Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

We will not have a snowy Christmas  this year… but yesterday morning came pretty close to looking like one. I opened my front door around 8:00 a.m. to check and see if ‘Little Big Red’ (the geranium) had come through the chilly night okay…and it had…in fact the bloom was intact and seemingly smiling good morning at me. * Thanks for your prayers, good wishes, and hopes!

It really was winter weather for the lowcountry yesterday and today will be another chilly one! It is  brisk outside and does get us more readily in the Christmas spirit… when it feels more like an Currier and Ives Christmas scene. (‘Delivering Gifts’)

Out of idle curiosity I looked up Currier and Ives and was fascinated reading about their ultimate partnership- one that would change how news and pictures  emerged in newspapers, magazines, and later popular prints. As I read about Currier’s early tragic childhood ..I was reminded once again that “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” and how, with God’s help, we land in “just the right place at the right time.”

Nathaniel Currier (1813–88) was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on March 27, 1813, the second of four children. His parents Nathaniel and Hannah Currier were distant cousins who lived a humble and spartan life. Tragedy struck when Nathaniel was eight years old, when his father unexpectedly died, leaving Nathaniel and his eleven-year-old brother Lorenzo to provide for the family: six-year-old sister Elizabeth and two-year-old brother Charles, as well as their mother.

Nathaniel’s difficult childhood turned around when he was apprenticed to a Boston lithography shop at 15.  Similar to the garment shops at the time…Female immigrants were hired to add color to the black and white lithographs.

Prints were hand-colored by a dozen or more women, often immigrants from Germany, with an art background. They worked in assembly-line fashion, one color to a worker, and  were paid $6 for every 100 colored prints. The favored colors were clear and simple, and the drawing was bold and direct.

Soon colored lithographs were put in special edition newspapers and it tripled newspaper consumption…readers liked life-like drawings accompanying big news. The rest is history as the popularity of Currier and his business partner Ives discovered when the Christmas season brought a demand for nostalgic paintings of this popular holiday… based on earlier childhood memories.

No matter where we live most children still want a white Christmas …along with the stockings, Santa Claus, big family meal, surprises, etc. as seen in books, television, movies and other mass media?

I think that is why I love putting so many pictures and photos in my blog posts…it is simply comforting and familiar.

Yesterday Honey stopped by to drop off the  holiday items we will exchange today with our annual traditional get-together. Tomorrow there will be lots of pictures of our ‘shared’ gifts, greenery, and added  decorations. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

While Honey was here Donna dropped by and we had the best time catching up…Donna had brought me a Clemson “All In” wooden SC ornament for me to hang on the tree…and get ready for the big game on the 28th against Ohio State. Go Tigers!

It is hard to believe the calendar today says December 20…it is ‘seriously’ getting close to Christmas…I must finish my Christmas Eve story with a great connector to its finale.

At the mailbox yesterday…another surprise! I got my gift I had been waiting on to arrive…Joan Turner’s original Christmas card!

It is precious! Last year the card was a little sad since Lucy, the mother, died…but this year…it appears that the three “children” understand that there are many paths leading them back to their mother, lit with Christmas lights to show them the way… back to where it all began…the manger. Love it Joan! 🙂

Lachlan looks like he just saw Santa Claus and Rudolph fly by! And Ady is the cutest Russian immigrant to go through Ellis Island.

Dear Reader:

I have my fingers and toes crossed that ‘Little Big Red’...my ‘chip off  the old block’ …cloned from its decade-old father geranium will survive the next two nights in tact.

The temperatures will be just below freezing and Red has grown so tall it is taking a chance trying to move it without breaking or popping several fragile stems. I am praying hard that the protection of the front porch…along with the afternoon sun’s rays warming the plant each day will protect it enough to safely get through the next two nights. Especially right now…

If I had to show a visual that symbolized HOPE it would be the title photo. I took this picture late yesterday afternoon…I blinked and looked twice at the  sliver of hope as the red in the newly formed geranium bud is starting to appear. What a joyous Christmas present it will be if the red bud is in full bloom Christmas morn…a great Christmas gift…the best! It will look like a red bow on top of an amazingly gigantic green geranium.

I have already received two lovely pinkish-white camellia blooms since cutting the two buds and placing them in one of Honey’s creative flower vases. Just gorgeous!

I can tell Christmas is drawing nigh as I took these photos yesterday..the gifts for others that are piling up around the Christmas tree. The second clue on the proximity of Christmas is the number of cards mounting along the railing coming into the sunken den…the Happy Room…the aura of joy prevalent.

The stockings are filled, as well as, Boo Boo bags are ready to head out Christmas morning to all the grandchildren. Whew!

Mollie just got back these Christmas pictures from her friend, Sarah who did our family photos back in August…she does a terrific job!

When Honey stopped by for a minute Tuesday she wanted to go ahead and  give me something before our regular gift exchange this Friday…her newest pottery project…Summerville Christmas trees.

I told her it was perfect timing on the 172nd birthday of Summerville…now I will always remember the Summerville Christmas Tree as a birthday celebration tree for our lovely “Flowertown in the Pines.” *A reminder also of the Summerville Green Wave football team,  Legendary Coach John McKissick, and the dynasty of green and gold that prevailed and hopefully will always continue on the gridiron for many decades more bringing continued fame to our town.

Carole King on her 2014 Christmas Carole album included a song about ‘Christmas in the Air.’ Her personal Christmas is not going so well (Her reindeer unexpectedly left)…but she decides not to wait on Santa Claus to bring happiness but go outside and enjoy life…the gift of each new day. It is only then that she can feel ‘Christmas in the Air.”

So until tomorrow…Never forget that Christmas is what we make it…not what retailers convince us it is…the best gift is being alive and waking up to  a new day dawning. Happiness doesn’t depend on others…it is what we make it.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• Thanks Gin-g for the all the goodies last evening…can hardly wait to eat that blueberry muffin this morning…love the lovely smelling lotions and the silver bracelet…so pretty. Enjoyed catching up…have a Merry Christmas!

*Ann Graves heard the bells ring yesterday and I am sure she now feels Christmas in the air...she finished her radiation series yesterday. Congrats and Merry Christmas Ann!

Painting: (Courtesy of LeonardodaVinci.net)

Dear Reader:

Doesn’t the thought of Jesus having a grandmother to spoil Him warm your heart? Don’t all children deserve such grandmothers? And particularly since Jesus shared a birthday and a holiday together…we hope His family gave him lots and lots of presents.

Quinn Caldwell suggests this possibility (according to other ancient sources) and famous painters like Leonardo da Vinci…all wanting a grandmother for Jesus too.

In this Advent Reading…Caldwell examines the possibility of such a grandmother playing a major role in Jesus’ upbringing. In this Christmas reading he explains:

“They say Mary’s parents were named Joachim and Anne. This isn’t anywhere in the Bible, but other ancient sources say so. Legend has it that they were deeply devoted to each other but were unhappy at their childlessness.

Then one day, an angel appeared to each of them separately and told them- guess what?- that they were going to have a baby. A popular theme for medieval paintings was their “huggy” meeting at the gates of Jerusalem, where they had each come running from opposite directions to tell the other what happened. 

*Another popular painting shows a wee Jesus sitting on Mary’s lap, who in turn is sitting on Anne’s lap. (See title painting)

I love St. Anne. No so much because I know anything about her, but because I love the idea of Jesus having a grandma. I bet she was always buying him too many presents. She probably let him stay up late when he spent the weekend at her house. I bet she never told him she couldn’t play with him right now because she was busy. I can totally see her rolling her eyes at Mary and Joseph’s uptight parenting.

“Mom, stop it! You’ll spoil him!” Mary would say.

“That’s the Grand-Messiah’s job” Anne would respond serenely as she sailed by with more cookies for the Savior.

“What am I going to do?” Mary would ask as they had coffee and watched him play. And Anne would put her arms around that big girl who would never stop being her baby, pull her close, and hold her tight. “You’re going to do what we all do; love him as hard as you can for as long as you can. No matter what!” 

Yesterday it dawned on me that we were a week away from Christmas Eve…Grandmother’s Boo’s annual special time with the grandchildren…games, snowball fights, and stocking surprises…all before the 5:00 church service and annual Christmas Eve story.

Generational family is important to children…learning about their family tree…especially the birth of Jesus and His family tree…producing God’s children who inhabit every nook and cranny on Earth.

So until tomorrow…God thank you for grandparents who never stop being parents. Amen.

Ann Graves finishes up her radiation treatments today…Congratulations Ann on an early Christmas present you have been given. Ann had some skin issue side effects and had to stop her radiation for several weeks…but today she is sliding into home!

Ann gave me a Christmas card that I opened in the waiting room while her procedure was on-going yesterday when I drove her to her appointment…and inside was a Christmas tree ornament that immediately reminded me of the Chapel of Hope…a sign and reminder that this summer will mark the the tenth benchmark year since entering the chapel in 2010 …lead by Honey! Definitely my guardian angel who lead me to HOPE.

*(Thank you Ann for the chapel ornament…I love it!)

*And speaking of Honey I should have known she would appear yesterday. As soon as I woke up my photo album reminded me that two years ago on this day…a photo showing Honey fixing the apple tree centerpiece appeared. Sure enough about 11 she called and we worked out a time later in the afternoon for her to come over.

We caught up some and are planning a little Christmas celebration and friendship gift exchange Friday…along with “knighting” the apple tree when she returns with all the fixings. An annual tradition…not to be missed!

Late yesterday afternoon…the Turner family bundled up with rain gear and umbrellas to join in all the fun in the neighborhood for a special horse-drawn carriage ride to see all the lights in the area…thanks to an amazing resident and neighbor, Lori Hollister, who entered a contest and won! Way to go Lori! Mandy said the adventure was “wet and wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!” 🙂

Lastly… a BIG SHOUT-OUT and HAPPY BIRTHDAY  to my beloved Summerville who just turned 172 years old yesterday December 17, 1847.  Thank you Summerville for making me feel like a young chick again in comparison!

From that tiny village of a few dozen homes in 1847, some 13 years later we had five hotels and boarding houses, three churches, two public buildings, nine stores, 372 dwellings and 1,088 inhabitants.

And look at us now. (Barbara Hill)

Dear Reader:

Most of us in our careers make hundreds of decisions daily without giving much reflection or thought to them…they are more like automatic responses. I remember reading in an educational journal one time that a teacher, on the average, makes 1500 (yes you heard that right) 1500 decisions each day which averages out about 4 decisions a minute. Whew!

Thinking back on a typical teaching day for me…I can honestly believe that number. From the moment a teacher walks through the door of the school he/she is bombarded with questions from administrators, office personnel, parents, fellow teachers, maintenance staff, and of course, constantly students. It is amazing that as much gets taught as it does with so many split-second decisions bombarding a teacher constantly throughout the day.

From the article…Teachers Are Masters of Multi-Tasking comes this thought-provoking observation:

“Any teacher worth their salt–and thus aware of the incredible demands of instructional design, personalizing learning, classroom management, the always-on demand of student and collegial relationships, grading, and so on understand the ceaseless maze of decision- making. In other words…Teaching isn’t rocket science; it’s harder.”

Then comes the life-changing type of decisions that we pray about a lot…moving to a new school, town, city, state or country, new job or career, advancement opportunity, broken relationships, when to stay and when to go, serious health issues and related decisions on procedures. These are the harder decisions that force us to fall on our knees and and reach down deep… find our soul and go with our “gut instinct.”

Thank goodness for me…we don’t have to do it alone…even when it feels like we do. Reflecting back on my “benchmark” life-altering decisions…there were always signs around me pointing me in the right direction. Guardian angels disguised as friends or strangers… with comments at just the right time, inferring the right decision to make…forcing me to take leaps of faith with their solid support surrounding me. God is with us under so many guises if we just are open to them.

So until tomorrow…None of us were ever meant to go it alone…God provides the right people at the right time to be there for us and the final push in the right direction for that moment in our lives.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

As I started to my oncology appointment early yesterday morning (a little before 8) fog surrounded the yard…a few rays of sun were trying to break through the fog and a few beams of light caught the bottle tree as I pulled out.

Then, while stuck in the early morning, bumper to bumper traffic, on Lincolnville Road heading into N. Charleston… I took a beautiful photo of the fog and sun beams once again competing against the trees in the woods running beside the road.

When I got home Michael Salvo, my fireman/lawn maintenance supervisor, but mostly friend… texted to ask if it suited for him to stop by…I was so happy to see him and ask about his shoulder, surgery, etc. He came in like Santa Claus bringing me a Norfolk Island Pine. I laughingly told him we would trade plants…I had been saving him a big red poinsettia. *Please keep Michael in your prayers as surgery is still facing him.

Interesting Tree Tale:

The oldest living Norfolk Island pine is believed to be 170 years old!

Jo…Last night I went back in the kitchen to get some water after turning off all the Christmas tree lights, along with the den lights…EXCEPT I had forgotten to turn off the candle inside the Sammy the Cardinal Christmas ornament you gave me…my newest ornament. It looked so beautiful lit up by itself…I was joyous over the outcome of the photo.

It shows just how magical it is at night when the rest of the Christmas tree and house are asleep!

Dear Reader:

As I ride down the main entrance into my neighborhood I automatically look to see if the “red tree” on the right still has its beautiful scarlet leaves on it! The other day when I saw that it survived the fierce Friday/early Saturday morning rain storms…I was so happy…maybe this beautiful red-leafed tree will make it to Christmas …still in all its glory! (The rest of the trees on the street are empty of leaves with only bare branches to welcome Christmas.)

It makes me wish somehow (that this tree) as the leader or instigator of the last beautiful red-leafed trees…  had been able to show the other tree leaves how to keep red on their stems and in their leaves until Christmas arrived.

Today we envision negative connotations when we hear the word “instigator”… meaning in most people’s eyes…”troublemaker.” But the word, in the dictionary, simply means…a person who brings about or initiates something. Example: “He was not the instigator of the incident.” 

It could be a good or negative incident the instigator is instigating.

In All I Want for Christmas Quinn Caldwell came up with this creative thought for mid-Advent season.

“I had this one poor teacher in elementary school who yelled a lot. She had a whole list of words she used to scold us: tattletale, daydreamer, wise guy, etc. But the worst thing she could call you was “instigator.” 

She would jab you in the chest with a finger and spit that word at you like it tasted bad. It meant you ended up sitting inside the classroom watching the rest of the class play at recess without you. 

In her mind an instigator was the one who got all the trouble makers and bullies to ruin her life and send her to the teachers’ lounge for a lot of furiously smoked cigarettes.

One day in church I heard our pastor say that the government leaders all accused Jesus of being an “instigator”…of wanting to start a revolution to form a society where equality reigned socially, economically, religiously and culturally. 

My thoughts immediately returned to that teacher of old…and I laughed out loud in church…just imagining her face turning red if I told her that Jesus was considered a leader, an instigator…and He turned out pretty good..without missing recess :)!

Acts 5:31: “God has exalted Jesus to his right side as leader and savior”…(the word for leader meaning instigator…as would His apostles being accused of when sharing their faith and showing their courage. Then the followers of the original apostles became instigators to spread Christianity…right on down to today.)

Quinn Caldwell concludes: That leads us…to the question, have you done enough instigating recently to make that teacher of mine mad at you? If not…why not?

While coming home early Sunday morning from Mt. Pleasant to Summerville to make church service…the large blinking interstate signs were warning about high windy conditions on the bridges and reminders not to text and drive. (Besides the number of deaths on SC’s highways to date.)

What if…we instigators took some of these tax paid highway signs and had them blinking in red and green this time of year? Signs that might read:

Have you given one gift or toy away today…if everyone did…no child would wake up disappointed Christmas morning? 

God gave us two hands…one to climb..the other to use pulling the person behind us up a notch for each of our notches. 

Let’s take time to create a snow globe of a world living in harmony for our children…a globe that shakes things up for everyone.  Love, equality, compassion, dignity prevail.Then give the globes away to everyone!

There’s a place for all of us…peace on earth…if we make it so…Merry Christmas!

So until tomorrow (Caldwell concludes with this tongue-in-cheek prayer)

God grant me the grace not just to shake up the world on your behalf, but to get the people around me to do it, too. And bless Miss-You-Know-Who; after all those years teaching us, she needs it. Amen! 🙂

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Sights and Sounds of Christmas…Eva Cate came in from a party Saturday evening running fever…she removed herself to the little den to watch television while I kept Jake in the other room.. until John and Mandy returned… Eva Cate’s blurry-eyes gazed at her snowflakes she made…with mom’s help! I gave her “Pinkie” for comfort and warmth.

The sun’s rays slanted beautifully on the neighborhood homes late Saturday afternoon as I drove into Wakendaw Lakes to keep the grandchildren.

Anne’s house was also decorated beautifully for the Christmas Open House…I bought this adorable Sammy the Cardinal miniature frame/jewelry from Anne’s artistic co-hort Donna…it was calling me to take it home. Another “Sammy” wink! Thanks to everyone who came out to acknowledge the artistic endeavors of three lovely ladies!

Dear Reader:

With my loyal doll, Polly, looking on, my assistant elf, (*I got Polly for Christmas when I was five) Grandmother Boo, the Head Elf, is starting to finish up all the last tasks still left to complete… during the “Twelve Days of Christmas” …starting with the stockings.

I will hang them Christmas Eve afternoon before the grandchildren come to Boo Boo’s (before the Christmas Eve church service) to open up their Boo Boo stockings and play with the toys inside…culminating with their annual “snow ball” fight!

Last night I went over to Mandy’s and John’s to keep the children while they attended an annual Christmas party. I took a new Christmas book with me to read…a sweet story called Dasher by Matt Tavares…a best seller on the New York Times Best-seller list!

The illustrations in it are glorious and I found myself forgetting to read the lines…distracted by the exquisite paintings.

Dasher is the story of how a brave little doe met Santa and changed Christmas forever. I am not going to tell the story here in completion…no “spoiler alert” but I will share with you the foreword explaining the concept behind the story. (I fell in love with it! Can hardly wait to read it tonight to the children.)

It all starts with ‘Mother Reindeer’s story of the celestial compass called the North Star… and how once upon a time their family had lived in the cold, snowy land in which they were born before being taken. Of all the reindeer Dasher takes mother’s story to heart and decides to follow the north star if she ever gets the opportunity to escape.

This touching story…metaphorically connects this story to the slaves who also followed the North Star…and the magical power of this celestial compass that leads people and animals back home to freedom… fulfilling their lives as destined.

So until tomorrow…Take time to read Christmas stories together…because ‘elusive time’ stands still for no man or woman or child.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was the Summerville Chapter of the MS Society’s Annual Christmas Luncheon/Party. It never disappoints. Gwen outdoes herself decorating each table for this amazing event…turning the room into a warm all-encompassing aura of thankfulness and graciousness.

I was simply so happy just to be there after missing the luncheon last year when my foot was stuck up in space with an air-pressurized boot and tubes going out everywhere…(like I told the audience yesterday) leaving me looking like an “octopus in training.”

When Andrea Andrews called again this past November…she said the theme this year was HOPE and I thought how appropriate the theme was and is for everyone in that room.

Andrea expressed it best when she told the gathering that my type of breast cancer fell into the same category as all of their personal fights against MS…our one commonality? We are all living on “borrowed time” with hope as the compass that leads us. (We are all living with health issues that are treatable but not curable to date.)

Before starting my story (the one I will be doing for the Christmas Eve Story that I gave you a hint about a couple of days ago) I made the observation that the date, December 13, marked the start of the ’12 Days of Christmas’...for each day we could all name a different hope we were feeling. Hope is very diversified, as well as, personalized for each individual.

Even though we all share the commonality of ‘living on borrowed time’…the truth is…from the second we take our first breath until the moment we take our last…all of us live on “borrowed time.” We each only have a certain amount of time on this earth…so we need to seize the moment and enjoy it to the fullest…for as long as we can.

Yesterday…”the weather outside was frightful”... (torrential rains) but inside…”so delightful” with good food, music, and fellowship.

Elizabeth Peterson, President of the Summerville Chapter of the MS Society, who along with Andrea Andrews, started this local chapter…said it had been 17 years since its creation and then Elizabeth looked up the number of times I had told a story at the luncheon and it was eight.

What an honor it has been to be a small part of this amazing organization!  (*It was Mike and Honey Burrell who introduced me to this special organizaation that they gave gifts of Honey’s pottery to for years!) Hats off to them and  Elizabeth and Andrea for starting the chapter!

Is there anything more beautiful than the sounds of a harp at Christmas? The event ends with door prizes ( I was lucky to win the block of HOPE) ….These children helped pull names randomly…the youngest child’s name being, what else, Hope!

So until tomorrow… Hope began for all of us in the manger…because where ‘there is faith…there is hope...where there is hope...there is love.’ (Thanks Georgia for this creative nativity scene based on Hope)

It’s Finally Here! Christmas Open House at the Peterson Watercolor Studio! Today and Tomorrow…Check out the information…pick a day and COME!

Dear Reader:

Isn’t there a different feeling when you receive a gift at Christmas from a friend or family member who is excited about you opening it or acknowledging something that serves as a happy memory or adventure…perhaps a shared interest over the years? Perhaps it is a gift that will come in handy for certain occasions arising in the future for the recipient. In other words…one feels the joy and thought behind the gift!

Such a difference than something that feels more like a check-off item.

If I am being honest…I must admit that I usually fall into both categories in the giving department…I start out better than I end up…suddenly remembering someone at the 11th hour and making a mad dash to find something to give. I would imagine I am not alone in these holiday scenarios.

Outside of children and grandchildren-most of whom want the latest “hot” item in toy stores…young, middle, and older adults offer more flexibility and creativity in “gifting” time together.

One idea that popped into my head yesterday (that I am writing down so I won’t forget it by next year) is to offer a cute invitation card to a cousin, family member, nephew, niece, friend, etc. explaining that with all the craziness at Christmas…they get to fill out the Pop-Up Christmas Day card they were given.

The recipient gets to keep the card until he/she is ready to spend some time with the “benefactor” …a day that perhaps includes lunch, a “gift” of an adventure (perhaps just a walk in the park) a movie…or simply finding a bench on which to talk and catch up.

*The recipient must call, text, or email in advance so both “parties” find a suitable time and then have a “Pop-Up Christmas Day” together.

Wouldn’t we all enjoy that more than trying to crowd in one more event over the holidays when most people are exhausted and ready to drop from fatigue?

Note to self: Start working on this idea and other creative holiday endeavors in time to share and send out next Christmas. Christmas is all about relationships…and during the holidays memories from the past tend to flood our present thoughts…too late we wish we had done something different. So …let’s just do it.

*If you have family traditions or creative ideas for giving that de-stresses the time factor in the holidays…please share with us so we can all enjoy being around the people who helped us simply “be.” As Fred Rogers emphasized…”All of us are a giver and a receiver”…and both roles are needed in life to give love and receive it …this important cycle keeps the world turning.

So until tomorrow….Any gift that re-enforces the universal belief of love and acceptance for everyone… is the best gift of all. Remember:

We all want love and acceptance

“No matter who you are or where you are, love is a feeling that we all want to experience. Feeling loved validates us and helps us to feel important. Whenever you don’t understand someone or feel detached from them, remind yourself that they too, just like you, want to be loved and accepted. I have never met anyone who disagrees with this life truth.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* This is why teachers teach…I heard back from my former student Evans Townsend yesterday…..The perfect gift!

You made my day! Thank you so much! I’m so glad you like the lantern. I read your blog post and was so surprised to see that you had mentioned me. You are so awesome & a blessing. You & yours have a fantastic Christmas & New Year. 

* One correction- You made my day Evans! 🙂 Your Appreciative Teacher and friend

Dear Reader:

A little clue about what my Christmas Eve Story is going to be about this year…the love between a teacher and his/her students at Christmas.

Have you ever wondered if your favorite teacher still has that special Christmas ornament you made or bought for him/her so many years ago as a child or youth? My guess would be a resounding “Yes” …at least based on my own personal experiences and memories when I place ornaments on the Christmas tree each year.

I was fortunate to form a friendship with Gloria Houston, the popular children’s author of so many of my favorite stories…particularly the most memorable Christmas story –The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree. 

I was invited to Ruthie’s 95th birthday in Waynesville, NC that Brooke and I attended to meet both Gloria and Ruthie in person.

Then Gloria and I started  corresponding by snail mail and email for several years until her untimely death three years ago to a rare cancer.

Each Christmas I would send her a photo of my Christmas tree with Ruthie the angel perched on top (based and named for her mother, Ruthie…the main character in the Christmas story.) *The first Christmas after Gloria’s death I sent the photo as usual… before remembering she was gone…she had died that March before Christmas.

One of our last correspondences dealt with Ruthie’s death…just weeks before her 100th birthday and now her own personal fight with this rare form of an environmental auto-immune cancer. She was growing weaker faster than she had hoped but she still had one more story in her.

It was a short story for a magazine that she sent me a link to…about a special tradition a teacher in a small town had each Christmas Eve as the memories of her former students returned to visit her. Gloria told me when she sent the story that she always defined herself as  “first, last and always, a teacher.”

In the title photo…Evans Townsend sent me this railroad lantern that I light each Christmas. Evans was in one of my first classes that I taught in the early years. He adored history, along with me, and he was one of those special students a teacher never forgets.

A few years ago we made contact again and he wrote me a long letter updating me on his life and his passionate career working with railroads out west. Soon after this correspondence the railroad lantern appeared as a gift to me from him.

On one of his return visits home…he and Frances Townsend, his mother who taught history at Summerville High School,  took a photo and sent me of the family at St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope in Trust, NC. How very special to share my personal epiphany at this chapel, years ago, with a special student and good friend in his mother!

So until tomorrow…“Every child you teach has a story waiting to be heard…and perhaps you are the one chosen to hear it.” 

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Yesterday I talked about the crazy weather that has spring and summer flowers blooming in December…including my double-blossom pink azaleas. I found the perfect place to display them…in one of Honey’s beautiful flower vases she creates.

*Just two more days until the Christmas Art Show that Anne and her Ya Artists are putting on…mark it on your calendar…this will be a big weekend!

Dear Reader:

Christmases around these parts keep getting crazier and crazier with the unpredictable climate that surrounds us today. We had an early freeze, cold temps in the forties before Thanksgiving (rare) and then yesterday we reached eighty….eighty!

I had all my windows up, turned the heat off, and the ceiling fans on…I was still hot. My recliner electric blanket got put back in the closet. But one smart thing I did for myself (and others) was go get my flu shot (Publix-free ten dollar coupon! ) ahead of my routine check-up and regularly scheduled flu shot at my primary doctor.

After winning the first grade Reindeer Run and being so happy Friday at school…Rutledge came down with the flu that same night (along with 50% of the first graders at his school). His temperature over 103 with chills…a sick little puppy!

His poor teacher has had to move the sole 8 students left to an empty room while they disinfect her classroom. She is begging parents not to send their children back too soon. Accommodations are slim to none.

It is scary how fast this influenza hits…the race with the vast majority of first graders participating was filled with happy children and cheering families Friday….and by that night…half were sick. *”The good, bad and the ugly.”

Unpredictable is the only word for the weather these days…after 80 yesterday the high today will be only in the mid-fifties with lows in the 30’s by tonight… followed, then, by rain. Our poor bodies are having a tough time adapting to the elevator weather this late in December…another reason I went on and got my shot….to help boost my immune system.

I came across some interesting stats on kindness yesterday…it went like this…

The average American performs a minimum of five acts of kindness a month...the top 10 acts are:

TOP 10 MOST COMMON GOOD DEEDS…

1. Helped someone with directions — 66%
2. Held the door open for a stranger — 65%
3. Let someone with fewer items go in front of me in line at a store — 60%
4. Helped someone cross the street — 60%
5. Completed a chore/errand for a family member or friend — 56%
6. Gave a dollar or so to charity when checking out while shopping — 56%
7. Donated clothes to a thrift store — 55%
8. Helped someone carry their groceries home — 55%
9. Returned a lost item that I found — 55%
10. Paid for a stranger’s meal — 53%

People then recalled the nicest thing someone had done for them:

1. A stranger gave me a change of clothes and some tea and let me use their shower after being caught int a severe storm in Florida

2. I had nowhere to go and no money and a stranger gave me a ride to the closest hotel, paid for my stay, bought me a hot meal and gave me a 100 dollars.

3. I was driving back from the ER with a sick toddler when I got a flat tire. A big rig truck pulled over, told me to sit in his cab with my sick child to keep the warm and he changed my tire and followed us to the ER to make sure we got there safe and sound.

*Americans who give to a charity average in monetary donations- $ 41. 39 per month.

My son Tommy came over yesterday afternoon after work to pick up a bed frame that originally belonged to Kaitlyn, his wife.

They are still working on getting their Air B&B up and ready for the New Year…but in the meantime a friend of Tommy’s needed a place for his toddler, wife, and (less than a week old baby)…they are in between having sold their house and having to wait to move into their new one.

No doubt it was a long night for Tommy and Kaitlyn after working all day… “magically” providing basic essentials for this family to move in today…but they both thought that they would certainly appreciate someone helping them out in the same situation.

As Tommy climbed up the steps to get the bed frame out of the apartment over the garage…look who was sunning up there and having a good time…Fuzz…Vickie’s cat! 🙂 Fuzz liked the summer weather yesterday!

…And Fuzz wasn’t alone…the Gazanias in the garden hanging baskets were doing their happy dance and opening all their blooms to the sun…

And the best surprise of all…”Little Big Red” has grown and done well since being cloned from ‘dear ole’ dad’…but to date hasn’t produced hardly any blooms…a bud appears but then drops off.

As I went to water “Little Big Red” there was a beautiful bud in the foils of preparing to bloom…my fingers are crossed and a quick prayer that the bud remains intact and my historical plant puts a red bow on its gift of life to me for Christmas this year.

So until tomorrow….“Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” Henry James

A remembrance:

Happy Birthday to our beloved Poppy…Mr. Dingle lived the motto of kindness every single day of his life…first and foremost. We miss him so!