how any of our Presidents ever managed to get any sleep in the White House. I think I would stay awake for four years…scared of all the “What if’s” that could happen  any minute anywhere around the world…and they usually do sooner or later.

But, even for Presidents..most of what man worries about never comes to fruition…that’s the thing about the “What If” monsters…their scary possibilities aren’t usually extended reality.

Jefferson: “How much pain has cost us the evils which have never happened.”

Coolidge: “If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.”

It is true. We worry about things that exist only in our minds as possibilities…not finalities.

We really have to laugh at ourselves for our predicament of insomnia most of the time…as seen in the following quote:

Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, “Where have I gone wrong?” Then a voice says to me, “This is going to take more than one night…you might as well get some sleep.”

-Charles Schulz-

Our monsters from childhood (that hid under the bed or in the closet once upon a time) continue to come out at night for adults and they, too, have all grown up…bigger and “badder.” Sometimes…it is confronting our very souls that scare us the most.

“In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o’clock in the morning.“

Scott Fitzgerald

By morning…all the monsters are gone…leaving us feeling as embarrassed like our child counterparts… for all the “fuss.”

“I realize that from the cradle up I have been like the rest of the race-never quite sane in the night.”

-Mark Twain-

In modern society…one of the worst monsters is “over-thinking”…..best described in this quote by the actor Anthony Hopkins.

“We are dying from overthinking! We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything! THINK THINK THINK…..tick tock tick tock. Don’t we realize the human mind is not the final answer?”

I think Hopkins nailed the problem and solution. All the thinking and over-thinking of man in the world isn’t going to change anything. We must turn it over to the one “Entity” Who can- God.

*For me…particularly most recently… my 2 a.m “What If” monsters conjure up situations  like “Are my adult children safe having to continue working during this pandemic?” It is wonderful they have jobs but at what cost?

What if they catch the virus or bring it home…what if this pandemic continues on and on and on. What if supplies of food start to dwindle or school never resumes… What if children never get to play with friends…how is this affecting their psyches long-term? (etc. etc.)

When I have the occasional sleepless night…I have learned to get up and do something…just don’t lie there. In fact some of my best blogs have been written in the wee hours of the morning. My mind seems sharper and my feelings deeper than the “surface” exposure during the day.

“Nighttime is really the best time to work. All the ideas are there to be yours…because everyone else is asleep.”

-Catherine O’Hara-

I used to catch up on emails on sleepless nights… but I would get too many replies (the next day) asking me what in the world I was doing up at 3 in the morning….too much trouble to do double correspondence. 🙂

So until tomorrow…From the Sound of Silence we should welcome the darkness and all the positive attributes it  brings us after a long, hard day…deserved rest and gratitude for life. Tell the “What If’s” good-night and sleep the sleep of angels.

Or as Simon and Garfunkel sang…..

“Hello darkness, my old friend…I’ve come to talk to you again.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

“Yes we have no bananas”….Susan packed a toilet paper/banana bag with Bekah and Ady who dropped it off yesterday….glad we had a chance to spread out in the yard and catch up for a bit! Thanks Terrific Trio (Susan, Bekah, Ady)...I fixed a banana sandwich for lunch! Yum! Yum!

Later in the afternoon…who appears in a halo of light but Gin-g…with bananas…so I am ready for breakfast or another lunch sandwich..life is a wonderful yellow banana! Seriously…how terribly sweet girls…I look forward to my cereal and bananas!

And in between wonderful “banana” visits…Jo called me and entertained me over the phone singing the original Chiquita banana song. 🙂 🙂 🙂 Great job Jo! (Who else remembers this catchy latino  sound and song?)

I’m Chiquita banana and I’ve come to say
Bananas have to ripen in a certain way
When they are fleck’d with brown and have a golden hue Bananas
Taste the best and are best for you

Another bloom from Honey’s Asiatic lily…just gorgeous blooms!

***

Did I forget to tell you my day started out with homemade biscuits that Anne dropped off with homemade apple butter? I tell you…if this stay-at-home quarantine gets any harder…what will I do??? 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Dear Reader:

As an American/SC history teacher for over 30 years…seeing coronavirus posters resembling the old Uncle Sam Wants You Posters from World War I and World War II patriotic posters… really brings back memories of teaching those two time periods and the propaganda advertisements created then.

Today these old World War depictions are being used against the global pandemic/coronavirus enemy … as artists are picking up on the connections rapidly.

What started me thinking about these advertisements was the problem I am having getting bananas…When I call in my Publix order every other week I keep asking for bananas and keep getting back (from the assigned shopper) “refund”…that they were out again…bad timing…since bananas are there in intervals.

When I used to shop by myself I always enjoyed seeing the Chiquita Banana wrappings on the bunch I was planning to take home…it looked like this….(left) but now it looks kinda bare…it is missing Miss Chiquita. (right)

It is a patriotic switch…using social distancing as its objective to consumers.

In a show of solidarity, Miss Chiquita is staying home, too.

As millions of workers across the U.S. work from home during the COVID-19 crisis, so is the iconic banana brand’s Miss Chiquita.

But she did leave a message: “I’m already home. Please do the same and protect yourself. 💛 #stayhome.”

*** I have been partial to Chiquita bananas since I was sent this picture years ago from a friend in California who found these special “pink” bananas shopping and shared the symbolism during the annual Race for the Cure on Daniel Island...it really touched me!

But… it just isn’t bananas that are jumping in on the message of social distancing...but other famous name brands too….

Coca-Cola displayed its new slogan bill board in NYC…deliberating separating the letters in C o c a  C o l a- “Staying apart is the best way to stay united.”

McDonalds separated its famous Golden Arches in support of social distancing !

Audi car dealership separated its famous four circles….from their earlier slogan Stay Together  by keeping the distance.

Volkswagen separated their famous V&W…thanking consumers for “keeping your social distance.”

No doubt one day there will be a history teacher pulling these old slogans and posters when she teaches the famous “Pandemic of 2020.” Life goes on…thank goodness!

So until tomorrow…Here’s my crazy contribution to a slogan about the coronavirus and social distancing….:) 🙂 🙂

“It’s your choice!

“Six feet apart OR six feet down!”

Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

A Shout-Out to little Pip or Pippy...we will never know his birthday but it is “Gotcha Adoption Day so Happy Birthday Pip…Enjoy your birthday treat- vanilla ice cream!

The first bloom on my Asiatic Lily came yesterday in the cold…back in the fifties and low sixties after 80’s…crazy weather.

*** I didn’t mean to come back on tonight…but I am so excited!!! I think this little limerick might be the clue for you

“You can call me Boo or you can call me Beck

Guess who just got her stimulus check!!!!!”

My personal banking was down all day yesterday  with no clear explanation except something about ‘problems with intermittent transmissions’… until finally around 10:00 PM…I checked it again…and it had re-opened…I checked my digital personal account and there sat the money…my stimulus check was in my account!

Living in an old house there is always something that needs repairing…so I will put it in my savings account…still the sense of security that gives me is priceless.

Dear Reader:

Easter teaches us that endings are only new beginnings if we allow ourselves to believe in the circle of life.

This concept is true of everything we experience while living our time on this planet …how many times have we reflected back on what we thought was a terrible ending (fired from a job, broken relationship, loss of a loved one) only to discover that the ending opened up new possibilities of seeing the world differently and our place in it…an ending that gave us the gift of a new beginning… that took us higher than we ever imagined or happier than we ever thought possible?

I have  decided that the term for a pessimist should be… a person who only sees endings...while an optimist is always looking for new beginnings. 

In order to make this positive thought switch-over…we must work on losing our fear…replacing it with determination to use the opportunity of a “new day” to address the problems left unresolved in the arenas of politics, economics, health, and environment…just to name a few.

In education we need to stress to young learners the importance of courage, bravery, and perseverance in today’s world…we must first speak out, and then take action to bring about reform.

Our children have a wonderful opportunity to be part of a new beginning…not only for our country…but the world!

 ( “Fearless Girl”)  A mask won’t slow down courage…just help us rise to the challenges.

If there was ever a time to speak out…now is it. Getting involved in letting our voices be heard loudly and clearly is so much more courageous than simply repeating or echoing someone else’s actions.

We need to encourage children to express their views openly on what they see as right or wrong choices from their own perspective. Challenge children to think about options for solving some of the world’s problems…you will be amazed at what they tell you!

So until tomorrow…

It is time for me to sign off now…night is approaching, another day is ending…but for me…I will dwell on happy thoughts in anticipation of new beginnings and surprises awaiting dawn with its light on the world.

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Smile:

Dear Reader:

If nothing else…this crazy roller-coaster ride we are on in the midst of the pandemic… plus turbulent weather… is giving us a ride of a lifetime….though I must admit the end of the ride beckons me and I am pretty sure my legs will still be shaking when I finally get off! 🙂

I feel even stronger today about my blessings than yesterday… though lots of people (in several states) certainly had them tested over the past few days.  The winds started picking up late Easter evening and continued to grow in strength and velocity as late night turned into early morning. I was still awake.

I have mentioned several times before that since Hurricane Hugo…I have developed somewhat of a wind ‘phobia.‘ I start getting restless and apprehensive when it picks up…especially when I start hearing limbs and branches hitting the roof and objects outside rolling around.

Needless to say I slept very little Sunday night/early Monday morning…but finally (through sheer exhaustion) I fell asleep around 5:00 a. m. The next thing I remember is hearing this terrible wailing sound in the quiet darkness of early morning.

It took me a minute to figure out where it was coming from….at first I thought my fire alarm had gone off…then I realized it was my iPhone making the noise. I checked it and the time was 7:00 a.m. I rubbed my sleepy eyes trying to focus on the words jumping out at me…Tornado Warning…Seek Shelter Immediately…Potential tornado heading towards Summerville!

The only thought that would stick in my brain was “Bathroom!”…get to the bathroom and hunker down…I grabbed my pillow/blanket and flashlight as I stumbled down the hall.

Quickly past memories were invoked…our first home (where Mandy was born) was partially destroyed in a Mother’s Day tornado that appeared out of nowhere years ago and of course Hugo…the sights and sounds of which occupy a permanent room in my memory attic.

A couple of neighbors called to check and make sure I  was awake and in a secure place…then Anne and I began texting…she said that she and Nala (her dog) were in the pantry praying…well Nala was sleeping but she was praying.

I called Mandy to update her what was going on….would let her know as soon as it was over.

At the last possible minute the tornado started turning…unfortunately it ended up in Moncks Corner and did some serious damage to some homes in a neighborhood there. I think we all feel a sense of “survivors’ guilt” mixed in with personal relief when something like this happens. (photo from Moncks Corner)

Anne was already up and making cornbread minutes after the tornado warning ceased… she planned to drop the yummy cornbread off (at my house) along with a mask that she was making with her neighborhood for the Veterans Hospital. She said she didn’t realize I didn’t have one…Oh My Goodness…she sprinkled bits of ham in the cornbread mix! So good!

After the scare of the tornado…everything was quiet and the weather front quickly moved on out to sea….very strange….kinda like a “hit and run” weather front!

The sun came out and here I am modeling my mask…will definitely wear it to medical appointments in the waiting room.

*The mask and scarf had to go quickly as the cool early morning turned into a hot hot afternoon! Thank you Anne …what a friend!

When the Ya’s checked on everyone …it was Brooke (who lives in Walterboro) who got the brunt of the tornado. She and Ted’s home was spared and luckily they had a generator…but most of Walterboro was in the dark and there was considerable structural and debris damage all over town. *The Walterboro Airport was the central target it seems for the tornado.

What a relief…with so many different health issues that the Ya’s have had lately…to be spared a direct hit with a tornado was such a blessing. And speaking of….

It was “Little Big Red” (who lost a few buds and blooms to the winds) who was the hero yesterday when it came to preserving  my “Boo’s Blessing” plaque. The geranium is so large…it held the plaque in place for most of the night…so when it finally did blow off the wall early yesterday morning…it simply fell on the wet porch and stayed there.

So until tomorrow….

I put the plaque in the sun to dry out…and once again “Boo’s Blessing” prevails over my “Happy Place.” Back to normal…no..not the “new normal” (like my cancer medication advertises or the latest term to describe the quarantine and change in our daily lives)…simply back to a blessed original and enduring normal.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Have you ever noticed how after a terrible storm (tornado, hurricane, violent thunderstorm) the air clears and God gives us the most beautiful sunset…brilliant in His hope and love for His children?

I am with you Eloise…didn’t sleep much Sunday night so “Night Night” everyone! 🙂

Smile:

****Please let the blog family know how you fared with this weather front that crossed over so many southern states…and feel free to share a picture.

Dear Reader:

It wasn’t until I looked back over yesterday’s photos that I realized something important was missing from one photo…Look at the two pictures of “Little Big Red”- comparing last Easter to this one…the one on the left showed the Boo’s Blessing plaque -Easter 2019… but it was conspicuously absent from this Easter 2020.

I always keep my Boo’s Blessing plaque on the wall…and yet, now I realize (to my chagrin) that I must have taken it down to decorate for Christmas and never  put it back up again. That would stop immediately! (*As you can see in the title photo…“All is right with the world again.”) 

This Easter really was all about counting my blessings. I think for many of us a viral pandemic of this magnitude might have been what we needed to get back on the right track. I realized Sunday morning that when you remove all the “burry scurry” and running around… planning and preparing for Easter…you are left with time to absorb its true meaning.

Mollie sent me a link to her church’s service and said that she thought I would be interested in this Easter’s message. The sermon was titled “From the Garden to the Grave.” I clicked it on and quickly became immersed in the unusual direction the message was taking.

At first the title seemed a little disconcerting…gardens and graves? We think of gardens as symbolic of new life and beauty while graves depict death and fear. But my curiosity got the best of me.

The pastor used three scriptural gardens to tell the story through benchmarks of life experiences. The three gardens were The Garden of Eden, The Garden of Gethsemane and the Garden of Golgotha.

The minister took us back to where it all started…The Garden of Eden…we had it all..paradise… no problems and then, of course, we blew it. It was a terribly costly mistake. It would be remembered as the garden of regret.

Don’t we all go through life wishing we could un-do or re-do something we regret doing? Our garden has now become a grave of regret that we must trust in God to overcome so the garden can become one of hope.

The second garden is Gethsemane. Today we remember this garden in the context of betrayal. It was here among the olive trees that Jesus’ disciples betrayed Jesus physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Yet aren’t we all guilty of doing this at different times in our lives…we must pray for forgiveness so our garden and life can bloom again.

After Jesus’ body was removed from the cross…it was taken down and quickly buried in a nearby garden (since the Sabbath was almost upon them.)

It was the Garden of Golgotha…or the site of the skull. It represented finality, the end of life. But instead…it turned into a place where crying and tears ceased because the ending became the new beginning. It was a place where the grave became the garden. (Just like we are promised by Jesus with his sacrifice for us on the cross.)

I love the idea of the three gardens and their connections to the challenges we all face in life…it is why my garden is so special to me…a place to think, meditate, and delight in life.

And what a surprise delight Easter turned out to be! I went around sharing donuts with the neighbors…the “Donut Bunny”…and like Vickie said in her text…”Oh my gosh…best Easter brunch ever.” 🙂 I agree…as I joined in!

The family sent pictures of their family’s Easter Egg Hunt this year and conversations…and then I saw where I had missed a call from Mandy…they were on their way to surprise me with an Easter lunch they had ordered from a restaurant close by their home.

Mandy said the kids could go out in the garden and see Fairy land while I ate and they played… everyone would be doing invisible hugs and high fives. They did…and it was just so nice to see the family up close and personal again…even if we couldn’t touch.

While all of this was happening…I saw a white car stop out in front of house and a beautiful young girl come up to the porch…it was Colby, Jo’s gorgeous granddaughter….Jo was in the car! By the time I got to the porch…Colby was almost back in the car. I picked up the box with the cutest picture of Winnie the Pooh on it. Jo told me to open the lid and the message inside would explain the box.

“This is your happy box,”

Whenever you feel down, open up your box for instant joy. When you receive a note or an object that brings you joy, add it to your box. 

It is up to you what you add. This is your happy box. Fill it with love, hope, laughs, joy, beliefs, prayers, and encouragement. Enjoy your box.

With love, Colby and Grandma 

If the family hadn’t been inside I probably would have lost it right then and there on the porch. The box was filled with an amazing assortment of nostalgic items…for example…one was a glass cross…empty because Jesus has left it to live in us.

One item, however,  did bring me to tears…It was a heart with a collage on the front and back. It would have taken a long time to cut out all these old photos of my family and personal mementos and paste them on the heart.

As Wayne and Garth (In Wayne’s World) would say ” We’re not worthy”…and I know I certainly am not. You two are completely unbelievable…what a gift…one I will treasure the rest of my life and remember each and every Easter still left to me.

*Jo…I am so glad you and Colby are in it…because your “dynamic duo” is unforgettable to me in my life.

So until tomorrow…Easter is “Death Working Backwards” C.S. Lewis (From the grave back to the garden…new birth, new life)

Dear Reader:

The best thing about being a grandparent is getting the opportunity to see the world again through the eyes of a child. It changes everything…as if technicolor has suddenly turned the grays and blacks of reality into all the colors of the rainbow.

Today with a predicted “unsettled” weather front moving into the low country area… to hang around another day…we can use all the color we can get for this memorable (even historical) Easter Sunday.

Our Easter church service is available “live” today for all who “Zoom,” tomorrow for a “click on” recap, and, finally, a copy of the sermon on-line…something for everyone!

Easter is a time for rejoicing and being happy and grateful for simply being alive…no matter the circumstance.

Like Joan Turner, John’s mom, said in a recent note she sent …“Just wanted to let you know we are thinking of you on this very unusual Easter season. We are coping with a lot of things but are so grateful that the Easter message still remains the same.“*(Artwork by Joan Turner)

…That it does! And today hundreds of thousands of Christians will gather (in their homes 🙂 to be reminded of an event that changed our world forever. “Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia! Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

For children….the Easter Bunny and Jesus go hand in hand…in their wonderful world of imaginative understanding…kindness is all that is important….no matter whether  it is man or one of God’s creatures.

One of the sweetest stories I read to my grandchildren (face time this past week) was titled: Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day. (The story of how a bunny ended up in the tomb with Jesus’ body and the connection made during this time that lead to the bunny becoming the famous Easter Bunny!)

Earlier in the week Mollie forwarded me a wonderfully creative version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”...only now titled “How the Virus Stole Easter.” It came from her church’s Missional Mom’s Facebook.

So here’s to all our children and those of us still “young at heart” on an Easter Sunday during a World Pandemic…The Easter of 2020!

* The earlier created format wouldn’t let me enlarge or delete so I couldn’t “clean it up” but hopefully you can still read it, enjoy it, and share it! Happy Easter!

THE VIRUS THAT STOLE EASTER

I hope you could read it and enjoy it…and hopefully share it with the ‘young at heart’…no matter the age. We have all discovered that “Easter doesn’t come from a store“…(since we can’t go in one 🙂 but this year has given us an opportunity to really think about what Easter does mean to each of us.

My hope has manifested itself in “Little Big Red.” Last Easter it bloomed…with just one bloom…no more…and I was so excited over that one bloom…it’s first. And this Easter (with a world-wide pandemic raging?….Well see for yourself!)

I finally started changing over my “Happy Room” fireplace mantle wall…taking down the brown and green wreath and replacing it with the center white wheel decor….I got rid of all the pine cones but decided to keep my angels...figured I could use their presence more than ever these days…I replaced the pine cones on them with decorative eggs.

It was while I was doing this that I heard a knock at the door and there was the wonderful Stephanie (Ballard…which she will always be to me…my wonderful babysitter.) She told me it was Krispy Kreme “Be Sweet Saturday.” 

After buying a dozen original glazed donuts…you receive another box free to share with someone….and I got to be that lucky someone…hot, glazed donuts…right out of the oven….Oh MY! Life is so good with the “Stephanies” of the world in it! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thank you my lovely Stephanie with the heart of gold!

*(Stephanie was actually dropping off several boxes to different people…that’s the generous, kind-hearted Stephanie!)

So until tomorrow…Easter promises us new life…let’s make sure we take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the changes we need to provide a better world for our children’s lives.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

HAPPY EASTER DEAR LOYAL BLOG READERS… TO EACH OF YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES!

DON’T FORGET TO SMILE!

Dear Reader:

Elvis Pressley “hit it big” with his song Love Me Tender and the immortal first line….”Love me tender, love me sweet…never let me go.” To this day…whenever I hear the word “tender” in reference to anything…that first line of that familiar tune starts re-playing (automatically) in my memory.

Lately, for me, I would describe this time of incertitude as a “tender” time for all of us..It feels like a wound that needs extra attention and care. We all need to love each other “tenderly” and especially now be kind and  “tender” to ourselves…we are more vulnerable than we admit.

I think I am doing great and then a memory from a conversation or missed family benchmark celebration…even a holiday, undermines my steadfast resolution to “carry on.” (My first year not holding the grandchildren’s Easter Egg Hunt.)

Case in point-Mandy and I were talking on the phone about Easter yesterday and I told her I was texting a photo of the new garden Fairyland that I had just finished earlier in the day.

***Normally Eva Cate would come over one Saturday (before Easter) and spend it with me washing and cleaning the little fairies before finding them a new home in the garden.

After we would accomplish this rather dirty task…Eva Cate would get to pick out a new fairy for the upcoming year.

I got that far in the conversation… telling Mandy how much I missed that tradition (Eva Cate turns 10 later this month on April 27) this year…and my voice broke. I was so embarrassed…I didn’t realize that this annual pre-Easter ritual would ‘pull the rug out from under me’ emotionally.

Yes…it is a tender time for all of us…knowingly or unknowingly.

Saturday…the lonely day between the crucifixion and Jesus’s reappearance on Easter Sunday. Don’t you know that for the disciples…this was the “tenderest” of times? Each disciple was hurting and desperately needed a shoulder to lean on.

I can only imagine that their emotions were all over the place…guilt, anger, frustration, sadness, doubt, uncertainty, misgivings, fear, remorse…yet underneath this collage of emotional disarray…hope still burned…lightly, softly…yet strongly determined while accompanied by faith…weak, perhaps even dashed… but never absent.

(* Miss Violet (Dee) from church sent our shepherding group a reminder to set our iPhone/smart phone alarms for 3:16 p.m….then stop whatever we are doing (when the alarm goes off) to meditate on this moment when Jesus symbolically breathed his last…putting the breath of new life in all of us.) Great idea…based on scripture –John 3:16 

Like us during this tumultuous time… (spent praying for an end to the pandemic)…the disciples spent their time that Saturday praying for an end to the shattering experience of witnessing the death of their beloved friend and spiritual teacher…as well as faith that a new beginning was still possible. The promise of a new world.

…And isn’t that what we all want when we emerge from this pandemic? We don’t want to return to the ‘same old, same old’ way of doing things…but a new world where we can “all become as one.”  A world where love and compassion reign supreme over greed and self-interest.

So until tomorrow….Remember Jesus died so we can live….the best gift of all that lasts forever…and ever…and ever…so let’s bring JOY to the day…(in spite of temporary setbacks like weather or absence of some Easter family traditions)…We’ve been given our life back…joy should reside in our “being” and hearts every single day…as we thank God for His Son’s Sacrifice for us.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Let’s see what “Popping” in the Garden!

Colored leaves on the Confederate Jasmine and little yellow daisies smiling back at me….

I am fighting the good fight against those little pesky black grasshoppers that invade every year…they ate a portion of my “first” day lily this season…I spent most of my time yesterday spraying everything edible….they are like the locusts of old…can wipe out a garden if left alone.

I love this old Easter photo of Jake (6 months) and Lachlan ( 3 weeks) lying together. It looks like Jake is sharing his “expertise” on life with his little cousin Lachlan…who seems to be listening intently!

Then and now:

Smile!!! 🙂

Dear Reader:

Another sign of the times this year as Easter quickly approaches is replacement bags for Easter baskets…for the first time in almost a decade Boo won’t be hostessing the Dingle-Turner Easter Egg Hunt. I must admit…it makes me sad and nostalgic over past hunts.

Well…admittedly…that series of memories took up over an hour as I went back down memory lane…I laughed, smiled, and teared up over those endearing past moments..almost a decade of them…unbelievable!

Thank goodness (this year) for on-line Amazon ordering and Tim Davies delivering for Education Station…(Both provided me with “surcies” to put in any bags I could find around the house…left over Christmas or teacher bags) to be delivered by Tommy and Kaitlyn. (*Yesterday I met Tommy at his office when it opened…we switched the grandchildren’s “Easter” bags from my car to his and then with an invisible high 5 I was off!)

*This really is the time when we must all get creative and “make do with what we have.”  The problem I ran into a couple of days ago…however was a real “stumper.”

I ordered on-line from Publix my weekly grocery list…I had all the items needed to make spaghetti. I listed ground beef, fresh bell peppers, parmesan cheese, onions, garlic, spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, and pasta. My mouth was watering waiting (it took three days) on the order to come in.

The delivery woman handed me a bag with the bottle sauces, pasta and parmesan cheese and another bag with the fresh vegetables. She  then started to walk off.

“Wait a minute,” I called out…”I have one more important bag...(jokingly) the ground beef.”

“Oh yeah,” replied the deliverer, “Publix is completely out of ground beef…don’t worry…I gave you the refund.” “Have a good day.”

I stood there holding the bags…trying to remember that old axiom…something like “When you have the whole world but nothing at all?” I thought again…it should say “When you have the whole meal but nothing to cook.”

I called around to see if anybody had been in a store this past week and remembered seeing hamburger meat…but to no avail. Susan said she would keep her ears and eyes open if she heard or saw anything to help me out.

I told her not to worry with it…then while on the way to meet Tommy I got a text from Donna Clark asking if I needed anything at the store…she was heading over. I mentioned the ground hamburger meat…but if it wasn’t on display…don’t worry about it…I could just wait and make it after Easter next week…maybe by then they would have it again.

I turned everything over to God’s Basket...if this was supposed to work out now it would…if it didn’t it would work out when it was supposed to…

And then…boom! A double whammy! Donna texted to let me know she had some ground beef for me…I was so excited that I started peeling the onion and cutting up the raw vegetables so all I would have to do… would be … cook the meat. “Ask and you shall receive“…thank you Donna and your Irish lucky charm!

And as if that wasn’t a stroke of pure luck…while I was stirring the sauce…I heard a knock at the door and my beautiful niece, Ady, was there holding a bag…she said they (she, Bekah, Susan) had stopped by Bi-Lo on the way home (from the strawberry fields to pick strawberries) and the store had ground chuck. *I also had fresh strawberries in another bag! Unbelievable! 🙂 🙂 🙂

There are so few times in life when one can stay stationary (doing nothing…well maybe a little pouting 🙂 while others actively pursue a goal (your goal)…and stationary wins out. Two gifts of ground beef!

Perhaps Carole King says it best “You’ve got a Friend”...actually more then one and they are all spectacular…no doubt I am blessed with guardian angels selected by God to drop in and check on Boo.

So until tomorrow….Easter isn’t about bags or baskets, gifts or hunts (even spaghetti)…it is about sacrifice, grace, and love…and that I have in abundance!!! 🙂

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

***Look at these beautiful ceramic flowers Honey is making now…and you don’t have to weed or water them!

A couple of funnies…

Dear Reader:

I was thinking about the quote (in the title photo) that sits on one of my kitchen shelves that reads…”Live the life you imagined.”  It doesn’t exactly work any more does it?  I mean, who among us, could have ever predicted, much less imagined, that we would be living in the days of a deadly viral pandemic that affects the whole world?

It would have (and actually still does) sound like something out of an old science fiction movie…something like perhaps (War of the Worlds.) H.G. Welles

As we are still acclimating to our new life style it does seem quite “alien” to us often times, doesn’t it? Remembering to wash hands constantly, not get close or hug someone, not go in shops and businesses, or ride in a car with anyone….it is as close to science fiction in reality as we could have ever imagined.

For me..continuing to build my happy “fortress” around me is my main goal now to ward off “alien” feelings of insecurity and unease.

If I can find beauty within my home and outside in my garden…then that beauty transforms over to faith and hope…the two greatest weapons against “alien” thoughts. (This I did upon my return from Ireland where I fell in love with the yellows and oranges there in restaurants….my own walls began to reflect these bold colors…and I added whimsy wherever I could find it….it just makes me happy!

I pulled a variety of photos taken of my home at different seasons…(even years)..as my happiness evolved with time. If I get sad I simply walk around the rooms or go outside in the garden…it is there that I find courage to face the continuing challenges that affront us daily.

Laughter and humor certainly are two other powerful weapons against the “blues” these days….thanks to everyone who sends me a “funny”…an unexpected chuckle can carry us far!

So until tomorrow….

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh