Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

I came across an article that really ‘hit home’ for me and brought back so many memories. The article, itself, will make most of you nostalgic over a special tree (s) in a grandparents’ yard or favorite aunt or even your own yard. This article is about the symbolism of twin trees planted for a special remembrance for generations to come.

(Source: Awakin.org) “Planting Twin Trees” (Robin Wall Kimmerer)

“There was a custom in the mid-eighteen hundreds of planting twin trees to celebrate a marriage and the starting of a home. The stance of these two, just ten feet apart, recalls a couple standing together on the porch steps, holding hands. The reach of their shade links the front porch with the barn across the road, creating a shady path of back and forth for that young family.

I realize that those first homesteaders were not the beneficiaries of that shade, at least not as a young couple. They must have meant for their people to stay here. Surely those two were sleeping up on Cemetery Road long before the shade arched across the road. I am living today in the shady future they imagined, drinking sap from trees planted with their wedding vows. They could not have imagined me, many generations later, and yet I live in the gift of their care. Could they have imagined that when my daughter Linden was married, she would choose leaves of maple sugar for the wedding giveaway?

Such a responsibility I have to these people and these trees, left to me, an unknown come to live under the guardianship of the twins, with a bond physical, emotional, and spiritual. I have no way to pay them back. Their gift to me is far greater than I have ability to reciprocate. They’re so huge as to be nearly beyond my care, although I could scatter granules of fertilizer at their feet and turn the hose on them in summer drought. Perhaps all I can do is love them. All I know to do is to leave another gift, for them and for the future, those next unknowns who will live here.”

…………………………..

After Hurricane Hugo took down all the pine trees in my front yard, except one, I decided I wanted to plant Bradford Pears. At that time I was completely illiterate about anything green and growing but I loved their colors in the spring and fall. So I saved my money and got two (I thought twin) Bradford Pears to be planted. One on my side of the duplex and one on mother’s side…so from then on I would refer to each pear tree as mine or mom’s.

Mother’s Bradford Pear took off like a rocket….grew tall and spread out…absolutely beautiful. Mine, on the other hand, looked like a “minnie-me” version of mother’s …small and petite. (I had someone tell me later the nursery had planted two different types of Bradford Pears by mistake…and different genders (?)…mine was small and petite and would never be big like the one on mom’s side.

Mother (secretly) loved that hers was so much more beautiful and smiled every time that conversation came up. It was a few years after mother’s death and I was renting the other side out to Nancy Parker (wonderful friend and tenant) when a summer thunderstorm sent mother’s Bradford falling head first on Nancy and me standing on the porch talking.

It wasn’t until later that I discovered Bradford Pears have weak root systems, particularly after a flood, and it is not uncommon for them to just topple over after a long period of rain. That is when I put the barrel on mother’s side and filled it with seasonal flowers.

Suddenly my Bradford Pear started growing and growing and growing. Today it is huge…nothing petite about it anymore. (Middle age is a bummer for humans and trees apparently in the weight category!)  I feel sure one day a tropical storm will take it out but so far so good.

There is always a little ache in my heart when I think about how much pleasure those trees brought mother and me…laughing over our friendly competitiveness with the “twin” trees.

Perhaps that is why I came up with the idea of planting a Japanese Maple for each grandchild. (Soon there will be one more for Eloise when she arrives.) It is a legacy of love…a legacy of shade.  Hopefully one day the grandchildren will all return to Boo Boo’s and sit beside their tree in the shade and read wonderful stories of talking trees.

So until tomorrow… “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone else planted a tree a long time ago” (Warren Buffet)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Don’t forget to send the name of someone with breast cancer or any cancer whom you would like to see listed on our team poster as someone we are walking for.

Happy Birthday Bekah (today) and  Mollie and Susan (yesterday)  – I could have sworn Bekah and Mollie had the same birthdays…now I know it is Susan Swicegood and Mollie who share birthdays …our growing family must create a “Match Birthday” card game…it would be fun to play!

Eva Cate, once again took those long skinny legs and ran her little heart out….faster than a speeding bullet….for James B. Edwards Fun Run to help buy provisions for the school.

*I kept Rutledge and Lachlan last night so Walsh could take Mollie out for her birthday….everything looks so pretty in and outside the house…I discovered a wonderful fishing hole Walsh is taking the boys to and a park…we had a good time.

On the way home as I was turning onto Highway 78 off I-26 I saw that Trident Medical Hospital was all lit up in pink. It made me feel so wonderful to visually see my medical caregivers sharing in this moving symbolism.

If you have not donated yet and would like to…we would appreciate the gesture….we are really close to a new goal for Legally Pink! Thank you!!!

Link: http://www.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/CHS_SouthCarolinaAffiliate?pg=entry&fr_id=6930

Dear Reader:

Half of the pleasure of reading is finding innovative expressions or thoughts. Some of these really stir my imagination. In Book 12 of the Penny Louise detective novels, Armand Gamache, makes an observation that Three Pines is in a time and place called Netherworld.

In the novel it is early November, late fall in Quebec, yet the first snow is lightly falling down….it is still officially fall, but Old Man Winter is knocking hard on the door to be let in and the first early snowfall is the initial warning of the next season to arrive. Winter beats out fall there… coming early and staying late.

Here in the Lowcountry we all woke up to our own colloquial “Netherworld” with the coolest temperatures of the fall season to date. It got down in the fifties last night/early this morning…the high will only be about 70 today…For our semi-tropical area fall has come!

In our “Netherworld” summer and fall fight it out every year with summer winning all the matches (at least in the past few years)….we have a long extended summer that can last into November. (We have all witnessed some hot Thanksgivings and even Christmases!)

Netherworlds do feel out of line….the summer flowers are exhausted and finally just give up the ghost, most of the fall mums burn up too quickly. Nature knows when things are out of sync…eventually they adapt but not before some very puzzled flowers, vines, and bushes suffer the consequences of changing weather patterns.

Another metaphor in the book describes Chief Inspector Gamache (main character) with a revealing metaphor….a facial map with lines.

“His was a care-worn face. Most of the lines, if followed back like a trail, would lead to happiness…a face made when laughing or smiling, or sitting quietly enjoying the day. Though some of the lines led elsewhere. Where terrible things had happened…horrific sights, unspeakable acts. Some of them his. The lines of his face were the longitude and latitude of his life. Anyone looking at him would see a deep scar at his temple that just showed how close he came to dying….but the most observant people wouldn’t see just the wound, but the healing. And they’s see, deep in his eyes, beyond the scar, beyond the pain, beyond even the happiness, something unexpected…

KINDNESS.

This creative metaphor got me thinking about my own facial lines and scars on my body from so many breast cancer related surgeries. Yet sometimes when I get a passing glimpse of the scars criss-crossing my chest I remember a quote I once read about scars.

“There is something beautiful about all scars of whatever nature. A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed and healed, beautiful life has continued .” Harry Crews

So until tomorrow…Thank you life for every minute and moment I get to spend with you…what a blessing you are!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Doodle has made a large pink poster with a place for names of loved ones with breast cancer (or any cancer) whom you would like to honor or place in memory of….for the race.

If you would like your friends/family’s names on the poster (I will take a picture and put on the blog after the race) please email, text, call or comment the names to me by this Friday at noon. Doodle, Lassie and I will be heading over to Daniel Island in the afternoon to start getting things set up. Thank you!

Donation Link: http://www.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/CHS_SouthCarolinaAffiliate?pg=entry&fr_id=6930

Dear Reader:

Every year when the Race for the Cure begins I find myself amazed at the diversity of people walking/running for this cause. Babies are pushed in strollers, little children are running and squealing, families are holding hands, groups of friends are strolling and talking, and elderly men and women are valiantly walking the race one more time with great pride and dignity.

It is a parade of pink perfection…a sea of pink where everyone bonds together as one, regardless of race, gender, or age. Each participant has his/her own story to tell…whether it is their own personal story or a mother, grandmother, aunt, or friend’s tale. There is a reason every one has gone to all the trouble to rise at dawn on a Saturday morning, fight the traffic to Daniel Island, and then walk or run the race. That reason is love…and that love can be felt throughout the Survivors’ Ceremony, laughter and greetings from annual familiar faces, and the race itself.

There is also sadness when a previous “survivor” is no longer physically able to participate or has passed away during the year. This is a reality of the Race for the Cure…honoring those still alive fighting the disease or remembering the ones who fought and victoriously left this world for another with their soul completely cancer-free. In the end…cancer never wins because the important part of who we are is permanently immune from this insidious disease…”It is well, it is well with our souls.”

*Yesterday we got the “official” notice that our team, Legally Pink,  ended up in third place (at this point) in the race donations and we were eligible to receive a tent for our team to reside in before the race and relax afterwards. The team’s name will be on it as well as some “goodies” placed on a table in the middle of the tent. We can decorate our tent if we wish and our wonderful team mate Doodle is already ‘on it’ with ideas how to make Legally Pink “sparkle” on Race Day. What would we all do without Doodle? It will definitely be the location for our Team Picture this year! What fun! A great way to remember a memorable Race for the Cure!!!

There is no way we could have won this special recognition without YOU! In the big scheme of things it is just a small thing (a little tent)…but to all of us, Legally Pink, it is MAGNANIMOUS! It is demonstrating your love, care, and compassion for others who carry a different cross to bear.

Donations are accepted throughout this month, especially in these last few days leading up to the finale this Saturday…we are really close to a huge new goal we never thought we’d see. So if you have not had a chance to donate and would still like to….here is the link. This isn’t just any link but a link that connects all of us together as caring human beings!

Link: http://www.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/CHS_SouthCarolinaAffiliate?pg=entry&fr_id=6930

(* If you have any trouble with the electronic donation contact me at [email protected])

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Guess who stopped by to see me yesterday morning? Sammy! (Dee, Sammy has kept his birthday promise and to date hasn’t pooped or scratched my rear-view mirror once.) In fact I had not seen Sammy for a couple of weeks before I left for Edisto Island. (I was actually afraid something had gotten my persistent cardinal…but he was staring right up at me on the computer first thing yesterday morning.) I do believe Sammy and I have signed a truce of friendship.)

Dear Reader:

Before I left to go to Edisto Beach last week an email had popped up talking about the Church of the Small Things. I glanced at it but was in a hurry to get ready to leave for the retreat and didn’t think any more of it until getting back and starting to “clean out” my inbox…and there it was again.

The first thing that struck me was the title…because worship, to me, has always been about the little things. Some of my best worship times is in the car on a long trip where I have the luxury of conversing with God or while working in my garden, or having a deep conversation with friends or having a spontaneous opportunity to help someone who perhaps dropped a grocery bag…I love communicating with God during those memorable moments in life.

The latest most memorable moment came Saturday afternoon as I started to leave Mandy and John’s (after the Disney on Ice –  Frozen.) I went into the den to tell the grandchildren good-bye. Eva Cate was absorbed in a children’s movie and told me good-bye and waved but Jakie stopped playing trucks and looked at me….“You going home now Boo Boo?” he asked and when I replied “Yes” he got up and came over and put his little head in my lap on the couch for a few seconds and then slowly picked up both my hands and kissed them. He then hopped down to play trucks again.

It was a “small thing” but a most beautiful moment …far surpassing Disney on Ice. (as much as I loved it)

When I read a notation from the author (Melanie Shankle) of the Church of the Small Things (right after the Las Vegas tragedy) I was drawn to her similar thoughts on worship and how God loves best the small ordinary acts of kindness and compassion His children bring Him each day…like blowing kisses upward!

*Thoughts from Melanie Shankle following our latest national tragedy….Las Vegas.

…”Honestly, it all feels like too much, doesn’t it? Too much hurting, too much fighting, too much sadness and too much tragedy.

But it also embodies the very heart of what I wanted to share as I wrote Church of the Small Things because what we’ve also seen are neighbors helping neighbors, ordinary people stepping up to make a difference in the lives around them in a million small ways. What’s going on in the world right now can seem so overwhelming and too big for any one person to handle, but each of us can impact our small corner by loving our family, our friends, and asking God to show us what he’d have us do this day right where we are with what he has given us.

David killed a giant with a slingshot he already owned.

A widow saved her family with a little bit of olive oil that was already in her house.

A young boy shared his lunch and it fed 5,000 people.

Jesus changed the world with twelve men. He didn’t even have an Instagram account. “

………………………..

So until tomorrow…I was thinking the other day that life is a balancing act between responsibility and privilege. And even though most of us will never save the world on the front pages of a newspaper…the real “superheroes” are all of us…God’s children who are capable of life-altering changes for others through ordinary means at our own disposal. Underneath all of our exteriors lie the spirit within us filled with a superhuman capacity to change the world through love, kindness, and compassion.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Another big benchmark by writing my little blog posts from my little corner of the world…110,000 loving “hits” since November 2014.

*We just got some great news about our team “Legally Pink” and we are in the process of working through some fun ideas….so will wait and share this news tomorrow. Hard to believe that the race is almost here…this Saturday! Getting excited!

Dear Reader:

Apparently for years each of us Ya’s, individually, have been feeling the same sense of freedom and peace as we cross the McKinley Washington Bridge that takes us to Edisto Island. It is like the weight of the world  dissipates the moment you reach the highest point of the bridge and look out over all the quiet beauty around you. Sometimes the water and skies appear to connect as one…the same rich color of blue set against the bright green marshes…breath-taking.

A couple of years ago one of us mentioned the feeling and everything stopped as all of us exclaimed (at the same time) that we experience the same exact feelings… of leaving one world of responsibilities behind and approaching another world of abundant friendship, complete acceptance, and security. Edisto Beach for us is a little cocoon where we each can de-stress in anyway we choose and just completely be ourselves. It is, in every sense of the word, our sacred place.

The mist from an early Monday rain was still drifting in the air as the sun began breaking through the clouds over Edisto Island… while driving there last week. I kept wanting to pull over and take pictures but the road is narrow going into Edisto and there really isn’t a safe place to pull over…but I did get lucky (with no cars behind me) and snapped a shot of Christ Church in Adam’s Run on the way in. When I passed Toogoodoo Road a memory came back to me from teaching SC History that made me smile.

I was doing a lesson with third grade students and the worksheet had a list of wonderful old strange names from South Carolina history…names guaranteed to make students laugh. Before I helped them find the real origin of the words (many from Native-American tribes or rivers) each group (assigned a word) had to come up with a creative way they thought the name started…their own origin story.

One year one group got the word Toogoodoo. After giggling for a few minutes I could see one little boy in the group whispering and the rest nodding. When I called on him for his group’s idea of how the word became the name of a place…he said:

“One time we got to go to the Old Fire House Restaurant in Hollywood, SC (near Edisto Island) My daddy and me can out-eat anybody when it comes to fried shrimp so at the end of the meal I stood up and said (rubbing my stomach)..”This place is just ‘too good…oooooooo!’ We think the Indians did the same thing after they had caught shrimp from the Edisto River and that is how the name became a place.”

So every time I go to Edisto I pause a minute when I pass the Toogoodoo road sign and grin! (Believe me the Ya retreats’ meals are also “too good…ooooo!“)

*The real origin is: Near the coast, part of the Edisto river was once known as the Ponpon River. The Dawhoo River connects the Edisto to the North Edisto River, also the confluence of the Wadmalaw and the Toogoodoo rivers, where they meet the Atlantic Ocean. Originally the terms Dawhoo and Toogoodoo were Native-American tribes from this area.

Yesterday morning Mollie and the boys came to visit Boo Boo and we had lots of laughs…Mollie’s birthday is coming up this week so I picked up a fall wreath (from Edisto Island) for their new home and gave it to her. The women at King’s Market make such beautiful wreaths from all natural items.

Then Mandy, Eva Cate, Jakie, and I were off to Disney on Ice…Frozen! We figured since Eva Cate was three when we first took her it was time for Jakie to get the same amazing experiences too. Suddenly, however, he got scared when he realized John wasn’t going…and was very apprehensive all the way there. He sat in Mandy’s lap for the first part of the show but was so mesmerized he forgot all about being scared and loved it…we all did. Eva Cate dressed up as Anna from Frozen and Jakie wore his light-up Mickey Mouse  PJ top!

Dear Reader:

We are all back safe and sound…even driving home on Friday the 13th! As usual the hiatus was way too short and we all stayed as long as we could yesterday without getting into late Friday afternoon heavy traffic.

When I drove up to my house, my cute young neighbor, Luke, welcomed me back home from his hammock on the porch. He said he was sorry the weather wasn’t that great but he was sure we had a good time. I must have looked puzzled because he said Summerville had rain showers almost every afternoon. Edisto Beach had nil to none…and even the humidity slowly crept down as the week progressed.

*In fact we spent more time on the front porch this go-around and less time watching television than we ever have. We have decided our lives are just as interesting, if not more, than television’s.

Honey, Thursday evening, our last night, we noticed a really large dragonfly flitting back and forth and back and forth, up and down and up and down the front porch. The sun was setting and it was just beautiful…it was like the dragonfly wanted to say hello. We immediately thought “Honey! all at the same time.”

We discussed a little of everything, a little of this and a little of that…especially catching each other up on family, children, and grandchildren. It is so nice to share all the ups and downs of life at this stage in our lives together. (It feels better knowing everyone is feeling similar thoughts in life.)

BUT it was Jackson who came up with a novel idea for bread ties before we throw what’s left of the loaf away. She asked us if we knew that the bread ties were different colors to indicate the day of the week they were baked? None of us knew that…we shook our heads. And then she took it a step farther…her own personal idea for using bread ties.

“Because I probably have too many pairs of black pants – I use the different colored ties to indicate the age (and wear and tear) of the pants. I tie red tags on the hanger of black pants that are the best and saved for special occasions, yellow for my errand pants, and white for my “only wear at home pants.”

Jackson received a standing ovation. We all have too many black pants. Perhaps the Ya’s should start an entrepreneur club and think through inventive ideas for every day, ordinary items in life.

As usual we picked one night to go out to eat…to Ella and Ollie’s…we have started going on Wednesday nights instead of Thursdays (last retreat nights) so we will have the last evening to spend eating left-overs and just chill’in! *(The restaurant has the coolest chandelier when one walks in…made from oyster shells.)

Libby is really the funniest storyteller…anywhere we go she keeps us in stitches and the thing that is so funny…is that her stories are all true. Libby can get herself in the most awkward, bizarre, hilarious scenarios that even comedy sit-cons couldn’t even think up…We love her stories!

Look how pretty the fall wreath is Libby gave Brooke last year for her birthday…it just set the tone. Monday night we had roast beef, potatoes, carrots, corn pie, rolls and key lime pie. This time it was for my birthday (the never-ending birthday year…love it!) I got jewelry, a beautiful scarf from Betsy (Libby’s daughter gave me the perfect gift which comes in handy for the meat locker temps in the beach house) and my first ‘Soft Surroundings‘ jacket/tunic. So soft!

Tuesday Brooke and I went to pick up a few items from King’s Market (we LOVE King’s Market) and drove out to Steamboat Landing…we met a nice family from Tennessee and watched another woman crabbing (successfully) for blue crabs. So good to be alive…fresh air like no other!

Even though Edisto really took a hit from Hurricane Irma…(*praying Karen y’all get your treasured beach house back in order soon) everything looked so beautiful, clear, and clean on the beach…Going to the beach in October is a special luxury with those October sapphire skies.

(Those jetties are the exact ones I was sitting on when I had my dolphin “experience.”!)

Some more stories and pictures tomorrow….it is hard to squeeze five days of living into one blog!

So until tomorrow…when we go on “beach time” (meaning no one ever knows the time while we are there and/or cares) we have discovered a novel way to tell how long we have stayed. Potato Chip bags! (From left to right….photo of number of bags when we arrived and when we left…these were huge family bags…Equation: we each ate half a family bag of chips…now that is wolfing down some.) *And an extra bag of barbecue potato chips.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Back home and all looks well…lots of showers to make the flowers happy. Thanks Vickie for checking on everything for me!

What blows my mind is my morning glory vines…they bloom from early morning to darkness…I took these pictures at 7:00 last evening. The morning glories are making friends with all the flowers still left in the beds…the zinnias and lantana. And the Confederate Rose just continues to show off for everyone!

I’m home!

Dear Reader:

I picked out five “Power Thought Cards” at random to create a post around  each day this past week I have been at Edisto Beach. Today, Friday the 13th I am returning home.

I remember last weekend when I made the decision to select five cards from the stack (at random) and then challenge myself to create a blog post from each one… I, also, gave myself the freedom to attach the cards to each day of the week as I chose ahead of time.

When I realized the Ya’s would be returning on Friday the 13th I saved this card for the last one…the  title photo…It seemed like a fitting ending. After being with the Ya’s… this past week has definitely dissolved many fears and doubts from all of us. So many of these attributes could be easily laughed away when openly expressed among friends!

Just like morning’s rays and sunshine dispel bad dreams and thoughts from the night…friends do the same thing when together. We reassure each other that ‘everything will be all right’ …we have all become substitute mothers for each other since all of us have lost our mothers over the years.

I imagine all of you have figured out the new fun word… PARASKEVIDEKATRIAPHOBIA means a fear of Friday the 13th. The only thing we Ya’s fear is not seeing each other until the next gathering. In unity there is strength.

But I can hardly wait to get home and give everyone on the blog a sneak peek into a fun week at Edisto…our favorite R&R! Thanks Brookie for being the hostess with the mostest!

So until tomorrow…Take time to simply “hang” with friends….life is way too short to go it alone!

“Today is my favorite day”!  Winnie the Pooh

*And look what I am coming home to….when I left the last night three moon flower blooms appeared outside my window! Oh…the possibilities!

Dear Reader:

I remember when mother was at the Presbyterian Village, after her dementia grew worse, my heart was so heavy. It was nothing to do with the “Village” per se, it was simply that mother was a very private person and didn’t wish to spend her last days in a nursing home…especially confused and disoriented.

I was a single parent at the time with three children, teaching full time and I knew I didn’t have the financial resources to accommodate mother’s needs at home. Mother made it easy for us  by talking to me one day and saying that it was time for her to go…she needed more care than I or any family member could give. She woke up some mornings and didn’t know where she was. She wanted to go on and start the process of admittance.

I think I shed more tears over this decision than any other in my life…it was something that I had to turn over to God and I knew mother had done the same thing.

As it turned out…it really was a God-send since mother had a serious stroke just a few months after admittance. We would not have even had the option of going if we had waited much longer.

In the little story below another woman is making the same decision as mother…but for her she is taking her priceless memories with her. The saddest part of mother’s condition was that she didn’t even have her memories to befriend her. (*Her occupational therapist suggested I make a memory book for mom…fantastic idea…I can’t recount how many times we opened the book and went through all the photos of her as a child, her parents, husband, we children, grandchildren, etc.)

(Back of Power Card)

For mother…every day was a new day since she couldn’t remember the one before. She did live in the moment but dementia is a memory thief and a “who am I” thief that steals loved ones away from us even while still living.

But…then we did have some special times together, simply as friends, when we fed the ducks at the little pond outside and shared sunsets together…..for those glorious moments time did stop.

Dear Reader:

There are now two passages of “truth” that I feel unequivocally adamant about in my sixth decade on this planet. 1) We are all connected 2) Obtaining a meaningful and fruitful life depends on choices…life is a series of choices.

The “real” world we choose to live in depends on our definition of what we perceive as “real.” We can be sheep following society’s guidelines or become mavericks who seek our own unique creative guidelines through our life’s journey with the help of our Creator to lead us.

On the back of this “Power Thought Card” it says:

I discovered an interesting Huffington Post article titled: “You create Your Own Reality” by contributor Melissa Heisler. Great food for thought!

The phrase “You create your own reality” has become a popular catch-phrase in the past decade but I don’t think I actually understood the meaning behind the phrase. After reading this article I had a small epiphany on this topic:

Don’t we all have a tendency to blame others when we get our feelings hurt, or are embarrassed, or sad or angry?  We stomp home from work or wherever like the little boy who angrily takes his bat and ball home in a pout… so the rest of the neighborhood gang can’t play. (It’s my way or the highway approach to life)

“The truth is that no one can make us feel any way. Outside forces may create undesirable situations, but we are the ones who choose to react to those situations. We create our reality by how we choose to react; how we choose to perceive situations; how we judge others’ actions.”

This is where creative thinking comes in to play. Heisler explains it simply: “When I am at my most powerful, is when I am at my most accepting. I see people for who they are without judgment or attack. I accept all circumstances as they are without my perception of what that means for me or others.”

“Acceptance is seeing the world and those around us truthfully and compassionately. The ability to do this comes from disengaging the fear-sensing part of our brain. It comes from being able to turn off our unconscious stress reactions and consciously choose how we view and react to situations.”

Too often we still use the amygdala area of the brain that makes us react quickly… fight, flight or freeze. That worked well for our ancestors and pre-ancestors life style but learning to use our choice and problem-solving part of the brain creates a calmer reality for us. It would be like holding up a sign”Be Calm and Make Good Choices.”

(I remember Mandy saying that expression all the time to Eva Cate…Her pre-school used these words “Make Good Choices” repeatedly during the school day and encouraged parents to follow through after school hours.) They too were trying to teach children options for problem-solving situations at school.

(It was kinda funny…I remember seeing Eva Cate holding two Barbie dolls..she had them  fighting each other…and she was mimicking her teacher “Now now make good choices.”

So until tomorrow… We should try to find the truth of situations, not our judgments. Learn the power of acceptance instead of attack. And we will find that we can create a new, better reality for ourselves. *I sure am trying…step by step.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

On my last neighborhood walk with Vickie and Maggie (the dog) last Sunday evening before leaving for the beach Vickie and I saw this gigantic magnolia tree with these gorgeous pink colored cones.

Everywhere I look I see pink…we are now ten days out from the Race for the Cure and getting closer and closer to our goal. Here is this week’s donor information if you are interested in donating to “Legally Pink” our wonderful team or individual team member!

You can make electronic donations by using this link: Scroll down

Link: http://www.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/CHS_SouthCarolinaAffiliate?pg=entry&fr_id=6930

To mail a check: Make it out to:

Komen Lowcountry…*On the check memo line, please include the participant’s name you wish to honor or the team name. (Legally Pink)

Address: Susan Komen, S.C. 50 Folly Road Blvd. Charleston, SC 29407

Blessings from my home to yours!

 Guess what?  Team Captain Tommy Dingle just called to tell us our team , Legally Pink, is momentarily in fourth place for overall donations to date! We are so happy and thankful to all of you in helping us support those who come behind us with this disease or can’t physically  participate in the race.

EXCITING NEWS! *We were just notified that this Friday the top five teams will receive a special recognition!  We are so excited over this possibility after nine years of participation and hopeful we will still be in the running two days from now.The top teams are neck in neck ! All for such a wonderful cause!

Y’all are the best!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support!!! Fingers crossed and pink bows too!

Dear Reader:

Continuing with my five-day ‘Power Thought Cards’ challenge…I drew the card above for today, Tuesday’s blog post. (My home is a peaceful haven.)  And it is!

I am very careful to keep bad spirits out and only good thoughts in. A few years ago, you might remember, I painted my porch ceiling “haint blue” as well as the inside of  my doors, so like the old Gullah superstition said…“Paint your ceilings and doors blue and nothing bad can get through.” 

So if you have come to see me the last two or three years and made it through you are very good inside and out. And painting the porch ceiling blue has kept the wasp nests and other flying insects from making a home on the ceiling…they think it is the sky and get confused.

And once inside I hope you feel the sense of peace and happiness that I do. I am careful to try to keep as much of the world out as possible by reading more and watching television less…particularly the news. I don’t like going to bed upset over scary things far worse than “haints” and “boo hags.”

I wish I could paint everyone’s house blue in the world to protect them from all kinds of bad things…so everyone could relax and rest in their own home of peace…comfort and joy.

I like these two stanzas from John O’Donohue’s blessing for a home.

May this be a safe place

Full of understanding and acceptance,

Where you can be as you are,

Without the need of any mask

Of pretense or image

May your heart be tranquil here,

Blessed by peace the world can not give

…………………………..

(Back of the Power Thought Card)

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

One of our favorite comforts of home in the South is sweet tea! It is the “House Wine of the South.” Look at this adorable framed drawing of a jar of this “wine.” Thank you Pam Stewart…I love it!