Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Engine 8108….what in the world was your problem yesterday? You ended up providing quite a challenge for me and many others “to boot.”

Let me start back at the very beginning of my story. Around 10:30 a.m. yesterday (after taking small portions of my medicine) I knew I needed some staples at the store and decided I would run over to the Piggly Wiggly and pick up lunch from the deli while I was there. It should have taken less than half an hour to run this errand. But as Robert Burns so accurately observed…”the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

I cut through the “back roads” of Summerville….Marion Avenue, to Carolina to Cedar Street to get to the grocery store. So far, so good. Just as I was nearing the train tracks that run through town by W. Doty Avenue in connection with Cedar…I heard the clanging sound of the train whistle and slowly the flashing warning bars started descending.

There was one car in front of me who pulled up and stopped just short of the tracks…I stayed back behind the pedestrian crossfare to leave W. Doty open for traffic going perpendicular to me.

I had my IPhone and decided to take some shots of different sections of the train including the engine with the numbers 8108. It was a warm, muggy but beautiful morning and I wasn’t particularly in a hurry at first so I stared at the different colored box cars and the graffiti on some of them that was actually quite good. The back drop of old houses behind the train tracks was nostalgic.

As the clicking sounds of the train continued along the tracks…I did a little day dreaming and thought of the important role that these tracks have played in Summerville history…as still seen in one particular mural today.

I always loved going in the old Post Office where the New Deal mural  (Train Time) dating back to the 1930’s was located on the walls and is still there today…even after the building changed to the Public Works (Water) and now the new art center for Summerville.

As I came out of my reverie I looked at the time on my dash board…it was eleven o’clock. I left the house just a little after 10:30…Wow…this was the longest train I ever remember waiting on…a good 20 minutes or more.

I kept leaning forward to see how much farther the box cars were coming….there was still no end to them. It was now a little after eleven. Suddenly the train started slowing down and came to a stop.

I thought to myself….why is the engineer stopping? And then it got worse…it started backing up!!! “Oh dear Lord ….NO!” 

By now…all the cars behind me started going around and cutting up West Doty Avenue (runs parallel to the tracks) so I joined them as soon as I could squeeze in.

The problem however didn’t go away…because there was still no place to cross the tracks. I was five minutes from the Piggly Wiggly and just couldn’t get there. For the first time I felt my frustration mounting…my stomach didn’t feel quite right…it needed some food in it.

Then I noticed something…while I was starting to do some serious pouting over the unusual train delay…a couple had pulled an overturned bucket (into a seat) under a shade tree (while the woman sat on the grass) to watch the train go by…it was so endearing it made me re-evaluate my impatience.

By literally “going around my elbow to get to my thumb” I finally found a crossing area a couple of miles farther up the road towards Lincolnville. I had done it…I was on the other side!

Within five minutes I was at the Piggly Wiggly….apprehensive that the deli line was long by now…(the Sunday deli is very popular)  to my shock and delighted surprise, however, I was the first one in line. The server said it was unusual not to have a crowd at that time on Sunday…I explained to her about the train problem and we chatted amiably about it as she fixed my dinner.

At the crossing I had found earlier near Lincolnville….I could see the end of the train heading into town… so I figured after picking up some groceries and getting my dinner…I was ‘good to go’ getting back home. Wrong!

I went another back way home (Palmetto Street) and there were trucks and men waving at me to take a detour at that section of the train tracks… no crossing  at that track site. The train cars had stopped again!

As I followed the detour…I found myself ironically back on Cedar Street (where it had all started) facing the tracks from the other side…still unable to cross! What are the odds of this happening?

I will have to tell you as I stared back at the train in disbelief….(what in the world had delayed the train again?)…I could feel my shoulders sagging…I was tired, hungry, and frankly disgusted.

I finally found another crossing…but by the time I got home…it was noon. My half-hour run to the grocery store had lasted a whole hour and a half!

*If any of you readers experienced my same dilemma yesterday or happen to know what the issue with the engineer of engine 8108 was…please let me know so we can solve this mystery. It was certainly a day spent ‘at the tracks’... literally! (But the only betting going on was how cold my lunch was going to be and how watery my iced tea drink would be before I got home.)

So until tomorrow…Yesterday I felt like the old joke “I need to develop some patience….immediately!”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Stop! Wait! The doorbell just rang and it was Vickie….she was bringing me slices of carrot cake she had just made…my favorite!

Forget  the  earlier aggravations of this day (Choo! Choo! and all)…It has ended in the yummiest way possible….from dreadful delays to delicious dessert….Thanks God! What a way to end the day! Thanks Vickie! Choo! Choo! Woo! Woo! :)!

*** Just as I was closing down the computer I checked my email one last time and found a message from the wonderful Sis Kinney, one of our loyal readers since the start of Chapel of Hope Stories, almost a decade ago.. She heard last week that she has breast cancer. It was discovered unexpectedly while she was having a MRI on her breast for something else… which turned out to be nothing.

When this happens we can’t help but think how fortunate and lucky we are that it was discovered (even accidentally)…and for Sis …at a very early stage.

Sis is having surgery tomorrow (Tuesday) for a lumpectomy followed by radiation. As long as no cancer shows up in the adjacent lymph nodes Sis will have a lower dose of radiation five days a week for five weeks. Obviously if anything more serious is found…chemo is the next option..  which will be followed by more intense radiation.

Sweet Sis said that she didn’t want sympathy but she could sure use everyone’s prayers. Sis…with so many of us  sisters in pink…you will be getting a lot of empathy… along with our prayers!

Please keep us updated and we will keep our prayers updated alongside any and every procedure you face….while you hold God’s hand. He never lets go! My prayer is the surgeon gets in there tomorrow and nothing more is required than the minimum procedure….then back to better health than ever! You will be faster than ever chasing all those beautiful grandchildren! 🙂

Dear Reader:

With so much interest and conversation lately about the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Walk…we forget sometimes how important it is to bring “space” back to Earth…back into our daily lives. In other words…we need to create space and clean out clutter for the tiny little area in the world that we call home.

Unknowingly, Rutledge did just that for me…by running around pulling out drawers and cabinets looking for more of his dad’s memorabilia at Camp Boo Boo…the ensuing “havoc” demanded immediate attention. With Rutledge’s help we started separating bags into “keep and throw.’ *It had needed this excavation for a long time…Luke getting the trunk open for Rutledge released a Pandora’s Box of junk…along with some precious memory keepers.

As you can see from the title photo…all the old Clemson national title newspapers are now organized in one stack, Sports Illustrated in another with lots of baseball cards inside the trunk….and a photo of Walsh and Rutledge taken a few years ago on the start of a new Clemson football season.

It feels so good to have the extra family room finally cleaned up…thank you Rutledge…indirectly you forced me to deal with it…and now that it is over…I can appreciate it! Cheers!

However, there is still another kind of space we need to discipline ourselves in (for daily encounters or situations) that demand calmness. It is always wise to allow ample “space” between what we experience and how we respond to it. Haven’t we all responded too quickly to a comment only to regret it for a long time afterwards?

Making a concerted effort to put a few important seconds and space between a potential negative comment directed at us and our response to it gives us time to reflect on the issue. A few deep breaths is sometimes all it takes for space to keep pace with calm and control over regret and stress.

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Since I have some space left today I want to share an excerpt from an amazing event Anne experienced on the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Walk. One thing I can definitely say about my friend is that she fully lives the axiom…”The opportunity of a lifetime must be taken in the lifetime of that opportunity.”

Hey friend,

At any rate – to the reason for the story! Sitting on an up-turned paint bucket in the blinds were sometimes frantic when more than one adult flew in at once!  And sometimes there was a lull, so having a radio provided some welcome company in my little wooden structure.  The only station I could get was out of Boston, a public radio station, WGBH, which was great – lots of interesting music and commentary.  However, on the 20th anniversary of the moonlanding, WGBH played Claire de Lune for 24 hours straight, by every imaginable instrument, every symphony in the whole wide world, and then some.  It was great at first, then rather tedious, and then hysterical – especially when my roommates and I continued to hum it for the next week or so.  Memorable at any rate and I still chuckle every time I hear it:

So until tomorrow….

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday turned out to be quite a busy day…errands in the morning, a funeral for a long-time friend who like me, was a pioneer of Dorchester Presbyterian Church…We were members when we had no church building and were meeting in a golf club house on Sundays. Mandy was the first child baptized in the club house and the last person, the founding pastor, Richard Cushman, married. So our roots went far back together.

When I returned home I had an invitation for a cook-out at John and Mandy’s…wonderful food, time to spend with Eva Cate and Jake and their art work…plus watching the children swimming like little fish…the result of a summer of endless swimming.

On the way home as I stopped at the main intersection in Summerville..the sky was simply amazing…I had time to snap one photo before the red light turned green….what a beautiful way to end the day…the last light surrounded by growing darkness.

Dear Reader:

There are few parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles who haven’t used the expression “I love you to the moon and back” while rocking babies and grand babies. And if we are lucky enough to be outside with children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces…absorbing the beautiful glow of the moon…it just rolls off our tongues automatically.

Since man has existed…the moon has lured him into a contented state of appreciation for the light it provides during the dark hours of night. Mev sent me a wonderful memory of what was happening in her life on July 20, 1969….perhaps the best memory of all! 🙂

“I missed out on the astronauts landing July 20, 1969! I was a bit more involved with the landing of our little “moon baby” as she was called by the staff at Dorchester County Hospital: Hallie Shieder landed at 7:20pm July 20, 1969!”

There was also another mother who was holding her breath that famous Sunday evening in July, 1960…Violet Armstrong, Neil Armstrong’s mother. She had a terrible fear she had shared with her son before he left…and even though Neil had reassured her that it was unfounded… she wasn’t “buying it” until she saw it with her own eyes.

“Armstrong’s mother Viola watched the historic moment at home on TV, along with 650 million other people around the world.  Her biggest fear had been that Neil would sink down and be “swallowed up” by the moon so shortly after taking his first steps,

So Armstrong purposefully commented out loud “I only go in a small fraction of an inch, maybe an eighth of an inch but I can see the footprints of my boots and the treads in the fine sandy particles.”  *That line was for her, to ease her mind. He was a good son.

By now many of you have seen one or more of the special programs commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 “Moon Walk.” You probably know how close the mission came  to having to abort…especially the critical problem…based on fuel shortage while hunting for a flat place to land among the craters and rocks.

One of the most interesting perspectives I got was off of the daily Google icon yesterday…I clicked it on and a short/short video came on…the mission story told by astronaut Mike Collins… who stayed in orbit roughly 60 miles above and behind the moon in the command module…the mode of transportation that would take all three astronauts back home.

Mike, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin felt the”weight of the world on their shoulders”…after all it had taken approximately 400,000 people-engineers, computer programmers to the people who sewed the airtight  space suits they wore… to land humankind on the moon.

The module had to keep turning around and around like a ‘chicken on a barbecue spit’ to keep the temperatures regulated inside the module…depending on whether they were on the sunny side of the moon or the dark side.

Collins remembers two beautiful sights he will always keep in his memory…the first was seeing the moon upclose…it was huge with the light of the sun behind it cascading to the front of the moon in what looked like a golden “halo.” Just when he thought he couldn’t see anything more beautiful…he turned around and saw this tiny object far off in the distance…it was Earth…it was home!

Beside the American flag being left behind…a plaque, was also left, that read:

“Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”

When I read that plaque again for the first time in a long time…it really got to me…because ironically these three brave aerial pioneers would soon return home to Earth…where peace no longer existed for too many of its millions of inhabitants. My brother, Ben, didn’t say anything but being home (just a few weeks from his tour in Vietnam)…he probably felt the irony more than the rest of us.

We might have “come in peace”…but sadly man has yet to “keep the peace” on Earth. (Probably a good thing we didn’t stick around too long on the moon!)

Soon after the module landed in the Pacific Ocean On July 24, 1969..all three astronauts took a world tour and Mike Collins said that what really touched him was that no matter in what part of the world they traveled…the crowds cheered “WE DID IT!” And as inhabitants of Earth they had.

So until tomorrow…I don’t think we have to wait until Christmas to sing and talk about “Peace on Earth” …Instead perhaps we should ask the moon to send its beautiful beams to fall softly on the inhabitants of Earth…showing us the light of peace amid the darkness of destruction.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Thank you Doodle for the fridge magnet!!!!

Have you picked up your commemorative Oreo’s yet?

Has anyone had this famous drink?

The Moon Walk – Joe Gilmore, legendary Head Barman at the Savoy Hotel’s American Bar in London, invented this cocktail in 1969 to commemorate the first moon landing. The drink—a combination of grapefruit, orange liqueur, and a hint of rosewater, topped with Champagne—was the first thing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin sipped upon returning to earth.

Dear Reader:

Fifty years…fifty years? How can that be so? I was home from college watching this once in a lifetime event with mother, David, and Ben…who had been home from Vietnam just a couple of months. We all sat in complete awe and disbelief on July 20th, 1969. A knock on the door broke the spell of the moment…I forgot I had a date. We had backed it up until Neil Armstrong said his famous words…”that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

My good friend Jerry, neighborhood boy, had just graduated from the Citadel and he brought his roommate home for a few days before he was to report for military duty. He asked me if I would go out with him and his own date. He told me Julian was shy so not to be offended if he didn’t talk much….but with all the excitement of watching the moon walk….none of us could hardly get a word in saying…”Did you see this or that….wasn’t it so cool”

I remember us getting ice cream and driving to the golf course where we could see the moon better…laughing far into the night at this amazing feat of American pioneer spirit. When Julian walked me back to the porch…I teased him….telling him Jerry had told me he was shy and didn’t talk much…apparently I witnessed another Julian ….He grinned and replied…“You just got me on a good day.” 

I heard later he was in Vietnam but lost track of him after my neighbor moved away…but for one special moment in my youth…I will always remember a wonderful night of American patriotism and pride, ice cream, and a new perspective on the “Old Man in the Moon.” Now he had company…Neil Armstrong.

My wonderful friend, Jo, sent me her memories of this event ….now and in July of 1969 as fellow history teachers…lovers of history. But they were too good not to share….*and please if any of you are willing to share your memories of July 20, 1969… please do.

“Just had to share this with someone who appreciates history as much as I do.  Last night, I watched ” Eight Days with Apollo 11″ on ETV.  It went through all eight days of the flight that carried the first man to the moon.  I remember 50 years ago on July 20th when I kept my six year old Kelly up to watch history being made.  She doesn’t remember much about it, but I told her then, “Someday you can tell your grandchildren , “I saw that”. 

“As I watched Wednesday night, I found myself holding my breath just as I did then.  I am still just as amazed as I was then.  I do hope technology has not taken away the wonderful feeling of amazement from our future generations.  Oh I know, there are so many more things man and his robots will invent and do, but I want to see that feeling of “awe” in our young people.”

“I say to my grandsons, “Those cars are driving themselves!!!” and I barely get a nod.  Really nature amazes me.  I watch birds and the things they do, and I say to myself, “Now how could anyone not believe there is a God, Creator?  Things just can’t happen like that.”  Okay, I stand amazed at so many things, and as Forest said, “Now that’s all I’m going to say about that.”

So until tomorrow…I think we only grow old when we no longer wonder or stand in awe at the mysteries of the universe and life. …And Jo, “...that’s all I’m going to say about that.” 🙂

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was Camp Boo Boo! Rutledge has been attending several community day camps and Vacation Bible Schools this summer…until this week- the calendar was empty…so he signed up for Camp Boo Boo. It was a week rolled into one day…we gave it all we had…and then some. I got a high “ten” for the effort.

When I looked up the words “Boo Boo Camp” I had to laugh…pictures of Yogi Bear and Boo Boo in Jellystone Park  flashed on….There are even real Boo Boo cabins.

Even without a cabin…Rutledge was into camp….as soon as he arrived we planned the day’s itinerary to include everything a camp would do and …..more! When Rutledge managed to hook a stuffed animal with “the claw” and four quarters in the arcade machine (normally one never can grab a stuffed animal) Rutledge returned grinning with his stuffed bear and a ‘paw print’ strangely resembling Boo Boo the bear!

We started out in the back yard where Rutledge climbed the tree house, went swinging on the tree rope….and then we drove to the park for Rutledge to continue his camp “obstacle course”…he passed with no effort what so ever…everything that had been too challenging about a year and a half before at the park was a breeze now at age 6. He passed with flying colors!

We took time out for music (always important at camp) which Rutledge provided with his ukulele .

We stopped briefly at the train store and chowed down at Groucho’s before we headed to the movies…PETS 2! (Adorable!) I used to always love movie night at camp, didn’t you?

It might be summer with summer camps but that doesn’t mean reading isn’t included in the curriculum. I took Rutledge to the Timrod Library to show him one of the oldest private/membership libraries in South Carolina….its origin dating back to the 1890’s. Rutledge is into history and studying old objects…he loved the library!

When we got home from the movies…Rutledge found an old trunk in what used to be his dad, Walsh’s bedroom….we couldn’t open the trunk but Luke stopped by and helped us….Rutledge was thrilled! He discovered more Summerville football jerseys, signed baseballs, and pictures of his dad playing sports at about his age. Rutledge was on Cloud Nine.

After supper we headed to Barnes and Noble where we met mom who was picking up Rutledge from camp….what a day!

We saw an Eloise wall sketch in the children’s section….just like our little Eloise!

Rutledge taught me the basics of chess….he said he had learned it at school…love it when the student becomes the teacher.

We can’t have camp without smores….the boy behind the deli counter in Barnes and Noble said he could make us a drink that tasted like Smores...deliciously close enough to bring closure to Camp Boo Boo.

Rutledge graduated with honors!

What a day!

So until tomorrow….Simple moments always become priceless memories!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday, was memorable in so many ways. Ted and Brooke made it back down from the mountains where they had innocently headed out almost a month ago for some family reunion only to end up in rehab for three weeks. So happy the Parkers are home again…Welcome home Brooke and Ted!

Libby accompanied her daughter Betsy to MUSC  (yesterday) for her annual check-up from the surgeon who operated on her  thyroid cancer…she is still officially cancer free…still she must stay on many heavy medicines to assume producing what her parathyroids would have normally done until their removal …but what the heck…Betsy is doing great! Libby is so relieved and happy!

Home again for the Parkers, great report on Betsy, happy mom Libby, and Camp Boo with Rutledge….what a glorious day yesterday was!

Rutledge and I didn’t sing Yum Bah Yah to end the day at Camp Boo…but the little ‘bird chapel of hope’ and the solar lights ended the day perfectly anyway.

Dear Reader:

As a teacher we were always encouraged to instruct to the individual …meeting each student’s needs… over simply throwing out information to the class as a whole and letting it fall where it may. Since we know that God doesn’t make two individuals alike…we also know and recognize that we all learn differently…some of us are predominantly visual learners, some audio, and some “hands-on.”

I would let my students select projects that fit their particular learning style instead of making every student conform to just one set of directions and application for an end of the unit summation.

Another phrase that was quite popular when I taught was the importance of  “Creating life-time learners.” This is still true but now I see it as more of a spiritual endeavor  than just a quest for pure knowledge.

In this month’s Awakin.Org …”Hazrat Inayat Khan says, “A study of life is the greatest of all religions, and there is no greater or more interesting study.” The more I examined this sentence in my mind the more I realized where the author was coming from. It also matched a reader who had responded to the article with this insight…”

“Real religion awakens us to awareness that there is one Creation of which every thing and every being is a part. It awakens us to awareness that all things and all beings, including human beings, are unique expressions of one Creation, totally interconnected and interrelated, not separate. This is what the study of life teaches us…and for me… my unique learning style in this life course revolves around nature…seeing God through nature.” (David Doane)

Another responder, Jagdish Dave, agreed with Doane’s learning style of nature which, also,  eloquently expressed my exact sentiments.

“I experience the religion of nature when I am fully present to hearing the sounds of nature, to feeling the touch of wind, to smelling flowers and to watching the movements of the sun, the moon, and the stars. I feel oneness between me and nature. And that to me is a religious experience.” (Dave)

Since my garden was created… a sanctuary for my innermost feelings has also appeared within its perimeter… calling me in the early mornings and waning evenings. It is my God-given sacred ground to ponder and study life through God’s gift to us through nature. (Or as Archibald Rutledge, SC Poet Laureate, once wrote…nature is one of “Life’s Extras.” )

When Michael arrived yesterday to cut the grass, trim the bushes, and cut branches off the trees, I asked if he could help me dig up Mandy’s stepping stones she made for me (in her art classroom with the kiln) the year the garden was started. Over the years they had sunk so low in the ground they were almost completely buried.

I was afraid they would break digging them out but the nice thing about “home/kiln”-made stepping stones is that they last forever. Michael and I carried them to one of the long wooden garden benches. While he worked in the yard I scrubbed and cleaned the stepping stones with stiff brushes, cleaning products, and peroxide. I was so excited when we placed them back along the path leading to the front garden …they looked brand new. (title photo)

Isn’t that what God does every day for us? He provides stepping stones to show us the way, to give us direction in our study of life. He wants all of us to get an “A+” at the end of our ‘study.’ The only way to be successful is to experience every phase and sphere of life…the good, bad, and ugly.

Saturday as I watched Mandy working with Jakie…how to float on his back… keeping his head pulled completely back…thus pulling up his legs with his arms at his side… he was completely relaxed…but only as long as Mandy had her arms under his back. Sometimes she only had a finger touching the center of his back…but it was enough to reassure him. Take away that light flutter of a finger sensation and he immediately started sinking.

As I watched I realized that God is trying to show us the same thing about His constant presence…even if we can’t feel His physical touch. He is there cheering us on…to become a floater of trust and hope to others.

So until tomorrow…Life is the greatest teacher…take every course you can find…the more courses you take…the clearer your path becomes.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Sanctuary of  “Life’s Extras”

Every morning that Sammy the Cardinal comes to see me…is the start of an especially good day…He doesn’t drink out of the hummingbird feeder but he likes to perch on top and chirp until I get near the window…he glances at me and then takes off…I love this photo taken yesterday….I got his profile…like he was posing and waiting on me.

Dear Reader:

Late yesterday afternoon I went to my bedroom “office” to start today’s blog and sat there wondering what it would be about…I honestly don’t know until I start typing. I am just as curious as anyone else.

Suddenly I heard a loud boom of thunder from off in the distance…while it was still sunny right outside my window. Curiously I grabbed my IPhone and headed out to my bench. From there I saw it… between the tree branches…the deep dark bluish-black skies rolling in. I felt chills go down my back. Mother Nature is so beautiful while being so powerful simultaneously.

I took the title photo and edited it while still sitting on the bench. When I heard my name I looked up and Susan, another neighbor, was walking her dog and she had spotted me…trotting over. She asked me what I was doing…and I told her how much I loved summer thunder storms.

I told her that our other neighbor, Vickie, loved the fresh smell of the rain falling from the sky during a thunderstorm…it was her favorite smell. She always texted me when she smelled a thunderstorm approaching…as if on cue my IPhone pinged and we laughed together.

I then went on to quickly summarize the true story I have printed two or three times in the blog for you over the years from an old Readers Digest magazine.

In summary…A little baby girl was born prematurely and very little hope was held out by the doctors that she would make it or if she did…she would have brain damage, as well as, physical handicaps. Facing this dire prognosis her parents never gave up….her mother sat by the incubator, day after day, with all the wires going in and out of her child…simply wishing she could hold the teeny tiny body in her arms so the child could feel the tremendous outpouring of love she had for her.

Miraculously the child survived…with no brain damage and minimal physical restrictions. One day, when she was about five, she and her mother were at the ball park watching her older brother practicing when a boom of thunder was heard and felt by the shaking bleachers. The coaches began whistling for the boys to come in off the field…while parents and siblings began climbing down from the bleachers.

Suddenly the mother realized the little girl was still sitting on the top bleacher with her arms spread wide open and the biggest smile of happiness on her face. The lightning was getting closer and yet the little girl paid no attention to her mother’s verbal warning to get down immediately.

As rain began to fall the mother ran back up to the top of the bleachers as the child hugged herself and laughed and laughed. Frantic with worry the mother asked her child what was going on…why wasn’t she listening to her. By now the rain was soaking both of them but still the child squealed with delight.

Finally she said…”Do you smell it mommy?” The fresh rain!” Her mother suddenly realized something bigger than a thunder storm was going on in her child’s mind.

“What about the smell?” her mother asked quietly.

“It’s God, mommy!” When He held me on His lap when I was a baby God smelled like fresh rain!”

Her mother hugged the child and now understood that all those months she prayed and begged to be able to hold her little girl…God was doing it for her.

I finished by telling Susan that I have never forgotten that story and every time I smell ( like Vickie) that wonderful fresh smell of summer rain…I remember it is also being the smell of God and smile.

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So until tomorrow…For me this was a magic moment yesterday…to share a story that Susan and Vickie (told it to her years ago) will always associate with the smell of God.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Another magic moment happened Saturday afternoon when Jakie, Mandy, and I were looking at the pond and watching a group of ducks swimming together. Three took off at one time…leaving one duck behind. I managed to get this photo before it, too, joined the others…I love the reflection in the water.

Dear Reader:

Just like one letter can take “Hope” and turn it into “Hoe” 🙂 with a missing “P” …one quick second (between inhaling and exhaling) with our first breath of air…is when the miracle of life begins.

In one second, for another example, I grabbed a flower planter and put it on the front porch steps to get the strangest little rain shower that popped up for about twenty minutes yesterday… while the sun was still out.

As soon as I put the planter back in its rightful place on the porch…a little daisy, that had been struggling to survive, popped open. One second (of putting it in a position to drink the rain)…and life was restored.

The miracle of life that takes place everywhere, everyday, on our planet…from hospitals, to tents, to homes and every place in between…IS the most important second in each of our lives. It takes place with that first intake of air into our lungs. What a strange baffling sensation that must be to our small, still undeveloped, nervous system.

None of us remember it at birth…but later as mothers or family members helping with child-bearing…we remember holding our own breaths until we hear the startled gasp and then  cry of a beloved child. The most beautiful sound on earth.

Haven’t many of us have fallen or had the air knocked out of us…perhaps while playing a sport? It is the most terrifying second in our lives…not be able to catch our breath. In that moment of frightening disbelief… air and life become one and the same. We would give away everything we possessed just to get our breath back again…to feel life one more time.

Today all types of meditation classes have us stop and practice breathing since we spend most of our time taking it for granted. We discover that deep breaths, not only enlighten us, but open us up to a level of awareness not recognized with shallow breaths on a daily basis.

Think about breathing in relation to the most important benchmarks in our lives. The first question asked in an emergency situation is: “Is the person breathing?” It is also often the first question asked about newborns and the last one asked about the dying.

But the most important question we must ask ourselves each day when we rise is…how am I going to help someone today between all my inhales and exhales? How can I help make the world just a little bit better for having been in it?

If we find ourselves hard pressed to answer the question…then we must face the next one. “Are we contributing to this old world or are we simply taking up space by breathing and little else?”

So until tomorrow…Like oxygen and carbon dioxide…we must find that perfect balance in life between taking in all of life’s beautiful gifts it has to offer and then releasing all our own unique God-given gifts to help as many others as we can… before we take that last breath.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

I spent Saturday night at John and Mandy’s keeping the children while they “escaped” for some much needed adult conversation time. But that left me free to listen to a four-year old and and nine-year-old share the world according to both of them….wonder and curiosity.

Jake always wondered why girls got to paint their finger nails and boys didn’t…so (while Eva Cate giggled hysterically) I painted Jake’s finger nails too…he loved them and proudly wore the polish Saturday night and Sunday as we explored the inside and outside world together.

Eva Cate went with Clemson colors…orange on her finger nais and purple on her toes!

At last a meal without having to jump up every few seconds to get something for the children…and adult conversation without interruptions. Summertime and the ice cream truck…best childhood memories.

Dear Reader:

I usually stop a couple of times a week and go through the mail that needs more time to read and make decisions about…rather to keep or throw away. Time management requires some time but I am getting better at categorizing the flood of daily mail that can pile up quickly if I put it off to read another day. Suddenly too many “other days” have passed and a mountain of mail is sitting on the desk.

One piece of mail (to arrive this past week) was a small envelope from Special Olympics for South Carolina….I give annually to this worthy endeavor but I make myself check my stubs to see just when I sent the check so I am not writing repeat “annual” checks to different organizations under Special Olympics over and over… thinking I didn’t pay the first time.

When I opened the envelope the familiar student drawing (title picture) was on the card and a smaller card within… displaying options on how to give. It was when I turned the outside envelope over that I saw these words”

“Thank you for accepting people as they are.”

This made me pause. In the present climate today of mounting intolerance towards different peoples, cultures, religions, and just simply different opinions…acceptance is not something we can automatically take for granted.

As a history teacher…pictures, videos, and heartbreaking stories of intolerance in our country (that was built on the ideals of tolerance and acceptance of diversity) bring too many similar scenarios from past histories in different countries.

Like Mark Twain once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself…but it rhymes.”  As a mother and grandmother,  an  American history teacher…the rhymes are coming at alarming speed. My concerns are not about me…but the world my children and grandchildren will live in.

Will it be a world of indifference and ‘look the other way’ attitudes…or a world of kindness, caring, and acceptance. If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. Strength lies in diversity, not similarities.

So until tomorrow… Hopefully…the best thing to come out of all the turmoil we are witnessing today, is to awaken people to the realization that “We, the People are the government and it is our responsibility to be vigilant in preserving the rights of the people to continue to have a voice in maintaining core values in a country built on them.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

I have to admit that the fastest growing things in the yard and garden today are the weeds…all two feet tall of them….(Michael, where are you?)

With the mixture of rain and sunshine we have had lately, my weeds, that I like to call grass (until they are over my head) are happy indeed.

Still my plants are blooming and not in the least bothered by the weeds.

Dear Reader:

Before we get to the “invisible” people in our daily lives…let me share the mystery around the invisible “letter” that disappeared. I went out on the deck yesterday morning and the “P” in HOPE was simply gone.

For the first time in over a week it hadn’t rained so it wasn’t due to a storm or anything…the tacks were still “intact” that had been holding it yet no cloth letter was anywhere to be seen…under the table…on the grass outside the railing…I even looked under the deck in that section…nothing. So now I am left with “HOE.”

It can be defined as a gardening tool used to break up dirt or as the urban dictionary defines it…  a “promiscuous” person who believes having sex with only one person…means one at a time.   *So obviously I must get a new “P” back in HOPE… quickly! 🙂

Psychology Today says there is an epidemic of “invisible” people growing in our society with dire consequences.

To be quite honest…it is only now in this stage of my life that I am becoming more acutely aware of the growing number of “invisible” people I encounter on a daily basis. Why? Because I have been given the most precious gift of “time” with my retirement years. This allows me the opportunity to really study people more completely while going about my daily errands.

Sadly the news media today is filled with stories of people (of all ages and backgrounds) who always felt invisible to society and ended up either taking their own lives…truly believing no one would even notice they were gone or taking out their anger against a society who never included them in it…with killing sprees and senseless other acts of violence.

If we take time to really observe the faces of people who work in ‘behind-the-scenes’ kinds of jobs (meat cutters, night time janitorial services, third shift maintenance jobs, late night delivery employment)…or even people we see in broad daylight in a variety of service positions, we can see the lost look (of lack of societal inclusion) in their eyes.

Feeling excluded is one of the worst feelings in the world. Haven’t we all experienced this terrible feeling at some point in our lives or at least feared it would be so? Perhaps we were at a new school where we knew no one, or on a team where we felt left out or unaccepted? It might have been at a social event like a dance where no one asked us to dance…we felt completely humiliated and alienated at the same time.

This is why it is so important that we all take time to speak ( make an upbeat comment or compliment) to a cashier, food server, cleaning staff personnel, a sad-looking teenage grocery bagger, delivery men/women, repair men, receptionists, etc. Long after these people have finished their daily, thankless job…your comment to them or compliment, particularly a word of thanks for their work ethic, will go a long way in helping them feel appreciated on a personal and positional basis.

So until tomorrow… “Smile at strangers and you just might change a life.” – Steve Maraboli

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

My neighbor Jane’s Texas Star hibiscus  is blooming proudly!

But the recent showers have my Confederate Rose growing in amazing leaps and bounds…can hardly wait till Fall to see the beautiful white, pink, and red blooms. A new flag welcomes all visitors to the garden…the other flag had faded with all the summer sunshine.

I got the most beautiful comment to the blog post “Mirroring our Behavior…” Lynn told about her breast cancer experience and I believe Ann…y’all share similar feelings…I know she shares mine. Thanks for taking the time to leave this thought-provoking personal message Lynn!

What a very beautiful story. It will be my inspiration for the rest of this week…possibly even for the rest of my life! And yes, I’ve been there on the long journey of breast cancer with many watching as I walked through my many months of surgery; chemotherapy and radiation….and beyond all this to further check-ups and doctor’s visits.

I wonder what they saw, felt or sensed? Hopefully those standing by sensed the peace beyond understanding which my Father gave me; the strength beyond compare that was poured out upon me; the joy that I found on that journey despite the doubt and despair that sometimes tried to knock on my heart’s door….and did they see and realize I was walking and not faltering and falling only because it was my compassionate and loving Father who carried me!