Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

I am so glad I decided to go back and re-read Louise Penny’s detective series…because I realize now I was reading the books so quickly the first time around…in my eagerness to discover “who dunnit” that I missed many subtle, poignant and powerful spiritual messages held within the pages…far more important than the capture of the culprit.

I don’t want to give anything away…but there is a beautiful spiritual side line story that becomes the benchmark of courage and hope for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache…a personal story that he carries with him, as a shield,  through a series of political corruptions that explode around him…dragging him down into a dark abyss of betrayal by close friends, jealousy, and power run amuck.

In book two…the first hint that Chief Inspector Gamache did something morally courageous comes to light…but we only get hints of what is to come. He finds himself in a situation where his moral compass must decide whether to overlook injustice at its worst and cover up his knowledge of mis-doings from his own police force and close friends or expose it to the public at large.

Before the situation explodes Gamache finds himself in an isolated fishing village finishing up an earlier case. In this rocky barren plot of land Gamache finds beauty in the lichen on the rocks and almost invisible purple flowers. He doesn’t find God there…but in a diner.

He gathers his courage to tell a Three Pines resident this most personal story:

The friend immediately asks Gamache back…”What was God eating?” 

“Lemon meringue pie” Gamache replies with a twinkle in his eyes.

“He was dressed like a fisherman…but He looked across the room at me with such tenderness, such love, I was staggered.”

The “fisherman” then finished his pie and turned to the wall…rubbing something on it and then He “turned back to me with the most radiant smile I’ve ever seen. I was filled with joy.”

Before the fisherman left he looked back at Gamache, one last time, with a warm and comforting smile…as if to say he understood and it would be alright.

As soon as he left Gamache rushed over and wrote the four simple lines in his notebook that the fisherman had written on the wall. He knew then, immediately what his soul had been trying to tell him…that he had to do what was morally right…and let the consequences fall where they may. Because he had everything…

The four lines were:

“Where there is love, there is courage

Where there is courage, there is peace

Where there is peace, there is God.

And when you have God, you have everything.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Throughout the series…other characters see God…as a road worker carrying a sign or a homeless woman carrying a life-altering secret…God appears in the most mundane but extraordinary circumstances simultaneously.

There is no doubt in my mind…that my dolphin, was God revealed in one of His most beautiful creations that day back in 2008 (off the jetties at Edisto)  following my initial breast cancer diagnosis. And the lines (the mental impressions) I still remember from that foggy fall morning, the sighting of the dolphin jumping above me sitting on the jetties, are:

It’s going to be alright

Everything is just as it should be

You are a part of the universe

Go live your life

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Now how about you? Have you ever experienced a moment, an incident so mundane, yet so powerfully memorable, where you knew or at least suspected that You met God…that you were on Holy ground…that our Creator was as real as the Velveteen Rabbit…because to be real is to be loved?

From little children on…aren’t we taught that God is love…that the words God and Love are synonyms. So if we reject the notion of God…aren’t we declaring that we don’t believe love exists either? I, for one, wouldn’t want to live in a world without love…without God.

I finally remembered a popular song from a few years back that addressed the topic of seeing God all around us…including everyday people….do you remember it? It was called “What if God was One of Us?” by Joan Osborne.

If God had a name what would it be?
And would you call it to his face?
If you were faced with Him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?

And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
And yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin’ to make his way home?

*I love the Gregorian (Masters of Chant) version of this song

Gregorian – One of Us – YouTube

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So until tomorrow…I never see a dolphin without remembering that sacred moment in my life almost ten years ago…and now I will never eat a piece of lemon meringue pie without thinking of God, also…and the fictional Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Anne texted me yesterday…and said that the stuffed monkey I gave Nala as a baby…is still her favorite toy. I replied back…that from the monkey’s point of view…the photo’s title should read:

“Love Hurts”

Dear Reader:

In the midst of a depressing inspection around my yard and garden yesterday…I learned a valuable lesson.

Every time I look out my side window now…all I see are brown fromes dragging the ground and driveway…All the plants that were so beautiful, like the Ginger Shell, are pitiful looking “sticks” and stems staring back at me.

The same is true of  most of the plants in the back yard….I keep remembering them in their glory…like the Confederate Rose and the long-stemmed sunflowers. Now they look like a broken shell of their old selves. The morning glories that lined the fence with such beauty are now brittle-looking “spider webs” still clinging to the fence.

It is time to cut back all the dead stems and branches now…leaving only the most important part of the plants and bushes…their main sustaining root system…the heart of the foliage.

Don’t we humans have to learn to “cut back” too sometimes for the good of ourselves…whether it is for financial, health, or social reasons…to allow ourselves time to re-group and grow stronger for the challenges ahead?

Even the gardenia bush took a brutal “hit” from the ice/snowstorm….but other bushes still retain their own unique beauty.

As I was “whining” to Vickie about my ugly-looking back yard and garden…she stopped me at “our” rose bush by the driveway and pointed out the new tiny buds already trying to form again on the stems.

“They are working so hard for you…but just undercover. I will cut back the rose bush to help them in this effort and you need to cut back the dead stems and branches of the other plants and bushes… but never cut the root of the plant…instead “root” for it…because it is preparing itself for survival during the next couple of months while already planning its glorious spring return. Nothing is as dormant as it seems…life never rests.”

So true! Take “Big Red”…it hasn’t stopped blooming all year…and continues to bloom even inside the house waiting to return to its beloved white bench and bask in the afternoon sun on the front porch. It is just patiently waiting out the time…while continuing to form more blooms.

This May 31, 2018 “Big Red” turns 10…I will definitely be having a birthday celebration for my beloved geranium…what did I ever do before “Big Red” came into my life to mentor me through the good times and hard times with its amazing ability to persevere under all kinds of conditions. I love you “Big Red!”

So until tomorrow…Let us never forget that the winter season is the season for cheering on our forlorn-looking plant life…knowing that life hasn’t ceased, it is simply digging deep within itself to  start planning its annual resurrection of beauty and glory.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I found this list of “changes” for 2018 several weeks ago and think today is as good as any other to share them…I can easily identify with each of these New Year challenges.

*I am so proud of Eva Cate…she got Student of the Month yesterday…! Love you sweetie! Way to go!

*While moving “Big Red” last week after the temps dropped back in the twenties overnight….Luke picked up a big red blossom that broke off during the transition from the porch to the B&B side dining room table. He was so concerned but I assured him it was fine…”Big Red” had more buds coming. (*The blossom looks beautiful on the bathroom counter.)

Luke and Chelsey are all into the story of “Big Red” and Luke said if ever necessary they will carry big banner signs…“Save Big Red!” 

The neighborhood loves this special geranium…it has become a fixture on Rainbow…with neighbors slowing down to inquire about the plant…if it has had to be taken in for a few days.

A deserted path through the forest in Taipei, Taiwan.

(Neil Wade Photography– *This hauntingly beautiful photo, depicted in my own personal imagery, matches exactly what the path of personal intuition must look like…darkness with flickers of lighted hope)

Dear Reader:

No…I am not suffering from short-term memory loss…I do realize that I just talked about the origins of intuition in man and its significance in our lives…it is just that my intuitive heart yearns to connect with others in this search for the path we are to follow.

My wonderful family “brother,” Bill Dingle, sent this insightful response to the first post on the topic of  intuition, yesterday, that I want to share with you. (He nailed the essence of the meaning of intuition with one word…Something)

“Last night during our family devotion, I told the children that one of God’s names is “Something, “because often we say, “Something told me to do (or not do) such and such. God is always speaking if we will listen and obey, right away, first time. LOVE to all! BLESSINGS!”

How true! And “Something” is a God Wink…a foundation phrase behind this blog. Don’t we waste so much time in life trying to listen or be influenced by other people’s opinions instead of separating ourselves from the crowd and following our own personal path of intuition…our own “road less traveled?”

It really is a choice of listening to the brain or the heart…Are we trying to control our lives by listening to societal “experts,” even meaningful friends…instead of listening to our own Divine Spark… God-given within us?

I know my excuse is the loneliness of the path…I love people and doing things with other people…not so much by myself. My garden has helped me in this respect…forcing me to take time to nurture nature within my own set boundaries…and not others’ perimeters.

Once again I call on Mary Oliver…to put this in the perspective I need to come to grips with…while gathering the courage to find my own way with God’s guidance leading me. (I hope her prose speaks to you also…or if not…find a voice that does speak your feelings…it helps eliminate feeling isolated in this intuitive endeavor. )

The Journey

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice – 

though the whole house 

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug 

at your ankles.

“Mend my life!”

each voice cried.

But you had to stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy 

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night, 

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

I continuously doubt myself when it comes to following my intuition but I have suddenly realized (from the perspective of an ole’ history teacher) that the “famous” people we now study and look up to…had their doubts too when it came to making some of the most important decisions in their lives by following their own intuitions…many times against popular opinion.

Leaders aren’t considered great because they are filled with absolute certainties…great leaders are born out of doubt…the doubt that humbles them and then requires them to find the courage to overcome their inner doubts and misgivings…as they  follow their own path to greatness.

So until tomorrow….Let us all listen for the new voice we begin to hear… along our less traveled path…our voice…through God’s voice.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*How I delight in the sun dividing its rays/energy among the slants in the shutters in the “Happy Room.” All is takes is for one shutter to be a little off for the rays to skip a slant. And the final result…the most beautiful imperfection…so much more interesting than perfection.

It reminded me of the Leonard Cohen quotation Anne drew for me…

Dear Reader:

Like many other residents of Summerville… I was wondering if the garbage would ever get picked up again. It wasn’t just the snow/ice storm delay…our neighborhood garbage was never picked up the whole week before the storm, then after the storm and then after New Years…over three weeks with no pick-up. Summerville would soon be turning into “Smelly Summerville in the Pines.”

Except for strangely…recyclables. Last Friday, January 5th, our neighborhood heard a marvelous sound…the sound of the garbage truck. I texted the neighbors to let them know it was coming to our street…only to be dismayed that they were just picking up the recyclables and not the long-term food garbage…which was the aroma culprit…not the plastics, papers, and glass.

Still shaking my head…I told my neighbors to stuff more bags in my garbage can (since I had been in Mt. Pleasant for a week and mine was emptier)…but then miraculously late Friday afternoon…the old, old food garbage got picked up! Hallelujah.

I went out to thank the garbage helpers and tell them how much the neighborhood was going to be grateful for the pick-up. I didn’t mention the long, inexplicable, delay before and after the storm…but just simply thanked them for picking it up.

When I first went out with my Iphone I think they were nervous…thinking I was going to berate them and the company…I could almost feel them bracing for it…but when I thanked them instead…an almost visible shudder of relief crossed their faces and slumped shoulders…they must have had their “fill” of negativity that long day.

When they left Vickie sneaked out of her home and put up all our garbage cans…Our”Rainbow” street looked clean and pretty again…and this neighborly gift made me so appreciative of the fact that I have such amazing, caring neighbors.

It, also, made me very aware of how much we depend on town resources to keep Summerville the beautiful hometown we all love.

As I was skimming through the anecdotes from  (101 Ways to Be Young at Any Age) I came across “The Law of the Garbage Truck.” When it is applies to the people around us…it takes on a different but powerful meaning.

“Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, full of stress, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it on you. We need to not take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish others well, and move on. Don’t take other’s garbage and spread it to other people.

The bottom line is that grounded and happy people do not let “garbage trucks” take over their day and steal their joy. Life is too fleeting to let this happen. So…love the people who treat you right and even save some love for the people who don’t. 

Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you react to it. Have a garbage-free day!”

So until tomorrow…Be kind to others…who knows if one act of random kindness might be someone else’s memory forever.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

 *Hemingway was right when he said “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” 

I am re-reading one of Louise Penny’s books and in it I re-discovered this Martin Luther King, Jr. quote which is just as, or perhaps more, applicable today than when first uttered. Food for thought.

“We live in a world of guided missiles and misguided men.” 

Today…let us remember Martin Luther King, Jr. with this Gandhi quote…

“Your beliefs become your thoughts

Your thoughts become your words

Your words become your actions

Your actions become your destiny.”

How important it is today to share basic core beliefs about fundamental right-doings that humanity can share and endorse as all children of our Creator.

Dear Reader:

I, personally, think one of the greatest losses in modern civilization is our loss of personal intuition. The dictionary defines intuition as: the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning; an instinctive feeling. 

For thousands of years our ancestors depended on their inner compasses to simply survive…especially in the hunting and gathering days. On the simple fact that man survived…we know this inner ability served him well. The better one’s intuitive skills…the longer one’s life longevity.

Today, in our computerized high tech world..reality within the realm of success or failure… is acknowledged only by the ability of a computer to recognize it through data. Without hard core data to back up an intuitive feeling about a business proposal…most people are pushed aside in favor of the computer’s findings. And unfortunately computers don’t have intuitive skills…only producing what they are fed.

So many of our intuitive feelings, in life, are God Winks and our inner compass is simply a lantern carried by our Creator to map out our individual paths leading back home. We must be still to ingest the intuitive feelings within and respond accordingly.

I was about to delete the picture of the beautiful oak tree in Hutchinson Square off my desktop earlier today…when I recognized that the discussion I had with my “Wishing Tree” was a perfect example of the power of our inner compass.

I had left Mollie’s house two weeks ago today…New Year’s Eve…with Mollie making a gumbo dish for New Year’s Day and telling me it was a quiet day for Eloise…she hadn’t felt anything …so she thought there would be no action anytime soon. Her voice was tired…she was so ready for Eloise to come.

As I rode past Hutchinson Square coming back into town…the white lights on the trees, shining in the fading light of a late wintry afternoon, made me stop and pull over to sit on the bench and have a talk with God. I asked Him if it was okay with him (and Eloise) we sure would like our latest baby to come on.

Mollie was exhausted and getting little sleep… anxious for the baby’s arrival…if it be His Will…it sure would be nice to have her arrive and brighten this old world up for the New Year as only a new birth can do. One hour after this prayer…I got the text from Mollie that she and Walsh were heading to the hospital…Eloise was on her way…she was born a couple of hours later New Year’s Eve.

I think prayer and intuition go together like a compass and a lantern…a lighted path that only we each can see if we follow our God-given instincts…our moral compasses.

I love Mary Oliver’s prose from her poem titled:

 “Prayer”

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

God sure spoke that night…I remember, after getting the “green light” text from Mollie, thinking, “Wow…you sure do work fast God…I should have prayed this prayer earlier! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!”

So until tomorrow…I think intuition is simply a prayer peep...letting us know that if we follow our heart, not just our head, and do what God has taught us to do morally …love our fellow man…then good things always follow.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*…And speaking of a God Wink…Mollie sent me Eloise’s first little smile and wink…two weeks old and she already thinks the world is a funny place…or perhaps just her two big brothers. It could also be her Nana who is there now (Marcia, Mollie’s Mom) ….Being surrounded by love always makes us smile.)

I made a copy of the photo and took a pink ribbon and tied it on Eloise’s Japanese Maple tree which will hopefully get planted this weekend. Anne and I went to Hollow Tree Nursery yesterday (and Duke’s) to pick out a Japanese Maple tree for my latest grandchild. From the tallest to the smallest…Now I have to order a name plaque to go by her tree too.

Bunk beds came to the Turner house…Eva Cate has wanted them for quite some time. Lori, Mandy and John’s wonderful neighbor (and Eva Cate’s friend Lily’s grandmother) had some she was ready to get rid of…so the transition took place yesterday. Both Eva Cate and Jakie are thrilled! Thank you Lori! A new look for Eva Cate’s room.

Dear Reader:

At the beginning of the New Year there are usually three topics on our minds that we want to address differently in the New Year…maintaining a healthy weight, eating/exercising healthier, and financially saving more.

A financial analyst was on a talk show the other day and mentioned the established three-prong savings concept in financial circles…(Give) Share, Save, and Spend.  I even found a thrice-divided savings bank for children to encourage this way of financial thinking (title picture.) We need to be able to break our earnings up into these three components.

Remember this Yearly Savings Plan from last year. You will be proud of me…I not only got to $1000 by the end of December but actually by the end of November. I was thrilled!

…And then (Jaws music) I had to replace all the components to my commode/ flooring plus “resurrect” my car from certain death (becoming scavenger metal debris) …the total of these two “incidents” in late November and early December: $923. 76.

As I stared down at what was left…76.24 cents…I couldn’t help but think of The Gift of the Magi. Christmas was here and that was all of my  “extra” savings for this holiday?

Of course one side of my brain was complimenting me for having the savings to pay for these two expensive unexpected “downfalls”…but the other side of my brain was pouting like a disappointed child…this was not what I had dreamed about all those months while saving up to do something really special for the family this past Christmas and use the rest for a surprise adventure, perhaps of my own.

I wasn’t the only one who used this chart and was equally successful…in fact doubly so…because she doubled the amount she put in on each step of the savings ladder….Mary Lee, a friend from my church. She was saving for a very special gift for a loved one at Christmas. I will have to ask her how it went when I see her next.

The more I thought about the three components of how our earnings should be used…the more I saw the wisdom in sharing, saving, and spending. I had a lot of time to watch talk shows while snowed in…and on one show Suze Orman stated that, surprisingly, the majority of people whose checking and savings accounts become unbalanced in their personal financial situations….stem from over-giving to those we love and care about… It is not a selfish over-spending…just a longing to do more for those we love.

I thought back to my days as a single mom with three children and realize that most times this actually was the correct case scenario…trying to squeeze out more money for something the children really wanted or wanted to participate in that just wasn’t in the budget…and I didn’t want them feeling left out.

So this year…I have made out a list of top financial priorities I want to address…so as I plan my monthly budget…I am mentally divvying up my total monthly earnings into the three headings…sharing, saving, and spending. It isn’t easy when we are retired and living on a base-set budget…but I am going to try and make it work. Will let you know next year how this goes.

This little book is adorable….I am going to read it to the two oldest grandchildren and get them a three-holed piggy bank. In the story the three little pigs set up a brick construction site to help all their neighbors build new brick homes after having their straw and wooden homes blown away by the Big Bad wolf. The brick company grows rapidly and is quite successful…so now the pigs have to decide what to do with their profits. Great teaching tool.

I, also, realize however that time spent consumed with financial affairs should be limited too…because there is something far more precious out there…time.

I love this anecdote from the book Honey just recently sent me…101 Ways to Be Young at Any Age ( Bob and Fran German)…the title is ” 86,400.”

“What if we had a bank that automatically deposited $86,400 in our account every morning? However, what was left in the account after our withdrawals did not carry over to the next day. So, naturally, we would want to withdraw the entire amount each day!

Actually, we all have a bank like this. It’s our “Time Bank.” Each morning we receive 86,400 seconds. Each night it writes off whatever we don’t use wisely. So any wasted time does not carry over to the next day. we can’t borrow time or use another person’s time. The time for that day is simply gone.

…So we must ask ourselves each morning…how do we want to spend our time each day? We can waste it or we can use it wisely. The choice is ours.”

Bob and Fran’s three-fold time plan is: Feel Good, Look Good, and Do Good.

So until tomorrow…Time is life…we can spend it but we cannot keep it…so what results do we want left behind when our time runs out?

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

( Enquirer News)

Dear Reader:

I discovered (while putting all the Christmas decorations up Wednesday) another basket with books in it. At first I thought “Oh no… not still more” but then when I saw what the books were…I thought “Oh thank you Lord…for helping me find these.” They were Mark Nepo books, Madeleine L’Engle books…and Libby’s mother-in-law’s book (an original 1941 copy of Home By the River by Archibald Rutledge)… once poet laureate of South Carolina and one of my favorite storytellers and poets.)

The cover is so old…it is even hard to read the title…you can tell it has been a well-loved book and read several times by different members of the Clarkson family.

Some of you might remember that Libby’s mother-in-law received a copy of a letter a friend’s husband, Charles Thomas, had written about the funeral of Archibald Rutledge in September of 1973 that he attended. Later she re-wrote the whole letter in the back of this book…covering four pages.

What a priceless treasure and one I am putting in your hands at our late winter/early spring Ya retreat Libby! Thank you for letting me ingest all the rich history and first hand accounts from it.

I didn’t make any New Year resolutions but now I am making one…2018 will not fade away before I  step back in Hampton Plantation…it has been too long! There is more SC history associated with

this plantation than other from my point of view. (President Washington visited here and saved the old oak tree at the front of the driveway, SC heroines lived here and fought here….Eliza Lucas Pinckney, Francis Marion…”Swamp Fox”…the famous governors Rutledges and Horrys lived here -for whom Horry County is named- and so on and so on.)

I started skimming back through this beautiful book and as I got to the last page…I suddenly stopped…because I recognized so many similar feelings Archibald Rutledge did after returning home to his old plantation to live out his last years and begin restoring it to its original beauty. It is the last story about his return to a more natural rhythm in life…one not controlled by clocks and bells and meetings.

…”For the first time, almost, in my life I am not timed by bells. I awake to the drowsy calls of the plantation bird. I am close at last, after nearly half a century in a highly civilized society, to the elemental things I love. To the deep wildwoods all about me; to the river and its eternal tides; to the sharecroppers whose philosophy is recognizing that life was given to us for enjoyment and fulfillment. 

The days at Hampton are full of friends, of work, of hope. All about is a sense of calm, of joyous relaxation. There is here a gentleness that suggests what life can be; that in the realm of the heart, inglorious is the victory of might.

There is something that persuades one to accept quietly life’s stillness and its song. Only by such reconcilment can we find an answer to life’s longing. Here in this deep harbor of eternal dreams, the spirit finds sanctuary and is able, untormented by life’s badgerings, to meditate on the mystery all about us. The calm of the natural world must be the peace of God.” 

(In a dream Archibald Rutledge once dreamt…he described seeing Judith Serree, a “far ancestress” whose father built Hampton and inscribing for her in his book… “Judith, her book, Hampton, 1730. I realize that I, too, am but a visitor here in this stately home. I am, therefore, trying to be a considerate guest.”)

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We are back to elevator weather again…the high’s yesterday and today are predicted to be in the mid to high seventies before the fifties come clamoring back over the weekend. My skin feels so dry and I keep adding more and more lotion to my arms, legs, face, and neck. I am beginning to think that an ocean of oil wouldn’t get the job done…Speaking of lotion and oil…

I went to breakfast yesterday at Alex’s with friends. One of the regulars at Eva’s was in there and seated next to us. Before leaving he started sharing some hilarious anecdotes and he said to be sure and share them…

A little boy watched his grandmother one night put lotion on her face and neck…suddenly  asking what she was putting on and why. “Oil of Olay responded his grandmother…it helps me look younger.”At school later that week one of the little boy’s spelling words was delay. The little boy was called on to give an example of the word in a sentence and he said. “My grandmother puts on “Oil of Delay” every night to look younger.”  ( Great example!)

Before Christmas an elementary teacher asked her first graders to draw Christmas pictures to put up on the wall. One little boy drew the manger scene with Joseph, Mary, the baby Jesus, the angel, the three wise men, and animals. He also drew a round little figure staring down at the baby by the crib.

The teacher asked him if he had put Santa Claus in the drawing and was told no…that was “Round John Virgin.” 

So until tomorrow….“Let us all sleep in heavenly peace” like Eloise!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Well, I did it….it wasn’t easy but I persevered. Once you start a major project like this you just want to see it through to the end so by nightfall everything is back to normal again….Christmas is gone.

But I realize, also, that items are never precisely returned the same way…I either forget how the arrangement went or decide another location is better for a picture or vase or whatever. For example…with the tree gone…I rearranged the tables…putting the white one against the back wall and Poppy’s table against the side wall.

Is it just me or does the reflection of the chandelier on the Provence painting on the back wall look like a white Tiger Paw? Interesting.

I thought of the term “Return to Normalcy” because of a seventh grade assignment I had long ago. Our teacher, Mrs. McBride, had each of us come up and select a President’s name out of a glass jar. I remember being really excited about it.

I had never heard of our 29th President, Warren G. Harding, so I excitedly read the name of the President I had chosen out loud to the class. Before my turn…Mrs. McBride was oohing and aahing over everyone’s selection….but she didn’t say a word when I read the name. Her expression said it all…she looked like she smelled something bad.

I was puzzled but excited to get started. Mother took me to the library to get some books on this President and wisely didn’t say anything about him except he was a very nice looking President and the first one women had been able to vote on.

At the age of twelve I didn’t see anything handsome about him…he just looked old like all the other Presidents.

I do remember asking mother what the word “scandal” meant since I saw it a lot in my research….and I do remember thinking  the “Teapot Dome” scandal sounded like fun…did he spill tea on someone in the Oval Office…that would have been funny.

Mother patiently explained that a scandal was worse than just an accident or a wrong-doing…it was devious and crooked. I don’t think I ever fully understood the negative implications of his scandalous administration. But one article did place him at the bottom of the Presidential rankings so I figured I had gotten a dud.

I remember even Mrs. McBride hiding a smile as I gave my report… I said that his interests included playing golf, playing poker, and entertaining a special friend. (Mother made me cross out the word mistress which didn’t register anything with me anyway…and replace the term with  special friend.)

Harding thought America should go back to the good old days- thus his slogan (“Return to Normalcy”) before World War I. The problem is he discovered that there is no going back in history…only forward motion.

And isn’t that true of life? All of us, at one time or another, have wished for an easier, less complicated world or time-period to live in, and we think we remember or have read about such a time. The truth is every period of history has it good and bad….some periods tougher…in the case of war….but never as good as we think we remember.

It was Hurricane Hugo that brought this realization to me….after the storm that September of 1989…it was hot, sticky and foul-smelling in everyone’s homes. I knew then that, for me, there were no good times before electricity. I was miserable….food gone bad, toilets that wouldn’t flush, flies and mosquitoes in the house. It made me appreciate fully the time period God put me in… to live out my life.

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

It is hard to believe that Eloise’s due date was January 9…she came early on December 31…ten days early….and even in that short time…it is hard to remember when she wasn’t always here…time is funny that way.

Brookie’s newest grandchild…Beautiful little Emma Grey is home now with big brother Caleb…or “Boogie Boy” as Brookie calls him…he doesn’t seem quite sure about this latest addition and Brooke is realizing that ….the fun is just starting…and it really is! (with a few more challenges)

Guess what I saw yesterday…the most beautiful hawk sitting on the fence by the vacant lot next to me. I was putting out the garbage and he never flinched as I pulled my IPhone out and tip-toed closer to him…he seemed downright happy to get his picture made and posed for me in several directions. Does anybody know what type of hawk it is?

Dear Reader:

Since I was heading back home yesterday and Charleston County called off school again for students (Giving teachers another work day)…Eva Cate went with her granddad over to Walsh and Mollie’s home so the guys could get Eloise’s crib put together for her room.

While there Mollie took the girl cousins’ pictures…This was the first time Eva Cate has seen her new cousin….due to hospital restrictions, then a snowstorm with ice preventing safe passage, and finally a stomach bug that hit her and little brother Jakie. But now the granddaughters have officially met.

My hope is that it will be a relationship that will follow them through every stage of growing up, as well as, adulthood and another generational motherhood. Eva Cate and Eloise…my “E” granddaughters! Hugs and kisses my pink princesses.

(Now don’t get me wrong…I adore my three grandsons…but to be truthful…after three of these cuties in a row…it will be nice to get a break from car, truck sounds and especially crash noises…Are little boys just born knowing how to make these sounds…it sure appears that way to me?)

Before leaving for Eloise’s home Eva Cate was busy drawing…a picture for Eloise, little brother Jakie, and a cookie girl for me…since Mandy and I hit the last tin of Christmas cookies hard and fast during the snowstorm! Eva Cate also made Eloise a little bracelet.

I had a terrible scare Monday afternoon as I was preparing to leave yesterday morning. John cleaned off (and started up) my car to give it a test drive… the engine started smoking…then the engine light came on and John was worried that something had cracked or frozen.

I had a sick feeling in my stomach…I had just paid all that money last month to get my old car fixed and now this? Thankfully John and I took it around the neighborhood…the smoke immediately disappeared…and I realized the light that I was so used to seeing on was the engine light…my old car has some sensory wiring problem with that light and it stays on all the time…even after having a thorough check-up……so it drove fine and got me home without a single hitch yesterday. God is good! Whew!

At home…the heat was on…the faucets all worked and nothing was running or leaking…Hallelujah! When everything you own is old…one can’t help but worry if old parts of heaters or plumbing pipes can take another extreme frigid cold snap. But they all came through for me.

Now my biggest challenge is taking down Christmas…today is the day…I am showing these pictures again…so on tomorrow’s blog I can show you a return to normalcy scene. (I need to put some motivational pressure on myself to get it done)

You know the snow is over when…(as I was walking out to my car yesterday morning I passed the spot where the children’s snowman was located) This is all that is left…a dirty patch of ice, a carrot and a strawberry (the other two strawberries forming the “mouth” had rolled down the hill)

Both Tommy and Walsh put their Clemson birthday surfboard snowmen out during the snow…I can’t locate Tommy’s picture of his birthday gift at this moment…but here is Walsh’s he just sent me…

Donna Clark left me this note and ornament to remind all of us Clemson fans that the Tigers had a terrific season… and through all the up’s and down’s …Clemson fans are in! (Thank you Donna…I did miss our annual National College Football Championship game viewing together…but the oranges noses are ready to honk at any time. We are ready!)

I am not going to wait until next year…but hang the souvenir on my bedroom lamp post to remind me that loyalty to (not just a team but people you care about)… through good times and bad, is the most important thing! Thank you Donna for this reminder gift…love it.

Look what welcomed me home…when I arrived. Lasagna from Gin-g (De-Leesh!)…the “All In” trinket from Sam and Donna and a book from Honey on 101 ways to stay young with thought-provoking anecdotes….What a wonderful way to be greeted. Thank you all…dear friends!

Summerville really did get a lot of snow and it was still on Vickie’s roof when I drove up…almost a week after the snowstorm.

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

I think all little girls should wear bows, not just in their hair, but on their cute little bottoms too….maybe Eloise will start the new fad!

Dear Reader:

I am finally heading home today- I will be so relieved when I pull in my driveway- safe and sound!

What an adventure it has been and as Helen Keller once said ” Life is either an adventure or it is nothing at all.”

My relief hierarchy includes several items.

*Car gets me home ( story behind this comment- share later)

Heat still working on both sides of house

No pipes broken/ no plumbing problems

Un- decorating the Christmas Tree

Throwing the tree out

Taking down the wreaths and table decorations

Going to the store!

……………………………………………………

Whew! Tuesday is going to be a long day! And I will miss all the family- it will take some time to acclimate again – but I will and life will go on!

Please realize that creating a blog on an IPhone is quite challenging- so if I have not responded lately I hope to get back in the groove with my old trusty desk computer! I have missed ” Oldie Goldie!”

So until tomorrow…There’s no place like home.

“Today is my favorite day.” Winnie the Pooh

I sent Brooke both these pictures and said the girls are already taking charge – hands and mouth in motion. Big brothers don’ t stand a chance talking anymore- ” Chatty Cathie’s.”

Whew! I am