Dear Reader:

I love learning more and more about animal habits and instincts because we can apply so many of their earthy experiences to our own everyday lives…for example: Take Lions! “The King of the Jungle”

Did you know that when it comes to hunting and gathering…it is the lioness, who is the hunter, who you should fear more than the lion (a decoy) and his roar. Here is an excerpt from The Eyes of a Lion by Levi Lusko that I found riveting.

I am fascinated by the way lions hunt. I’ve read that it’s the lionesses that actually do the “lion’s share” of the work. The males are obviously incredibly intimidating, with their manes and their ferocious roars, but it’s the chicks you really have to watch out for.

The fact that lionesses do not have a big, recognizable mane actually helps them sneak up on whatever they are hunting. They lie in wait, hidden in the tall grass, motionless like statues.

I listened to a sermon by Pastor Brian Houston in which he said that the males do play an important, albeit small, role. While the females stalk their prey from behind, the king of the jungle will come from the front and let loose one of those roars that gives him his spot at the top of the food chain. This sound is so powerful it can be heard up to five miles away. Hearing that terrifying noise causes the gazelle or antelope to run as far as they can away from whatever made that sound.

What they don’t know is that as scary as it sounded, the one who did the roaring is more bark than bite. So away they go — directly into the path of the real threat: the waiting lioness. In other words, the prey’s instincts are wrong. Going with their guts causes them to make the last mistake of their short, little lives. It’s counter-intuitive, but the right choice would be to override their emotions and run toward the roar.

It’s shocking how often that is true. When you run from things that scare you, you move toward danger, not away from it. If you fail to face your fears, they will always be right there behind you. You must suppress the little voice inside that’s telling you to get out of Dodge. It is not your friend.

When you feel that panicky fight-or-flight sensation and you want to run away, do the opposite. Run toward the roar. You have come into the kingdom for just such a time as this (Esther 4:14).

Lusko reminds us that God calls us into frightening situations so that we can fully trust Him and observe God (through us) in action. In order for this to happen we must run forward…towards the roar again and again.

I learned something new yesterday about the David and Goliath story (I have heard repeatedly since childhood Sunday School)… but this time a small detail (a simple word) that I never picked up on caught my attention. Read it and see if you recognize something new…

So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. — 1 Samuel 17:48

David hurried...in other words he quickly ran forward...towards this fear, a nine-foot giant, Goliath, who like a lion, was loudly screaming out belittling, death threats towards David, along with arrogant, boastful remarks about himself and his indestructible presence.

“It’s incredible that David was willing to fight Goliath at all. The fact that he sprinted toward what seemed like certain death is astounding. He killed the giant in the end, but first he had to run toward the very thing that terrified him the most.” (Lusko)

In our everyday lives…we have the choice to face our fears, run from them, or simply bury them along with our dreams. A high price to pay for not facing our fears in a frontal assault.

Do we fear rejection from a song, play, project, or story we are writing so we never follow through on its completion?

Lusko adds these other possibilities:

“Are you vacillating between the safety of a job you hate and the terrifying prospect of starting your own business? Maybe you are supposed to go back to school, or on the other hand, it might be that you should opt out of college in order to pursue a different kind of education.”

It can be any fear from hundreds of choices…and the truth is …there is no magic map or life guideline handbook to show us the way to get past our fears. Except when we realize God is the way.

“You can’t ignore fear, but you don’t have to let it control you. I guarantee you David’s pulse thundered like a war drum in his chest, and everything in him urged him to retreat, but he still hustled toward the giant. True bravery isn’t feeling no fear — it’s being afraid and moving forward anyway.”

” But hiding in the thicket, far from the sound of the wild calling you are meant to pursue, is a far more sinister opponent you didn’t even know was there: death. The death of the dreams God planted deep down inside you. The death of the life you were born to live. Like a slow leak in your tire that saps your ability to drive your car, you will have robbed yourself of the opportunity to stare down something that scared you. Live this way long enough, and the muscles of your faith will eventually atrophy.”

So until tomorrow…”The only thing we have to fear…it fear itself.” (FDR)

*Actually I don’t have to fear some ‘bad man’ getting me because two of my handsome grandsons are on the SWAT team now….better not pick on me “bad men”….or Rutledge and Lachlan will get you!

* When the Charleston SWAT team came to Lachlan’s class he kept wanting to know “Why are there bad men?” The captain declared it a good question and one he would have to think about to answer. Way to think Lachlan!

My friend K.C. Delcorro and I finally got together at Toast Friday night for supper… a chance to catch up. Then yesterday she returned with a ‘green drink’ she said really promoted good health…especially fighting cancer…Cheers…it actually tasted good! I have brought out my dusty blender and gotten it shiny clean. Green drink…here I come!

Bekah and Ady stopped by yesterday for a short visit….Ady loves her teacher and school this year…I think all the children seem happy with their teachers. Cheers for a good year to one and all…including the teachers!

Walsh and Mollie got out Friday night to celebrate Mollie’s promotion…I know it is just nice to get away sometimes and be able to talk without interruptions…just adults.

I am so glad I made the decision to get the new windows when I did the renovations three years ago on my home…It has opened up my house and brought the outside in…can’t imagine not having these wonderful windows now.

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was one of those rare days that started out so incredibly  it just made me say “It’s a Great Day to be Alive!”

It was almost eight o’clock before I got home from Mount Pleasant Thursday evening. As I scurried down the side driveway, heading back to the garden (to check it quickly before darkness descended) I noticed that one moon flower bud looked like it was almost ready to burst open…but usually they open late in the afternoon and then live out their short but alluring life in the evenings and overnight. By the time the sunrise approaches the next day they have already started to fold back within themselves and soon drop off the vine. One night and one night only.

I came inside and started the blog for the next day and just happened to glance out the window and I saw this huge full white bloom staring back at me where it had just been a bud minutes before. It was gorgeous…but so late that I could only use a flash to photograph it…which showed none of its intricate lines and curves.

Early yesterday morning I could hardly wait to get out in the garden with the predicted weather drops in temperature and humidity…it was a day that subtly signaled fall was around the corner…just out of sight…a new season approaching quietly.

It wasn’t quite 7:oo in the morning so the sun hadn’t risen…but to my utter delight…the moon flower was still in full bloom smiling down at me. As the sun rose the reflection shone through the delicate plant tissue of the moon flower bloom…it appeared to radiate with happiness. This couldn’t be…a moon flower blooming during the day? Moon flowers and sunrises are polar opposites…moon flowers can’t take the bright light.

When I took the picture of the moon flower with the sun rising in the background…two gorgeous round discs of nature together…who normally never meet…I knew I was privy to a most amazing sight!

 Now that is an oxymoron…it just doesn’t happen (or perhaps I should say) it doesn’t  normally happen. It really was an example of nature’s oxymorons…a contradiction in terms. (Like “Jumbo shrimp” or “Pretty ugly” or “Same difference” or “Good grief.”)

I just knew the day would be special with such a startling beginning! And it was…had breakfast with friends and then a stroll through a nursery I often forget about..but it always has unique items that you don’t see in other places. The setting is so pretty and it was just a comfortable cool morning in which to drink in all the pretty sights.

I ended up picking up one new flower and an adorable saying that I knew had to be added to my garden fence… because it is so true.

Plants do understand more than we humans give them credit for…and they are wonderful friends… who quietly listen to all our problems with no judgment forthcoming.

Don’t leave today without watching this two minute video on trees…you will never look at another tree the same way again. They have feelings, special bondings, families, couples, and are quite social…just like people!

Intelligent Trees – Trees form bonds, know friends and family – YouTube

So until tomorrow…Keep your eyes open for those natural miracles that take place every day in our other family…the plant family.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

(Never Try to Solve All Your Problems at Once- Line Them Up One by One by Priority)

Dear Reader:

How many times have we looked back on certain problems that grew completely out of control when they could have been ‘nipped in the bud’when they were small and manageable?  That is one of those cases where we toss and turn all night playing the scene over and over in our minds with the “Should Have” “Could Have” “Why Didn’t I” blues.

Nine times out of ten the problem was a communication, or more precisely, a lack of communication mistake… that helped a small, simple problem be misconstrued into a big, complicated mess.

When I was doing a lot of storytelling…one of my favorite stories was titled: “That’s Not My Problem”  It always opened up the best, liveliest discussions in the question/answer period at the end of the presentation. It was a great way to get students to write about a time when a problem they had got completely out of hand due to one bad call…dismissing it before solving it.

*I think it was the Christopher Robin movie Wednesday with Pooh eating his honey that reminded me of this old story.

“That’s Not My Problem”

 Once upon a time, there lived a king in a powerful castle that overlooked a beautiful village. Everyone was happy and satisfied.

One day the king and his adviser went to the top of the castle and looked down on the village. It was a beautiful, sunny day….everything appeared to be all right in the world.

The adviser handed the king some bread smothered in honey. The king began to eat it while leaning over the turrets. The  warming sun quickly began to make the honey run and a large drop of honey appeared “poised” to drop and fall down on the village street.

The adviser let the king know about the situation, but the king just laughed and said, “That’s not my problem.” Sure enough…the drop of honey fell and hit the cobblestone street. A fly zoomed right in on it…but was so busy eating it that the fly didn’t see a large lizard that lived under the castle until too late…quick as a flash, a long tongue came out and zapped the fly and the honey.

But as the lizard was enjoying his “two-for-one” meal, a cat appeared and grabbed the lizard. As the cat was playing with the trapped lizard, a dog appeared and grabbed half of the lizard from the cat’s mouth and began pulling. A real “cat and dog” fight commenced! People began to gather in the streets to watch.

The adviser woke up the king, who was taking a nap,and said, “Oh King…there appears to a “cat and dog” fight in the streets attracting many by-standers…don’t you think you should call some guards out?” The annoyed sleepy king yelled grumpily,” Are you kidding…a ” cat and dog” fight….NO…that’s not my problem.”

Soon the dog owner and the cat owner arrived on the scene, each accusing the other’s pet of starting all the ruckus…and immediately they were involved in a fist-fight…now attracting even more villagers.

“Oh King,” cried the adviser shaking the sleeping ruler, “Two men, the owners of the animals, are now in a street fight….shouldn’t we call out the castle guards to restore order?”…..The king, very irritated at being awakened a second time, yelled out “No…that’s not my problem!’ He promptly went back to sleep.

Soon friends of the dog owner and friends of the cat owner took sides and now two groups of villagers were involved in the brawl.

“Oh King, you MUST wake up and order the guards to bring some control to the situation, there is a huge brawl going on below in your streets!” The king yawned and glared at his adviser, “Don’t wake me again…the guards will handle it if they deem it necessary….and besides that’s not MY problem!”

The castle guards did arrive on the scene…but after listening to the two owners…some guards sided with one and some guards sided with the other. A full blown civil war exploded in the street…resulting in death, devastation, and destruction.

The adviser awakened the king trembling and said, “Oh King, we must leave at once…the castle is on fire.” The king’s eyes immediately opened, wide-eyed and panicked….they scurried down to safety.

The next morning…as the king and his adviser surveyed the burning ruins of his castle and village, he looked at the adviser and said, “That bit of honey ….WAS my problem.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

So until tomorrow….Tackle problems while they’re small; if left alone they will grow tall; and in the end be your own downfall.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

I played surprise “Boo” yesterday….I called Mollie to see if she was free for lunch to celebrate her promotion. I then took her and Eloise to lunch…then I rode with Mollie to pick up Rutledge from kindergarten and the expression on his face when he realized it was me looking out the window and not mom was priceless…He did a double-take.

Then I left and surprised Eva Cate and Jakie…we all went out to supper and had a great time just playing together last evening. I did pay attention to the message in Christopher Robin….Play more, worry less.

I am now official….We finally have had enough rain-less days for Luke to put my address numbers up on my steps for UPS, the mail truck, and Fed Ex all to see….100….no more excuses….

I got a picture of one of my day lilies before it was too late yesterday and the same thing happened with the third moon flower bloom last night…one only has a day to shine and the other only a night…both creatures of beauty and brevity.

(Painter: Mojarto- paintings on life’s mysteries)

Dear Reader:

Oscar Wilde once wrote “The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”  Since yesterday I understand that paradoxical comment…sometimes it is something right in front of us that connects us back to the universe…some flicker of recognition that solves a small mystery in our lives…like something on a film screen!

After finishing with my primary doctor’s appointment (right before noon) a sudden thought crossed my mind. Several of you blog readers had emailed or texted me how much you or your children/grandchildren loved the Disney movie Christopher Robin. The local theater had a twelve o’clock showing…if I hurried I could just make it.

As I scurried inside the movie theater, afraid I was late, I had to laugh. I was the only one in the theater. The movie has been playing for almost three weeks and the first noon showing is never a popular one…but still I had to giggle…just me and the movie screen. Until…about five minutes into the movie a family with two little girls came and sat down from me. *They were so cute…oohing and aahing over Christopher Robin’s friends – Pooh and the gang!

As soon as Pooh arrives on the scene in the movie… his most popular advice to a stressed, overworked, troubled adult, Christopher Robin, is…“Doing nothing often leads to the very best kind of something.” By the second time he says it…my mind flickers back to yesterday’s blog on doing nothing. When I got home I re-read the blog and found my own personal quote on how I was going to end my ‘nothing’ day:

…”Walk in the garden in the evening and thank God for a day in which “nothingness” included a lot of important “somethings” …like talking to Him.” (Who knew…me and Pooh!)

The whole theme of Christopher Robin involves Pooh and the gang helping Robin find himself again (as an adult) and live life to the fullest…like he had once done in 100 Acres with his childhood friends. He has forgotten how to play.

I do think this movie will become a Disney classic…(like Hollywood predicts)…it is a movie one can watch as a child and adult, while sharing the same understanding about taking time to play and imagine. It should never stop at childhood.

There are many powerful metaphors in the film…one of which is watching  Christopher Robin   return to his childhood “roots” through the secret tree back to a world of kindness, compassion, friendship and basic goodness of heart.

The world turns upside down with this new adventure…because now it is the animals who must save Christopher Robin from his downward spiraling professional and personal problems…whereas it once had always been  Christopher Robin who rescued his furry friends from trouble as a child.

At the very end…I had to smile to myself again. The producers saved my favorite Pooh quote (that I sign off with everyday to end my blog) to end the movie the same way. A God Wink…absolutely!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh 

It certainly was mine. In fact August 22, 2018 will go down in my journal as a “Rendez Vous with Winnie the Pooh.” (And Christopher Robin)

So until tomorrow…

The Irish poet, Oscar Wilde, started the blog and another Irish poet, John O’Donohue, will end it with this last stanza…

The Inner History of a Day

So at the end of this day, we give thanks
For being betrothed to the unknown
And for the secret work
Through which the mind of the day
And wisdom of the soul become one.

My blessing plaque arrived late yesterday afternoon and I set it up in Big Red’s pot with Little Red’s pot on top….blessings from Big Red to Little Red to continue the adventure.

Here is one mystery solved…remember the flying creature that flew into the first moon flower bloom…that strange-looking black thing?…Doodle texted and told me I was close to the right answer in suspecting (initially) that it was a hummingbird…it was actually a hummingbird moth!

Dear Reader:

Don’t we all deserve an “exhale” day sometimes? Yesterday was mine. It was all about me and I left any guilt twinges (for doing “nothing”) far behind. Don’t we sometimes try doing so much “good for everything” that we end up being “good for nothing?”

I see the nods out there….I think this “condition” applies to women more than men though it is certainly not gender-bound by any means. We all get in a rut where we are running around trying to do things we think are expected of us plus things we feel need to be done and finally things we really want to do for someone.

Yesterday was the perfect day to do “nothing.” I have several medical appointments coming up, along with my regular doctor and my oncologist… topped with more CT scans and lab work so I decided to take a deep breath and slowly exhale. To stay in the moment all day yesterday. Let the future unfold as it may.

I woke up a little before eight…threw on my robe and trotted out to the garden with two old milk carton gallons of water to throw on my newest pintas. (Yes…I finally found a pink and purple pinta at Lowes!) We have actually gone almost two days without rain…(but lots of high temps and humidity) so I figured the new plants could use a little extra soaking to get them acclimated in the garden.

Walking in the morning through the garden, when the breezes are still cool, is such a delight! There is no better way to start the day! I then came in, checked on the blog, answered some emails and texts, drank my big glass of water, took a long, luscious shower, ending with several applications of lotion to make me feel silky and clean.

I watched a couple of my favorite early morning television shows…ate some yogurt and fruit and read several chapters of a novel I am really into now. I then decided to go get a fresh salad at Publix and add some left-over veggies I had cut up in the fridge.

While watching Joanna Gaines (Fixer-Upper) during lunch, decorate a renovated house on HGTV…I noticed a large wooden sign  she was hanging on a bedroom wall that said simply EXHALE. Immediately I wrote the word down. That was the God Wink…the title of the blog post today.

It would be a post reminding us all to simply pause and exhale some days. It is important to take care of ourselves, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If we over-extend (over and over again) both our bodies and our spirits we all pay the price and pass our grumpiness on to others who don’t deserve it.

Later this afternoon I am going to take a nap…finish up the big salad for supper, walk in the garden in the evening and thank God for a day in which “nothingness” included a lot of important “somethings” …like talking to Him.

We have to remember that is is okay to have a little “me” down time….Make room for a “Be Good to Me Day” occasionally.

So until tomorrow….Getting off the carousel, before we spin dizzily out of control, is a life experience well learned.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

After just talking about “crayola” gardens….this Kelly Rae Roberts painting popped up and I had to smile…another “crayola” artwork!

My new friends in my neighborhood/garden: pintas

(Anne supplied me with “sky” landscape scenes from Dingle, Ireland….they are all so beautiful I couldn’t choose just one so I narrowed it down to three and will share them all…enough to “soften” anyone’s eyes!)

Dear Reader:

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote “The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” How beautifully true….very few of us make it through a day without pausing and looking up at the sky. There is an inexplicable connection between us and the universe manifested in the ever-changing canvas of our earthly ceiling.

In an article (“The Practice of Soft Eyes”) I read recently by Parker Palmer… he conversed about an observation that I have become recently aware of myself….that when confronted by sudden change, someone unknown at the door, a sudden change in routine…” there is a sudden narrowing of our visual periphery that exacerbates the fight or flight response.”

Think back to the old John Wayne westerns; every time he was confronted by a “bad man” Wayne’s eyes would suddenly narrow and he would pull out his trusty old rifle or his six-shooters and start firing away. It made for good movies but in real life…these evolutionary ‘fight or flight’habits provoke unrest in society and in our personal lives.

The daily chemo regime I am on plays havoc with my eyes…which constantly water so I find myself squinting and dabbing at my eyes more and more. As we get older our eyes do seem to shrink instead of remaining wide-eyed and pronounced.

If I ever catch an unexpected glimpse of me, reflected in a store window or whatever, I am always startled at the image…where are my eyes now…they seem to be shrinking faster and faster?

Yet inside me….my eyes are filled more with wonder and awe at life’s discoveries now than in any other period of my life. They should be big and round. When I mentioned this thought to Anne…she wisely replied…“I think at a certain stage we can just see more with less.”  Good response.

I do want my itty bitty eyes to at least look soft and not hard. It is the “soft” look we give loved ones, beautiful landscapes (including the sky) and new experiences we fall in love with….all seen by our new soft eyes…welcoming changes in our lives.

Palmer concludes his article with this thought:

“Soft eyes, it seems to me, is an evocative image for what happens when we gaze on sacred reality. Now our eyes are open and receptive, able to take in the greatness of the world and the grace of great things. Eyes wide with wonder, we no longer need to resist or run when taken by surprise. Now we can open ourselves to the great mystery.”

So until tomorrow…Let us look on our world with soft surroundings imaged within our heart and soul…open to new possibilities…each and every day.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

My eyes stayed soft (still watery) but soft all day yesterday looking at my grandchildren’s pictures returning back to school. For Rutledge it was a big change…from his small little Pre-School to Phillip Simmons Elementary with 28 other kindergarten classmates. A big change…yet his eyes were wide open with excitement yesterday morning. Eva Cate is returning to James B Edwards and a year filled with much growth and new possibilities.

Lachlan and Jakie are heading back to their small, secure little Pre-Schools where they know everyone….still Jakie (like Linus) feels more secure with his blankey “Night Night.” Eloise still gets to stay home now with mom each day so she is happy too. Slow changes or fast changes…yesterday was a new beginning for all.

“Soft” Eyes to all my “babies” growing up too fast! Love you, Boo!

* Heard from Ambika, one of our blog family, who is home visiting her family in India with her small son and latest little baby boy…they are caught up in the same monsoons and flooding like Anne’s brother. So let’s keep those prayers coming!

Last evening Luke was trying out a new camera his mom gave him. I had just discovered my second moon flower bloom….so he came over to take some pictures. Every time I see a moon flower bloom it is as if I am seeing it for the first time ever again. There is something just magical about this big “moon” flower emerging in such a short period of time and then staying for such a short time. It makes it even more special and precious. Thanks Luke for trying out the camera on my moon flower blossom!!!!! Great shots!!!!!!!

Dear Reader:

I realize that ‘Christmas in July‘ has become a popular marketing trend in recent years…but August? However, when I came across this December Guidepost 2001 classic (true) story by one of my favorite authors (Madeleine L’Engle) I thought, in the spirit of giving, I should share it with you today.

It deals with the age-old question ….”What if God says No? What then?” 

Guideposts Classics: Madeleine L’Engle on Trusting That God Is with Us

A little girl, a piano, a Christmas tree. What could be more ordinary, more normal, more safe? But it wasn’t safe that Christmas. It might have been ordinary and normal, because what happened to us happens to many people, but it wasn’t safe.

This little girl, our first child, was looking wistfully at the tree, and her usual expression was vital, mischievous, full of life. But that Christmas she was wilted, like a flower left too long without water. She sat with her toy telephone and had long conversations with her lion (“You can never talk while the lion is busy,” she would explain). She didn’t run when we took her to the park. She was not hungry. I bathed her and felt her body, and there were swollen glands in her groin, her armpits.

We took her to the doctor. He looked over our heads and used big medical words. I stopped him. “What you are saying is that you think she has leukemia, isn’t it?” Suddenly he looked us in the eye. When he knew that we knew what he feared, he treated us with compassion and concern. We knew the symptoms because the child of a friend of ours had died of leukemia. We knew.

We took our girl to the hospital for tests, and she was so brave that her gallantry brought tears to my eyes. We went home to our small apartment and sat and told stories. We knew that we would have several days’ wait for the test results because of the holidays.

My husband was an actor. I am a writer. Like most artists, we had vivid imaginations. We tried hard not to project into the unknown future, to live right where we were, in a small apartment on Tenth Street in New York City. We loved our apartment, where we slept on a couch in the living room. To get to the bedroom we had to walk through the kitchen and then the bathroom. We were happy. My husband was playing on Broadway. I had had two books published and was working on a third. We had a beautiful child.

And suddenly the foundation rocked beneath us. We understood tragedy and that no one is immune. We remembered a church in New England where, carved in the wood of the lintel, were the words: REMEMBER, NO IS AN ANSWER.

My mother grew up in a world of Bible stories, and I thought of the marvelous story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Those three young men refused to bow down to an idol, and King Nebuchadnezzar was so furious that he ordered them to be thrown into a furnace so hot that the soldiers who threw them in were killed by the heat.

But Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stood there in the flames, unhurt, and sang a song of praise of all creation.

King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and asked, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered, “True, O King.” He replied, “But I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the appearance of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

And that, perhaps, is the most astounding part of the whole story. God did not take Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego out of the fiery furnace. God was in the flames with them.

Yes, it is a marvelous story, but I thought, I am not Shadrach, Meshach or Abednego, and the flames burn.

I rocked my child and told her stories and prayed incoherent prayers. We turned on the lights of the Christmas tree, lit a fire in our fireplace, turned out all the other lights, and I managed to sing lullabies without letting my tears flow. When my husband got home we put our daughter to bed, and we held each other. We knew that the promise has never been safety, or that bad things would not happen if we were good and virtuous. The promise is only that God is in it with us, no matter what it is.

Even before the test results came from the hospital our little girl began to revive, to laugh, to wriggle as we sat together on the piano bench to sing carols. Our hearts began to lift as we saw life returning to her, and the tests when they were returned indicated that she had had an infection. It was not leukemia. She was going to be all right.

She is a beautiful woman with children of her own, and she has gone through her own terror when her eldest child was almost killed. I suspect most parents know these times. I know the outcome is not always the one we pray for.

In my own life there have been times when the answer has indeed been no. My husband died, and I will miss him forever. When a car I was in was hit by a truck, I was almost killed. I still wonder by what miracle my life was saved, and for what purpose. Certainly everything became more poignant. Were the autumn leaves that year more radiant than usual? What about the tiny new moon I saw one night? And my family and my friends: Have I ever loved them as much as I love them now?

I think back to that Christmas when my husband and I did not know whether our little girl would live to grow up. Between that Christmas and this there have been many times when I have been in the fiery furnace, but I am beginning to understand who is in there with me. It is then, when I need it, that I am given courage I never knew I could have. Every day is a miracle, and I hope that is something I will never forget.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

So until tomorrow…Isn’t it true…that the closer we get to losing a loved one or understanding our own mortality ‘upclose and personal’… that the world, suddenly grows exponentially  in beauty, wonder, and awe? Our own question is…Why didn’t we see and feel this before? Sometimes “no” opens up a whole new, fresh perspective of life for us.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Gin-g stopped by today bringing me a “crayola” bouquet of flowers…my favorite!!!!!!!! It was so good to see her again!

Tommy and Kaitlyn came to visit me yesterday,too, and we went to Eva’s for lunch…it was wonderful catching up on everyone’s busy lives!

*Please keep Anne and her family in your prayers….

Dear Reader:

Isn’t it strange how some things just pop our of our mouths and it is only later that we realize what we said was right on target?

I returned one last time, Saturday morning, to Ace Hardware Store, to pick up one more tall red pinta flower because, for whatever reason, they LOVE my soil, they can withstand the 90 plus temperatures, humidity, and bright sunshine, plus butterflies are drawn to them. The addition of the tall red pintas has changed the way my garden looks…adding much needed color.

So when I was told they only had one white tall pinta left…I must have looked visibly disappointed. “I will take it” I said hesitantly. but the garden worker could tell I wasn’t too enthused. “I do need more height in the garden so this will help.”

“You must like red, he said, I have seen you in and out of here the past two weeks.”

Suddenly I heard myself reply, “If they had them in yellows or oranges or purples…I would buy them too….I think I just want to create a “crayola” garden.

As soon as it popped out I felt my face turning red …”A crayola garden…where in the heck did that come from” but instead of shaking his head negatively…the young man nodded…“I know what you mean…my favorite color (when I had to draw my front yard in elementary school) was coloring all the flowers red too.” I like primary colors.”

The first thing I ever remember drawing was flowers…a long stick with two sticks coming off the stem for leaves, a round flower with sticks all around it for petals. And like the Ace worker…it didn’t matter that my house never had any colored flowers out front…I drew them like everyone else in the room. All the pictures of houses we saw in picture/reading books had them in front of homes.

I read somewhere that most people begin preferring primary colors as they get older due to dimming eyesight…perhaps there is some truth to that ….but in my case I have always preferred bright colored flowers to pastels.

And come to think of it…I have created a “Crayola” garden…see for yourself!

Yes…I can proudly proclaim…”I do have a ‘crayola’ garden!

*Speaking of…I didn’t have any idea that Crayola makes garden seed packages for children…will have to look into this.

So until tomorrow…

….And so should we!

……………………………………………………

Last evening we experienced another rather scary storm…lots of wind…not too much rain (at least so far) but right before it blew in…a little miracle happened…my first moon flower bloomed. While I was taking its picture…some black flying insect smacked right into it…it was fluttering so much I at first thought it was a hummingbird until I saw the photo I snapped as the ‘what-ever’ flew in.

I texted Anne and sent her a photo of my first moon flower bloom and expressed regret that it bloomed minutes before such a terrific storm…but Anne’s take on it was that it “represents the calm in the storm”…great thought!

Lori took Eva Cate, Lily, and Hannah to the Holiday Inn Express and got a nice suite to spread out…and let the girls just have fun, fun, fun. Lori…I have told you once and I will tell you again…You are ‘Grandmother of the Year‘ in my book. You amaze me!!! Too Cute! What a way to end the summer!!!!!

Dear Reader:

Two things happened yesterday to remind me, once again, that we are never alone in the universe but, instead, connected to all life that exists within. We are blessed beyond our wildest imaginations.

Vicki, a new fellow blogger and blog follower, let me know she liked yesterday’s blog so when I responded to her I read her latest blog titled : 

At first my thoughts turned to the grandchildren (after reading the phrase) but then my musings suddenly turned another direction. Big Red left me the most wonderful legacy in the world….I get to see a re-birth...Little Red grow up right before my very eyes!

I never got to see that the first time around but this time I will. Suddenly my sadness disappeared…replaced by awe…miraculous awe at the world and all its mysteries.

And speaking of mysteries (or as we like to call them “God Winks”) a notice showed up this morning saying that I had a new follower and suggesting I make contact with this fellow blogger too.)

So quickly I pulled the website and there was a picture of a red withered-looking flower  (I think a rose) and the most perfect prose beneath it…as if written for the special occasion of Big Red’s passing.

What are the odds that a  fellow blogger finds my little blog, decides to become a follower, and writes a poem with a picture of a red flower that exactly matches a deeply personal moment in my life. The universe is so filled with mysteries and connections… if only our eyes are open to it.

 Original: (Capture It Before It’s Gone)

Eva Cate was invited to a spend the night over with Lily and another little friend for a night out with Lori, Lily’s most amazing grandmother. Have fun girls…your last outing of the summer before school starts.

Last night I took my flashlight and went to check and see if one of my moon flowers was blooming…I have two buds on the vines now. Maybe tonight. Still…while I was out I looked up at the moon and it was beautiful with clouds scurrying across it…God’s spectacular artwork! A daily blessing.

Dear Reader:

I told “Big Red” good-bye yesterday.

It was tough to pull that last (“plug”) stem but a human analogy would be that “Big Red” had ceased taking in nourishment for several weeks…the last stem had started turning black, like the others did that Chelsey and I amputated earlier in hopes of saving one last piece of the root system.

But now all that was left was the final stem with green leaves (at the end) slowly turning yellow as the black took over more and more of the stem each day. I couldn’t bear to watch it any longer die from lack of nourishment. The stems were like hardening of the arteries…nothing was getting through.

I had to go in early yesterday morning to get some lab work/blood work done for my doctor’s appointment next week, then went by the store and got that chore done. It was still early when I returned…around 9:30. After I put the groceries up…I slowly walked out on the porch and told ‘Big Red’ good-bye.

I made a box and put the stem with the last green leaves in an air-tight plastic bag….wrote “Big Red” a note of appreciation for ten years of love and devotion…made a cover for a box to place everything in and even put some flowers around the box. A fitting tribute for “Big Red.”

History in a Nutshell: (For new readers)

I received a beautiful, red geranium on the day I returned home from my first mastectomy May 31, 2008. There was a large group of people already home when I arrived and lunch had been fixed…there were several presents and cards around…so by the time I started connecting gifts with cards I couldn’t find one inside the beautiful red geranium plant or even a separate card identifying the giver.

I placed the beautiful plant on the white bench on my front porch….never realizing it would stay right there for just over ten years. As time went by…nothing seemed to be able to kill this plant…heat, cold, bugs, storms and hurricanes. “Big Red” as I dubbed the plant was courageous, persistent, and loyal for a decade.

Eventually what took its life was its over extended abundance of blooms that finally pulled the root system from the pot and slowly began the decline this summer that resulted in its death yesterday.

A visual look at Big Red over the years….starting in 2010 with the blog.

This past Christmas Big Red was at its most beautiful….when the cold weather hit after Christmas it came inside for the longest time ever during the ice storm and then other nights Luke would carry it inside for me. Everyone in the neighborhood loved Big Red and would slow down and beep when they saw it.

During the early days of my first chemo infusion treatments in the summer of 2008 I would go sit in the sun and just talk to Big Red. It is amazing how close all God’s creations are in reality. There is no doubt Big Red came into my life when I most needed it  and now…?

Out of nine cuttings that Chelsey took when Big Red was struggling earlier this summer…only one “took.” Now Little Red (Big Red’s clone) sits inside the beautiful bowl Chelsey and Luke gave me with the plant inside. Yesterday I couldn’t bring myself to throw the big potted plant container away that Big Red called home for a decade…so I simply placed Little Red on top…hoping that the same courage and perseverance that kept Big Red blooming to everyone’s enjoyment for so long will be passed along to Little Red.

This was Big Red’s last bloom for me…as it struggled to stay alive while Chelsey and I did everything humanly possible we knew to help it. It was just its time…so now my hope lies in Big Red’s clone…Little Red. May Little Red carry on his father’s legacy of hope and courage.

At the end of the children’s book “Red Flower Goes West” a little boy’s red geranium survives all the trials and hardship of traveling in a covered wagon out west. Soon the little boy, like me, realizes that keeping that red flower alive for his mother is the most important thing on the trip. When they finally arrive….the little boy hands the red geranium to his mother and she says” Red Flower will grow new leaves and buds…and so will we, so will we.”

***I think I got left one last ‘smile of health’ from Big Red. The sciatica I have been plagued with the past few months left two days ago…Wednesday I felt a twing here and there but nothing like the sharp, shooting pains down my leg I have been experiencing…and yesterday I realized I felt no pain. Coincidence…perhaps…but then Big Red was always there for me to make me feel better…I will think of it as the last gift.

So until tomorrow...”May Little Red grow new leaves and buds and so will I…so will I.” 

“Bread feeds the body and flowers feed the soul”  How true! Thank you Big Red for feeding my soul for ten wonderful years.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday was Meet the Teacher Day.…a most exciting day in a child’s life. Eva Cate loves her new teacher, Mrs. Bodie….and Jakie likes her too. Also, Eva Cate’s best friend, Lily, is in her class this year. Happiness is…

Rutledge loves his new kindergarten teacher too! Her name is Mrs. Bendig and he, also, knows one other little girl, Maggie Bailey, who will be in his class.

Eva Cate and Rutledge can hardly wait for school to start now…they both have wonderful teachers!

*Just heard from Bekah and Ady is also thrilled with her teacher for fourth grade, Mrs. Atkins! Wow! Three out of three…can’t beat that. Here’s wishing everyone a most wonderful school year!