Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

As I walked through my garden after the luscious rains had departed late Tuesday afternoon there was my little hydrangea that has hung in there for about three seasons now…not doing much…but here it was with beautiful green leaves, its thirst quenched by the recent rain… looking spectacular.

All I could think of was the line in today’s blog post title…”Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.” (Theodore Roethke)  I do believe this hydrangea withdrew back into the darkness of winter and metaphorically lit a little candle to remember the light, above the ground , and with faith and trust  is now emerging through the ground once again, climbing the stems… back into the light.

Aren’t we like this little hydrangea? We are born with this beautiful light glowing within us…we simply are and we accept life as small children with the confidence that we are the light and that is enough. Like the flowers our roots hold the light. We can still find them if we look. The light is the life force that makes us grow.

Sadly, however, as we grow older we start complicating things by comparing ourselves to others instead of realizing “We Already Are.”

You Already Are: Further Than You Realize, Stronger Than You Believe, and More Incredible Than You Know

What we are truly looking for is the place…the original light where we all began. We need to take time to shed all the unnecessary layers that surround us in our daily lives and return to seed where life exists and our roots still hold the light and memory between the other world we left to live on earth and where we will one day return.

We need to let the light along our path simply take us back to whom we were…when everything was fresh, when the world was for exploring and we didn’t know anything besides an open heart.

And that is the beauty of surrounding yourself with small children who haven’t lost their innocence and inner light to comparisons. I do believe that is why Jesus said, ““Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  They still feel the light.

The old Protestant church paintings of Jesus surrounded by children (with one child on his lap) could be found in every Sunday School class I attended as a small child. There was always something so comforting about that picture.

This was the “man”  I came to love…as I sang “Jesus Loves Me” as loudly, joyfully, and off-key as I could each Sunday in Sunday School. *Secretly I longed to be the chosen child…the one who got to sit on His lap…I still do. 🙂

So until tomorrow…When we realize we are enough just the way we are…then we should spread this good news to others because we all are loved as God’s children unconditionally.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Tuesday evening…April 2 with temps in the forties…I have a fire…very unusual for April in the lowcountry.

*And speaking of keeping an “open heart” in KindSpring, random acts of kindness, a beautiful story (Heart Pillows for Open Heart Patients) was told earlier this week about an open heart patient who discovered something that he could give back to the thousands of heart patients who followed him.

Before surgery one patient was told to watch some hospital videos on the procedure he was about to undergo. In one video he saw some heart pillows being given out and was excited about getting his…until he didn’t. When he asked about the reason why, it had been cut from the hospital budget but one could be purchased in the gift shop….which his daughter did and he loved it…more for the security and comfort it brought than anything else.

He even bought two more for fellow patients in his ward undergoing surgery around the same time as himself.

He decided to try to find out where the pillows were made so he could purchase some more for future patients. He ran into all kinds of stumbling blocks…hospital authorities told him that they could no longer have cloth on them because they could cause infection if they fell off the bed onto the floor, etc.

Finally he tried one last medical supply company and they had come up with vinyl pillows…Bingo…hope at last. In the meantime he had started volunteering at the hospital in the open heart surgical wing and become a well-known face there.

He finally got granted a meeting to present his findings to the hospital authorities, to tell his story, and then let them know what it would take to give each patient one of these heart pillows for more physical and emotional comfort. The committee agreed to the presentation and today these pillows are given out to all open heart patients. It just took a little perseverance and well…heart!

Source: grammie9909 (KindSpring)

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was such a “magical” day in so many ways…the results of my white cell blood count had risen…still low but no longer “critically low.” Staying off Ibrance (“The New Normal”) cancer medicine for three weeks did the trick. It was the first time my white cell count has risen out of the “critically low” category to low normal in over a year. Hallelujah! (And I feel the difference…not “hitting the wall” like I once did in total exhaustion.)

My IBrance daily dosage was lowered and in three weeks we will see if that has helped maintain the white cell count or if we need to switch to another cancer medication because of this challenging side effect…but for right now..I am just happy to have moved up a notch. * I really think having the foot wound healed has taken some stress off the immune system and it can use its reserve elsewhere now.

On the way home I drove around Tea Farm, the neighborhood next to mine… stopping to pull over at the “magic” spot where the fairies live :)…complete with mushrooms, hollow trees and pretty flowers. I think I must have gotten some pixie dust on me because all of a sudden I was seeing “magic” everywhere.

First I looked at my back yard neighbors’ trees shining in the late afternoon sun…sparkling like diamonds…gorgeous! How many people can see this scenery every day of their lives? How blessed I am!

*Research shows that “simply spending time near or gazing at trees can relieve stress, lower our heart rates, help us heal faster and improve our mental and emotional health.” The Magic of Trees- Tess Whitehurst

Then the magic…with the late sun’s rays hitting my grandsons’ Japanese Maples underneath the leaves…the cool red leaves on top burst into flames as the sun hit the back of each leaf. (same tree branch)

The same thing happened with the Confederate Rose bush (slowly coming back from its winter nap.) No hocus pocus...simply the magic of the sun’s rays hitting the leaves from different angles turning sunbeams (reflecting off the leaves) into instant technicolor!

I continued walking around just breathing in the cool crisp air…it felt like fall yesterday…rejuvenating! I kept shooting the photos from underneath the plants and trees upward towards the sun…a different perspective of beauty…like in these two red tips (given to me by Doodle for my birthday years and years ago!)

And speaking of “magic” Jakie  is “consumed” with cars so he was in “car heaven” at Disney World at the Magic Kingdom during spring break with his family. It was the annual flower show exhibition time there (my favorite) and “Mater” from the movie Cars had been made into a topiary! Mandy said it was actually cool in Florida…jeans and jacket weather…but packed with spring breaks going on all around the country!

Sharon Joyce found the perfect verses from Scripture to go along with the theme from yesterday’s blog on “Biomimicry”…returning to nature to solve modern problems. *Thank you so much Sharon!!!:)

Job 12:7-10 New International Version (NIV)

Dear Reader:

I don’t know if any of you saw the segment on CBS Sunday Morning News about Biomimicry...the study of finding solutions to present-day problems from nature…thus creating new innovations… I was fascinated!

In the title photo…the study of jelly fish and the way their tentacles fan out to ensnare plankton inspired a specialized filter that can capture cancer cells in blood. Isn’t this amazing?

It doesn’t stop there, however. When the Japanese created its first bullet train (travels over 300 mph) there were some glitches…mainly the booming sound as the train left the exit tunnels. It scared the wits out of people and affected nature and animals negatively also.

One day a Japanese bird-watching engineer (Nakatsu) watched a kingfisher diving for fish and marveled at the smooth transition into the water at high speeds…hardly a ripple and no sound. With continued research on how the kingfisher was able to do this…(the design of its beak in relationship to the head)…the problems with the bullet train were solved.

When George de Mistral was hiking in the Alps burs kept sticking to his clothes and his dog’s hair. He took some home to study them and what made them able to stick to objects for long periods of time (unless physically removed) and the innovation from this study was ultimately… Velcro.

Even though clothing industries shied away from Velcro initially NASA immediately saw the benefits for their program and off it took!

Buzz Aldrin showing off his Velcro watch band to Neil Armstrong

Janine Benyus was one of the first scientists to document these innovative ideas stemming back to nature itself.

She takes us into the lab and out in the field with cutting-edge researchers as they stir vats of proteins to unleash their computing power; analyse how electrons zipping around a leaf cell convert sunlight into fuel in trillionths of a second; discover miracle drugs by watching what chimps eat when they’re sick; study the hardy prairie as a model for low-maintenance agriculture; and more.

“When I look at a tree, I think now that it’s a pretty amazing chemistry operation going on, silently,”  author Benyus says.

But while the scientific field might be new, there’s nothing new about being inspired by nature.

“We need new ideas,” Benyus admits to match the resources.

Correspondent Faith Salie said, “So what you’re saying is, the newest ideas are the oldest ideas, and they’ve been there all along?”

“Exactly!“By one estimate, biologically-inspired innovations could contribute $425 billion to the country’s gross domestic product by 2030.

The irony in this revelation is how man must reconsider who and what is the smartest way to find solutions to make the world a better place…by using what earth has given us since life appeared on it (millions of years of testing) or keeping on trying to make up new innovations without our planet’s input.

After all…the plants and animals we learn solutions from to solve our daily problems would no longer exist if these same obstacles hadn’t already been solved. They would be extinct.

When I am sickened and saddened at the mess we have made of God’s gift to us environmentally…our home on Earth…movements like this give me hope. There still are researchers and just ordinary people who are curious enough and filled with wonder enough to return to our greatest source…God’s gift to us. The answers have been there all the time. Another example of not seeing what is right in front of us. God must chuckle a lot over this.

So until tomorrow…God fill us with the wonder of your world and help us see the answers to so many of our own on-going problems that  lie within our proximity to discover solutions in the most mundane parts of life.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*And speaking of going back to basics for answers…it is my trusty little rabbit of old with one eye and one broken ear who has taught me that when one gets low on faith…perseverance can take the lead until our faith is restored.

So on this first day of the month, of April, the Easter month…say “Rabbit” first thing this morning and then have a wonderful amazing month. It is even starting off with a strong chance of April showers here which we earnestly need  in the low country…a good sign.

It is also April Fool’s Day and I have blood lab work scheduled this morning…but I am looking for improving results and no pranks popping up…Happy April everyone!

Congratulations Rutledge (Left) for being selected Student of the Month at Phillip Simmons School! So proud of you!!!!

Dear Reader:

*It happened…March 29, 2019. I was officially released from the Comprehensive Wound Center/East Cooper Hospital Annex after almost six months of treatments! It was bittersweet leaving so many friends behind but I was so ready!

I just have to wear a new compression sock for a few short weeks with a very small bandage to protect the new covering and then I am on my way. Unless a problem arises I do not return to the wound center. No more sixty mile round trips each Friday. The wound is completely healed…but it will take a little time for the outer epidermis to cover this fragile first layer…thus the compression/little bandage for protection.

I walked just a few blocks around the neighborhood upon returning from Mt. Pleasant (where I have been the last two days) as a type of personal celebration. And I was rewarded with so much beauty.

Remember the new bird feeder I was so excited about….well, no more! I have not seen one bird on it…only squirrels swinging back and forth like trapeze artists. So I went to Home Depot and bought some special bird seed (the hot stuff) that birds like and is harmless to them but squirrels do not like and it burns their mouths (supposedly)….only to watch squirrel after squirrel stuffing their faces with it…do you think I have “Latino” squirrels?

Don’t you love these wedding guest environmental “surcies” given by the bride and groom for attending this wedding….bird treats in the shape of hearts? What a perfect gift as a thank you for attending a benchmark moment in two people’s lives.

Jo Dufford sent me some sample stories from a rapidly popular growing news network called “Good News for a Change.” Instead of having to wait until the last three minutes of national broadcasts for something to lift your spirits…this network provides upbeat personal stories of people unselfishly giving to others and making a positive difference in this world.

Some examples Jo Dufford sent me were things like:

1. A middle school implemented a “Breakfast with Dad’s” program but few dad’s arrived…some couldn’t make it because of work hours or shift work…others because there was were no dads in the family unit. So the school called out on Facebook that they needed 50 “volunteer” fathers…600 “Dad’s” from all races and backgrounds showed up

.  

2. In Barbados every citizen who makes it to a 100 years of age is honored by a postal stamp with their picture on it. So deserving…what a great idea…better than a jar of jelly.

3.  A daughter sent in a picture to the news network explaining that her father sprinkled bird seed in the shape of a heart early each morning and then waited for the birds to arrive so that his wife could see the bird covered shaped heart each and every morning in the court yard…his gift of love to her.

I take “heart” about the sad state of affairs in our country today and in the news when  Ken Burns ( Award-Winning ETV documentary producer) points out that we all must remember that …“The one thing that unites us is our shared history“…courageous ancestors who sacrificed all for a better life in this new country for the next generation. Americans can find grit and backbone in their ancestry for the simple reason that someone in the past made the courageous decision to leave a place they were born in, knew, and loved for a better life for those who would follow.

I wish sometimes I could call back my ancestors to reassure me that we will get through these troubled times like they did…that in the end “It will be alright.” I pray it is for my children and their children’s lives as they go forward in these uncertain times.

In the meantime I am going to offset as much bad news as I can with good news now…stories of people helping people continuing to make America great while re-enforcing that Americans, at heart, are good, kind, generous, accepting people. And that is good news.

Until tomorrow…”In God We Trust.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOODLE! THE MATRIARCH OF THE DINGLE CLAN… WHOSE GENEROSITY AND KINDNESS IS ONLY EXCEEDED BY HER LOVE.

One example of this generosity (just recently) was Doodle sending some fun old toys of her now grown daughters to Walsh and Mollie’s children to play with…and they loved them…including Eloise…a slinky, binoculars, GI Joe dolls, a pop-gun…Don’t you love it when toys of the past make as big a hit now as they did then?

Walsh and I took the children out Friday night to the Wando Grill where good old fun continued…hoola-hoops…and the food was great too!

Saturday started early…first with Lachlan getting his yellow(striped) karate belt, then his soccer game, followed by Rutledge’s soccer game…we did it somehow and everyone was a trooper including Eloise because she adores her big brothers…wherever they are…that is where she wants to be.

“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in- what more could he ask? A few flowers at this feet and above him the stars.” Victor Hugo (Les Miserables)

Dear Reader:

This is a quote that somehow escaped me reading Les Miserables in my French high school class (I wasn’t into gardens or stars back then)..but now I immediately think to myself…How true! What more could anyone want than flowers at their feet and stars above him or her?

*** Except discovering wisteria and my orange trumpet vine blooming at the same time…above me! Be still my pattering heart! (Title photo)

I think I can, also, finally answer that age old economics question about wants and needs.…the needs for life are still the same…. food, clothing, and shelter...but my wants have changed so much.

Hugo nailed it. “Flowers at my feet and stars above me”…that would be my answer for wants today.

I thought about the word ‘immensity’ (“immensity to dream in”) meaning  something of massive extent or unending vastness. In other words…something HUGE! As a child I thought to myself that cleaning up my room…a weekly Saturday morning rule, was an “immensity of a chore.” (even if I didn’t know the word.)

As we grow into adulthood…”immensity” changes doesn’t it? The immensity of life’s obstacles and challenges changes throughout each stage of life. We soon come to realize that most “immensity” falls into emotional or spiritual categories rather than physical.

Last Thursday I wandered around  Flowertown Nursery as if I were a princess in a fairy tale. There were budding trees, plants, and flowers as far as the eye could see. The crazy thought crossed my mind that I would like to build a tiny cottage right in the middle of the nursery and live there happily ever after.

I would never have to worry about saving up to buy another plant or bush to re-plant in my garden but just live within the “immensity” of this nursery of beautiful foliage and unwavering beauty.

Here are some photos I took while admiring all the new plants coming in by the truckloads while I was there. Pink and white striped mandevillas…spring mist, the dogwoods are just starting to bloom …gorgeous against any background…and

… look at this “Genie” Magnolia bloom…takes one’s breath away!!!

When I got home however, Michael Salvo, my wonderful fireman/lawn maintenance friend had come and gone…leaving everything in the yard and garden looking so clean and fresh.  I decided right then that I didn’t need a fairy tale “Cinderella” nursery home…. I had everything I needed right here…flowers beneath my feet and stars above me.

See for yourself…

The boys’ Japanese Maples have definitely “skunked” the girls this year in starting their blooming stage earlier. As fate would have it the boys ended up all getting Red Japanese Maples while Eva Cate and Eloise have the green Japanese Maples…that bloom a little later in the spring. The early bloom on the green maples are so pretty…like this first bud opening on Eva Cate’s tree. Eloise’s tree is still waiting for a little bud…but it will come. It just got planted last year.

I am actually at Walsh and Mollie’s today. Mollie is at a conference with Beauty Counter and I came over after my foot appointment yesterday to spend the night and help Walsh tomorrow keeping Eloise while the boys have soccer games today. Will tell you all about the appointment when I return…the secret lies within. ”

So until tomorrow… “May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.” 

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I went to the mailbox and had a letter from Beverly Parkinson…our talented note card creator and loyal blog reader. Her mother is in the process of throwing out lots of old magazines…one being the Victoria. Beverly happened to glance through it and found this wonderful article on a daughter’s tribute to her father who taught seventh grade history for almost thirty years.

Beverly said she immediately thought of me. As I read the article I was filled with such a connection of nostalgia about my time in the classroom with eighth grade history students. I especially liked the part where she said her father would introduce the Presidents to her and her mother at every meal and tell one interesting fact about a President. (I did that for almost 30 years too.)

*For as long as her father lived…he would call her up on January 7 and ask his daughter what day it was. Claire knew…Millard Fillmore…she never got one wrong.

Her father was a very popular teacher and being a handsome man always had the seventh grade female students giggling and flirting with him. They had crushes on him for thirty years. His daughter thought it was hilarious. He was just dad to her. But for years when she went to sign her name to something…the first question from the banker or sales clerk was…”Your father isn’t John Whitcomb is he? I had him for seventh grade history and just loved him”!!

At the end of the article Claire and her dad (1988) co-authored a book about their love of history called “Oh Say Can You See” Unexpected Anecdotes about American History and Great American Anecdotes.” (I found one still in circulation and ordered it)

One interesting tidbit in the magazine article caught my attention since I was the “Queen of Trivia” too and yet never heard this story…that Paul Revere rowed across Boston bay at midnight with oars muffled by “petticoats.”  I had to find out more about this and found it in another fascinating article that gives us all room for thought about our ancestry.

The story was in a blog –Find My Past by Frederick Wertz. The object of this story is to remind us that no one rarely accomplishes historical notoriety without a lot of help and Paul Revere is no exception. He had friends in place before the ride began, in fact, 12 people are singled out for helping him on the night of the ‘midnight ride.’ If he had tried to do this all by himself he would have failed. Today we might be able to trace our ancestry back to one of these people who did as much as Paul Revere without getting the fanfare.

A collective effort

Just because he didn’t act alone doesn’t make his feat any less amazing.

Paul Revere was a true patriot and an accomplished man – he was one of the most well-connected people in Boston and the surrounding countryside. Simply put, he knew everyone.

And this is what makes him so special, and why he ultimately was the only one who could have succeeded that night. But contrary to the popular conception of the event, his connections were the crucial factor to success.

Revere knew many of the people who helped him out, in significant ways or simply through acquaintance. Some came to him and offered their help; others Revere sought out himself.

This was perhaps Revere’s most significant talent – he knew the right Massachusetts community leaders to find on his ride. He efficiently raised the alarm through the countryside by finding just the right person in each village. As the community leader would raise his own town, Revere was already on his way to the next one.

Here are the names of the twelve people who should get credit for the success of the “Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.”

…”When his extensive network of city spies warned him that the British were planning a mission departing by boat, he sprung into action – but Revere didn’t  hang the lanterns himself!

Revere knew someone that worked in the Old North Church and was active in colonial politics, John Pulling. Another member of the church, Robert Newman – of a prominent North End family that had fallen on hard times – also agreed to help.

Revere alerted Newman and Pulling and even enlisted the help of one of his neighbors, Thomas Bernard. He set them on their task, which they completed successfully, and went on his way.

Even though the lantern signal was up, Revere still needed to get out of Boston, which was no easy task. He enlisted the help of two Bostonian watermen who agreed to help him across the river – Joshua Bentley and Thomas Richardson.

These men helped row him silently across the Charles River without being seen by any British ships. Fischer highlights an amusing legend about the help of a third party:

***Another folktale has it that as Bentley and Richardson prepared to launch the boat, they discovered that they had forgotten a cloth to muffle their oars. The two men knocked softly at a nearby house. A woman came to an upper window, and they whispered an urgent request. There was a quick rustle of petticoats in the darkness, and a set of woolen underwear came floating down to the street. The lady’s undergarments, still warm from the body that had worn them, were wrapped snugly round the oars. (Fischer, 104)

After Revere crossed the Charles River

he still needed a fast steed to outrace any British pursuit and he got it.

“John Larkin, a deacon of the Congregational Church, supplied Revere with Brown Beauty, one of the fastest horses in Charlestown and the pride of the Larkin family. Her speed came in handy early on in his journey. Soon after departing, he was chased by two soldiers who were left behind by Brown Beauty.”

The rest of the names associated with this famous night in American history were all leaders of different small towns along the ride who help spread the town alarm. Two were doctors...Samuel Prescott and Martin Herrick...then there were local Whig leaders and local militia…Isaac Hall, Richard Devens, Ebenezer Stedman, Benjamin Lock and Solomon Bowman.

Think about it…all of us can be related back to people who rose to the occasion to change history ….they just didn’t get credit for it at the time.

***(Another main source of this article came from David Hackett-Fischer)

I am so excited that my two oldest grandchildren both love history! (It is a little too early to tell with the other three age-wise…Jake is absorbed with cars, Lachlan with Paw Patrol, and Eloise with stuffed animals.:)

Eva Cate loves biographies on famous women…I think she is going to be an activist for women’s rights…You go girl! Rutledge loves historical periods and historical adventures. Both of them love dressing up in costumes and historical pieces….even things like Dr. Seuss Day or dress up like a 100 year old for 100 days of school.

So until tomorrow…”If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

For the Beauty of this Day….my latest porch additions just continue to add more additions with blooms galore…they love their location.

Dear Reader:

It is hard to believe that another Easter will soon be here…holidays seem to tumble one on top of each other these days. I am glad Easter is late this spring so hopefully I can get a few things done so it will be in full technicolor for the Easter activities.

I am down to the last book in the Mitford series and Father Tim is feeling his age…he is about to turn the double seven’s and is definitely realizing it… in too many ways.

One afternoon… after helping his son Dooley work on the farm and get things ready for his upcoming wedding…he makes an astute observation. He is having to make more and more excuses for not being able to do things he could do even a few years earlier when he wasn’t so…so…so what was the term “aged out” or “along in years?”

What was the language to be learned for being old?

Last night I thought about that one question a lot since it hits pretty close to home these days. Shouldn’t there be a guide book or something to help one grow old with a little more …um…pizazz? I just don’t want to turn into an antique…nice to keep around but not particularly useful…just an object to dust off occasionally.

I googled aging and discovered a lot of ideas floating around out there…. even words we should avoid because they “age” us immediately.

It is interesting to me that the word “aging” comes from the Latin derivative aevum, meaning “lifetime.” If we do have the privilege of living a relatively long lifetime or life span…let’s face it…we are going to have to learn how to deal with aging.

Besides the obvious physical “downfall” (Due to Newton’s  gravity law) which, if we have enough money, can be fixed at a price…there are other areas too where we find ourselves “aged out.”

Clothes is a big category when it comes to “aging out”of certain styles. I pretty much dress today the same as I always have except I do find myself looking for long shirts/blouses or tunics much more than the standard shirts….someone told me recently that tunics would soon be going out and short shirts and blouses back in…which means I will soon be out of style again…love my tunics.

Less is best when it comes to make-up at a certain age and since I have never worn much anyway…this isn’t such a problem except when it comes to lipstick. Now I know why mother was always putting on lipstick…Have you noticed? At some pre-destined age our lips disappear …(at least it appears that way to me.) Now when we take Ya pictures everyone runs to their pocketbook to find their lipstick to put on before they smile.

Oops…I just made an “aged out” mistake. No more “pocketbooks”…that is what our mothers and grandmothers used…today it is only “purses” where we keep our keys and… lipstick.

And I can only buy pants now…never slacks. Outside of the United Kingdom everyone, men and women wear pants.  The word Slacks is another “age-out.”

And I do remember this next word (one I particularly love) being used in another context when Grandmother Wilson watched television…..Today most people watch TV Shows. Your grandmother still subscribes to TVGuide so she can find out what time her stories are on. 

And the last one is “Heavens”….excited expression used only by sweet senior citizens when there is a discount on “pocketbooks” and “slacks.”

Here is the link to these Top 50 funny observation into out-dated and “aged-out” expressions. It will keep you laughing…mostly, like me, at myself!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/smart-living/50-words-that-instantly-age-you/ar-BBNYphZ

So until tomorrow…All kidding aside…I might not be aging as ‘gracefully‘ as I once hoped…but I am aging ‘gratefully.’ Aging is a gift…the gift of life…so let’s go make and get the most out of it for as long as we can!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Is there anything prettier….wisteria growing among azaleas? Thank goodness for long red lights at intersections and bushes growing close to the road.

Dear Reader:

When I went with Vickie last Friday to the Hollow Tree Nursery I told the owner,  Lisa,  that my red bud tree was blooming with new buds attaching themselves everyday to the stems. She commented that she would use my name to tell other customers about my success…she has apparently had some that had no luck growing this tree.

*However, I must give all the credit to Luke, Chelsey, and their little nephew, Ryker, for planting it…just right!

When I see new life being created right in front of my eyes…like on the branches and stems of the red bud…I realize just how much more there is to life…the “un-seen”…at least by my eyes,  and yet it is still there none-the-less…simply waiting for my eyes to see what they can’t see now. And that takes trust in our Creator that it is there.

I love this excerpt from Dr. Wayne Dryer about this same observation.

All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

My son Sands sent me a story about the passing of conservationist Lawrence Anthony in South Africa. Anthony is well-known for his courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals during the war in Iraq in 2003. He wrote about his experiences rescuing a rogue elephant herd in his bestselling book The Elephant Whisperer. Sands knew I would love the remarkable story of what happened at Lawrence Anthony’s game reserve in South Africa after his death last year. The elephants he saved from extermination walked 12 miles in a sort of funeral procession from their habitat to gather around his house. How did they know their human protector and friend had passed?

As Emerson says, we take what we have seen and trust our Creator on what’s unseen. If all life is connected, the elephants would naturally know to come to their friend’s home to mourn him. Everything in this physical universe of ours is in some way connected to everything else. When we attempt to isolate anything, we find that it is in some way part of everything else in the universe. Just as it is absurd for a single wave to see itself as separate from the ocean, so it is for any of us not to recognize our oneness with all creation.

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

Yesterday Honey was home from the mountains and as only Honey would do…extended an invitation to Luke, Chelsey, and myself to show the young couple around her home…a treasure trove of Summerville history… beyond anything books can teach us. (Luke has been discovering old maps of Summerville in his work and really gotten interested in local history.)

Chelsey was running late trying to get home off I-526 and since it was her birthday and they were going out…she told Luke to go on with me to Honeys and she would hear all about it from him when they went out to eat for her birthday!

Every time Honey tells her story about her father and mother and their connection to the Pine Forest Inn and so much other local history her audience is spell-bound. This happened once again as she shared local history with us. We started with the original oil painting of the Pine Forest Inn found under the house and restored. Unbelievable…it now lies on the wall over the mantel.

Luke is looking through the original view-master (stereoscope) of President Theodore Roosevelt visiting Dr. Shepherd’s “Tea Farm”in Summerville.

Honey had picked up a birthday cake for Chelsey that Luke took home and then she gave each of us an historical collector’s Christmas tree ornament of the Pine Forest Inn…and one piece of silver from the inn itself with the initials on it. What a treat…what a Honey!

Then she gave me a “Sammy” piece of pottery she created….unbelievable!

I love it Honey and will always cherish it….I might surprise Sammy one day (if the weather is nice) and put some bird seeds inside to lure him over and then snatch a picture…will let you know if I am successful! 🙂

So until tomorrow…What a day and what a way to remember a special birthday and a reunion with a friend who teaches what giving is all about…the seen and un-seen of the generosity of the heart. Honey!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Wanted to add this sweet incident sent in by Linda Carson, my one-time oncology nurse and forever friend. It is in reference to the mystery of the theme of this blog…the things we see and the things left un-seen that we know are there.

Linda had a friend who was stuck in traffic on I-26 (which happens rather frequently) but she was taking it all in stride and just admiring all the beauty around her…especially right now  during these gorgeous first few days of spring. *And then came a God Wink answer to her question in prayer.

***

I have another friend who was praying…giving thanks for a beautiful Lowcountry morning while driving in traffic on I 26. She said in her prayer that she couldn’t begin to imagine all the glories in heaven when there was such beauty here. As traffic does… it often stops and you just sit on the interstate. That happened and while sitting she noticed the license plate in front of her. It said Jst W8. GOD wink!

Dear Reader:

The beauty of another wonderful surprise of nature made me pull over to the side of the road yesterday. It was something I spotted coming home from Newington Elementary…on Luden Drive connecting to Highway 17-A. There were wetlands on the right, a swampy area, and I was thinking how wonderful it was that no houses could be built there… when suddenly I began noticing something white popping up in my vision.

At first I thought it was birds but when I slowed down and looked again…I saw the most spectacular spectacle…even more clearly  ….“swamp lilies!”

I would have to go all the way back to my childhood to remember the last time I saw swamp lilies. They were beautiful…with just a hint of pink and yellow in them.

I pulled “Surcie” over…grabbed my iPhone and took three quick pictures before scurrying back to my car and getting back on the road.

I was so glad I was in the moment and not daydreaming with my mind somewhere else in the future or I would never have known they were there…the scenery turned my day upside down.

(*Another life lesson on the importance of “being” over “doing.”)

If I had been messing with the radio or glancing down at my iPhone I would have ridden right past this almost extinct phenomenon in Summerville. Lenient regulations concerning construction zoning exterminates so many beautiful marshlands associated with  living in the “low country.”

In the Mitford Series…Father Tim secretly regrets it when his wife, Cynthia, decides to write another children’s book. He knows that she will be in her creative “zone” and oblivious to their daily routine of walking and talking together…simply sharing life together.

Cynthia feels the same way when her adorable husband (retired pastor now)…gets himself involved in another huge community project or fills in a new church pulpit for several months or longer. Yet each one knows how important the project is to their spouse’s well-being.

“While working on a project aren’t we all guilty of being there but not being there at the same time?” (Mitford Series)

When we find that creative endeavor we have been searching for… that project that brings us such joy that time simply disappears in our passion for this newest interest, it is hard staying cemented and focused in the daily routine of life. Over an extended period of time it can take a toll on relationships.

I was thinking how wonderful it is that our God, the one and only Creator of the world, can be involved in universal creativity 24/7 and yet never not have time for each and everyone of our questions, thoughts, and prayers.

So until tomorrow…Thank goodness our God is always with us…no matter the time of day or night or the circumstances and creative projects going on around Him. I find this quite comforting!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

For the Beauty of the Earth today…

Vickie and my “co-op” rose bush is starting to bloom again!

My bi-annual check-off job yesterday wasn’t exactly a passion but it did feel good to wash the bottles from the bottle tree and get a few layers of pollen  and dirt off.

*I also added English daisies to the “Pot-unias” basket…love the vibrant colors.

Mollie’s  multi-talented photographer friend, Sarah Elizabeth Kassouf,  did it again with pictures of the grandchildren…here are two sneak peeks…adorable! Check Sarah out on Sarah Liz Photography!

Happy Birthday Chelsey!…our wonderful Rainbow Road neighbor…the bringer of lettuce, fresh eggs, meals, desserts, and even milkshakes! Your (and Luke’s) continuous generosity never ceaseto amaze and delight the neighborhood. 

Dear Reader:

In spite of increasing health issues…I really like getting older because it doesn’t take much to make me happy…actually clap my hands in glee. This aged, old tree (outside my “office” window) with the azalea bud opening upon it…like a romantic gift from nature…startled me at first and then made me happy…just simply happy that beauty and love can be found in the most mundane places… if we keep our eyes open.

I find so much beauty in the simple conversations from the Mitford and Father Tim book series. Remarks that just make you chuckle to yourself. One such conversation took place in the local book store between Father Tim (helping out manning the book store twice a week) and a local who comes in and gets a book…not necessarily to ever read or finish…but who makes the comment:

“Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.”

I always stop with some of these witty one-liners and just laugh out loud…so true… No one wants to be caught with an  intrepid, paperback romance featuring a half-clad viking on the front cover lusting after the peasant girl.

Yesterday I had to ‘lay low’ to keep off my foot and leg…not because anything is hurting but because the gauze used to compress and stabilize my leg and foot has been sticky on the outside for some strange reason and started sticking to my pants legs and my heel was stuck to the bottom of my  “mules” leaving my heel almost completely exposed…going to have to check and see if it is still okay concerning the compression or if it will have to be wrapped again…praying not.

So when I read this quote from Father Tim (in talking to a parishioner) I could easily relate:

” …But I tell you that it’s not too late…no matter how deep the wound.” He was referring to forgiveness…but I know that God has taught me that it is never too late to heal any wound. I have watched week after week for almost six months…the deep infected hole in my foot fill with new (non-cancerous/healthy) skin cells…a miracle each and every week. And now we are down to the last “teeny tip of the top” to have it completely enclosed…vertically and laterally. With God…nothing is ever too late if we believe.

Year after year I  continue to work on my Word of the Year listening… and I have come to realize that listening is the most generous way to give. Think how true this observation is…no amount of money is as important as a friend who listens when you desperately need to talk. (Another gift of getting older)

Haven’t we all gotten comfortable during certain periods in our lives only to have this calm erupt suddenly and eject us back out into cold reality? The stolen car, foot infection, and on-going battle with a critically low white cell count…side effect of cancer medicine…leaving me feeling depleted a lot…definitely was a God interruption I didn’t want…but know now I needed.

We are here on earth to learn and we all stop learning when we get too comfortable within ourselves…becoming too lackadaisical in our attitude and faith. Both attributes demand constant work and attention throughout our lives. As Michelangelo said “Ancora imparo” (“I am still learning”) at age 87.

***I am still learning to be amazed and astounded at the beauty of surprise and yesterday it showed up in full force in the silhouette of Anne Peterson who arrived bringing the matted, framed original ‘Carolina Girl‘ with her. Donations were made to the Race for the Cure voluntarily when purchases were made yesterday. Anne said she re-thought her original idea and decided “Carolina Girl” should go to the “Carolina Girl.”

A gift that will live with me forever. Luke helped me hang it yesterday. And now my creative challenge is paying this amazing gift forward and backward at the same time…I am on it. I love a good challenge! (The sconces at night reflect lights on the painting that reminds me of the effects of beams coming from lighthouses beckoning one to look closer.)

So until tomorrow…”In everything give thanks”…one of the hardest things we have to do on this earth….easy when the going is easy…not so easy when the tough times come…and they will come… as surely as another wave will form.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

In six weeks Tommy and Kaitlyn will be heading back to Dingle, Ireland…for their third time including their honeymoon. This year they will be in a studio apartment not far from town…each year…a new adventure. So glad they continue to make time for a honeymoon to just be...the best kind of living.

And don’t forget…“In Ireland there’s no such thing as bad weather…only the wrong clothes.”  🙂