Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Look at another cute gift (sign above) from my friend, Debbie Baker, who, unfortunately had recent gall bladder surgery and couldn’t join Sue Anne and myself at Gin-g’s delicious birthday luncheon she held for me. Thank you gals…as wonderful as all the surcies were…nothing touched the friendship and laughter that filled Gin-g’s house yesterday!

Everything was decorated so adorably…the cuisine outstanding, and gifts of friendship (which held personal meaning) took center stage. 

Everyone brought the “boos” to the party…the best of their beautiful selves! Do you know the origin of the word “boo?”

Boo is a term that is derived from the French word “beau” meaning beautiful. In 18th century England it meant an admirer, usually male. It made it’s way into the Afro-Caribbean language, perhaps through the French colonization of some Caribbean islands, finally evolving into a slang expression for a girlfriend or boyfriend

Americans mostly think of the term within one of these meanings:

1) Boyfriend or girlfriend. Term of endearment.

2) A loud, abrupt yell, meant to frighten someone.

3) A sound made to indicate disapproval, the opposite of “yay.”

All the “boos” yesterday fell under the terms of endearment meaning from funny friends who lightened and brightened the day. A memorable time spent together…thanks to Gin-g Edwards putting it all together! What a wonderful way to celebrate birthdays.

Every day I think I am going to have a beautiful Confederate Rose bloom to show you….the tree is weighted down with stems and stems of buds…I did notice last year that it was nearer the second half of October that I started mentioning the beautiful blooms…so we are close…just not quite there. But look how tall the tree has grown this year…now taller than the garage/potting shed!

When the first bloom emerges it will be a “beautiful BOO!” of surprise and awe undoubtedly!

While I was out taking photos of the Confederate Rose bush…I saw a car park in the driveway….It was Sue Anne…bringing me two Jefferson cups (we had shared history trivia at lunch yesterday including Thomas Jefferson)….Sue Anne  said I needed one cup for each hand…it keeps wine cool or any other beverage…she was giving Gin-g and me both two….so sweet! So quickly I looked up the history behind it and here’s the story.

History

 Jefferson first created his iconic cups in 1810.  A close friend of his, George Wythe, had bequeathed Jefferson his collection of silver vessels.  These cups were melted down, and Jefferson commissioned a new design through famed silversmith John Letelier and created a set of eight cups.

The simple design of the cups was crafted with workmanship in mind.  The sleek sides, short stature, and weighted bottoms create a sturdy and durable vessel.  The originals featured a gilded interior achieved through a gold wash.

For the entirety of Jefferson’s life, the cups remained at his home at Monticello.  After his death, the cups were divided among Martha Jefferson Randolph’s children and grandson.  Six of the Jefferson cups are still preserved but two remain missing.

So until tomorrow:

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Walsh sent me the story of Deshaun Watson, former Clemson quarterback, turning his first NFL football game paycheck over to three women who worked in the cafeteria at the stadium and had missed working hours due to Hurricane Harvey in Houston, as well as losing cars and homes.

So proud of our Deshaun! He finally has the opportunity to give back and help people (like his own family who was helped by others during difficult times.) Now this is the kind of sports image we all want our children to see and look up to…just kindness and basic decency.

Dear Reader:

Doesn’t it seem like sometimes in this hectic rush through life (our society seems to have chosen as some kind of national “mantra”) that we need to step back and let our soul choose a mantra…designed just for each of our own unique beings?

Trying to watch the evening news leaves me with a headache. It is like every producer is trying to squeeze in as much news as possible. The result to the viewer is that we just get snippets of (mostly) terrifying or unsettling situations…but are given no time to absorb it until the next segment (when even more stressful news appears) and so on and so on.

I wait desperately for the last five minutes when finally humanity reigns in the form of good news…a little segment that shows the heart and soul of this country is still alive in its people…and after all “We the People” are our country. We must never forget that!

I feel like calling all the television news stations and reminding them that most times less is best…because we all need to wait for our souls to catch up with our bodies…our minds.

Do you remember that famous, true anecdote from years back?  A famed photographer from National Geographic was assigned to follow one of the last nomadic tribes of Africa…I believe this was in the late seventies or eighties.

For the first three mornings….the tribe rose before the dawn broke, packed and walked miles until evening…stopping to just eat and sleep before repeating this grueling repetition the next day. But on the fourth morning no one moved or got up early…slowly…the tribe began fixing communal food for a meal, talking quietly, softly humming to the babies and small children while sitting under the shade of trees.

The photographer, who was anxious to finish up the expedition and send in all his pictures asked why they had stopped and not moved all day. The translator replied: “We have moved quickly the last three days; now it is time to be quiet, be still to listen and wait for our souls to catch up with our bodies.”

*I think if we all practiced this…giving ourselves more time to examine complex situations…we would make more humane decisions…just a thought.

My Guidepost popped up as I was typing this blog post and it talked about “breath prayers.” I had never heard the term and it caught my attention…after reading the definition and explanation behind it…I thought it fit right in with finding time for prayer in our crazy lives.

Breathing is an unconscious thing. Breath prayers remind us that every breath is a gift from God and
God’s Spirit is nearer to us than our own breath. Acts 17: 28 “For in him we live and move and have our being. . .” This is one way to live out the instruction to “pray without ceasing.”

The idea is to think of scripture or just a simple thought that can be mentally repeated in the time it takes to breathe in and then breathe out. All of us have to keep breathing to live…so what better way to think of our Creator as many times a day as we choose.

Guidepost gave some examples such as: “Not my will, but yours.” “Come Lord Jesus.” “Lord Save Me” “Lord Have Mercy” “When I am afraid, I will trust you.” “Here I am.”

The meaning behind the “breath prayer” below caught my interest in its healing story.

“Say the Word”

When a Roman centurion sent word to Jesus asking him to heal a sick servant, he told Jesus that he didn’t even feel worthy for the Lord to come into his house. He simply requested, “Say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Luke 7:7). Jesus commended the centurion’s faith, for his request showed that he knew Jesus could heal with a word. So I will often pray for someone’s healing–from sickness, addiction, emotional pain, depression, etc.–with this breath prayer. “Say the Word.”

So until tomorrow: 

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Lantana is always a staple plant for hot humid summers in the lowcountry…but even this plant prefers cooler days and nights. I bought three small lantana plants and placed them beside the B&B side of the house…where they got plenty of sun.

They all looked healthy and green throughout the summer but absolutely no blooms…then when I got back from being gone last week…one plant had two or three blooms on it, another more, and another covered.

My barrel, which is filled with lantana has grown so much it is reaching the ground (covering the barrel) and then my front yard lantana (around a pine tree) has finally taken off.. Everyone and everything loves fall. *(We will all love it too when it gets here…weather men keep assuring us if we can survive the 90’s for two days more days…this weekend Fall will arrive…meaning it will finally feel like fall!)

*I want to take a moment and thank you, friends, for the donations that keep coming in…I just shake my head in disbelief at the generosity of you all. It means so much to me and our team “Legally Pink”…Blessings to one and all!

Speaking of making time…Vickie has discovered that her precious little dog, Maggie (who is getting on up in age) has started eating dirt. She read where that can be a sign of boredom…she’s mostly deaf and her eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be…so Vickie decided to start walking her in the evenings. I asked Vickie if I could join them since this ole’ gal needs to walk and exercise more too. It worked for Maggie…Vickie texted this picture over earlier this evening.

Hope it works the same for me later…

Dear Reader:

Look at these beautiful asters…lavender and pink…just gorgeous! Doodle dropped them off yesterday in this adorable basket. So pretty! To top it off we also had a chance to really sit down and talk and catch up on life.

After she left I kept thinking where I had last seen the two colors of lavender and pink blended so beautifully. And then I remembered…the sky Saturday night when we came out of the Oaks restaurant downtown for my birthday dinner. Just beautiful!

 The new moon was edging a little closer to a quarter moon but still everything looked so bright and clean with the sapphire blues and shades of rosy pink Saturday evening. Tonight will be the official quarter moon…the famous crescent and South Carolina flag emblem.

The moon and the colors reminded me of one of Archibald Rutledge’s  (Hampton Plantation owner) stories about new moons and his sharecroppers’s unique tradition each evening of the month) on the evening of the new moon.

No matter what the sharecroppers were doing on Hampton Plantation…as if on one accord…without fail, everyone would fall on their knees in front of the new moon.

It never ceased to move Archibald Rutledge when his workers fell down on their knees in reverence for a new phase of life…blessing the “new moon” and their own presence to see it.

They didn’t take life for granted and they knew how fortunate they were to be seeing another new moon appear…life is fragile… but so beautiful! A gift given by God once a month without fail.

Another religious tradition the sharecroppers observed dealt with a newborn baby’s first outing…the first time the baby went outside the cabin with his mother. As the mother walked towards the door with the child in her arms…she did not walk alone.

Another member of the family,  would start talking to the baby’s spirit, for fear that when it came under its native sky, the soul would suddenly want to return home. So the spirit would be told what a beautiful, joyous and wonderful world this is, in order to reconcile it to its sojourn on earth. 

*When I pictured this scene in my mind…all I could hear was Louis Armstrong singing “It’s a Wonderful World” to the little baby…for me that would be all that was needed to make any infant stay longer on their own personal “earthly sojourn”…and  let heaven wait.

Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World (Lyrics) – YouTube

One of the topics Doodle and I discussed yesterday was premised on the CBS Sunday Morning Show. One program was talking about new nature programs targeting baby boomers and retirees…helping them go back to nature to find healing, health, and spirituality. In his book God’s Children Archibald Rutledge realizes the same thing as he contrasts the sharecroppers simple life and religious beliefs against more structured forms of religion.

One night Captain Rutledge was lamenting to his foreman the death of two close friends. The foreman listened in silence, but made no comment…his expression held less sympathy and more disappointment in his Cap’n. Finally he said:

“How Cap’n,” he asked when I had ended my sorrowful tale, ain’t you got no hope?” It was a just rebuke, prompted by a deep religious sense.

“To me it has always appeared that a simple faith is far more natural to people rurally environed than to those amid the artificial palaces of civilization. From the dawn of history shepherds and herdsmen and woodsmen have been natural worshipers. Lying from birth on the ample sweet bosom of nature, nourished at those fragrant breasts, they who are country dwellers never find it hard to sense the nearness and the power and the love of God; whereas the city dweller, surrounded by the work and the power and the imperfections in character of man, are less free to feel God with them. So, at least, it seems to me. “

Doodle and I said that we thought this was the draw for us with our gardens and yards…the yearning to return to nature…the yearning to listen for God among the trees and flowers.

So until tomorrow….

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Every day more signs are popping up showing me that October is knocking on the door. The neighbors have their orange lights strung on the tree, pumpkin patches are popping up everywhere, mums, and autumn signs…

A new home as autumn arrives… filled with beautiful mums and “budding” little boys!

Dear Reader:

Fall has fallen with blessings more numerous than leaves. As I had time yesterday to slowly go through and read each birthday card and look at all the surcies bestowed upon me…I realized, once again, how very blessed I am.

I must say that I am getting more outwardly emotional with time…as I read each of your cards…I tear’ed up over and over….with an occasional chuckle in between. Thank all of you so much for these wonderful expressions of love and friendship!

My surcies came in all shapes and sizes…from Boo Pumpkins to artwork from Ireland, an “Artful Cross” of courage with a key to open, good luck blessings charm, a serenity candle, wonderful perfume lotions that smell so wonderful (Mollie’s special Beauty Counter creams) special note cards, and outside glorious mums of every color…happiness is!

Mandy, knowing how much I love signs and plaques got me a sign holder for every season and holiday….I am set for the year!

For Friendship: (Excerpt from John O’Donohue)

May you be blessed with good friends, and learn to be a good friend to yourself, Journeying to that place in your soul where there is love, warmth, and feeling. May this change you…

…May you treasure your friends. May you be good to them, be there for them and receive all the challenges, truth, and light you need.

May you never be isolated but know the embrace of your “anam cara.”

*Anam cara – “Mo Anam Cara” – Translated as “My Soul Mate” or “My Soul Friend” The ancient Celts believed in a soul that radiated about the body. They, also, believed that when two individuals formed a deep and lasting bond that their souls would mingle. Therefore, each person could be said to have found their “anam cara” or “soul friend”.

We need to all pause at different times throughout the day and think of all those special people in our lives that have become our anam caras’ over time and space. What a difference their presence in our lives have meant to us!

So until tomorrow…like the little Fall Blessing says…let us remember to cherish the small things and give thanks for all the blessings bestowed upon us.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Mums, more mums and garden utensils….happy happy!

Look what Vickie got me for my birthday-I love it!….Okay here’s the tweet Sammy…you leave my car doors and rear-view mirrors alone…and I will ‘send you a sweet tweet.” Okay? Truce?

It is time for me to continue gearing up for the Race for the Cure  this year because, as I have experienced first-hand, it really is a race…in most cases, a race against time, a race for life… time for new drugs to be marketed and targeted at prolonging life within a diversity of individuals…all of whom have unique genetic make-ups that work with certain drugs and not others. We need more drugs to choose from when the ‘going gets tough’ and for that we need more money for research.

So let’s all unlock the key of courage and step forward to help those who can no longer help themselves…as we all know difficult times provide the opportunity for the best of the human spirit to appear and reign strong.

*Just a note…some of you have experienced a problem donating to me as a team member…I texted Lisa Jones, who is amazing, and a special friend who runs the communications sector of the race. She checked and said my name was set up for donations….she believes that the problem might lie in not scrolling down farther on the donation page. (But again…if you have problems…just send it to the team…we are all the spirit behind the cause.)

Becky,

So I went in and searched for you and did not have any problem.  I think your donors are not scrolling down far enough.  I have attached a screenshot of what I see when I search for you.  Let me know if this solves the problem.

Thanks and I hope you’re doing well.

Lisa Jones

Dear Reader:

I learned so many lessons this past week helping with the children and just listening to their thoughts. There was one incident that made me realize the importance of “letting life surprise us.” We shouldn’t be in such a hurry to plan everything ahead of time or rush to try to figure it all out. Instead we should embrace the unknown and just let life surprise us. Case-in-point:

Every afternoon I picked Eva Cate up after school and we went for a little special treat or just simply spent a little bit of “free” time  together…to just talk.

Last year when Eva Cate started first grade it soon became obvious that she was struggling. After several meetings and educational/medical observations it was concluded she was a ‘drifter’ who just couldn’t seem to stay focused on anything long enough to absorb it.

Homework was a nightmare and filled with frustration. She finally was started on medication for the problem and it definitely helped with her attention deficit but it still seemed like our little ‘bird’ just wasn’t quite ready to fly. The”light of learning” basic reading and math concepts just had not turned on. She wasn’t seeing  connections.

So this year we were all holding our breath to see what would transpire…and to our delight and surprise all of our ‘hopes and a prayer’ brought results. When I went to pick her up last Friday the class had received their first progress reports.

I didn’t want to make a big deal of it but I was anxious to know  how Eva Cate did. So casually on the ride home I asked if they had gotten their progress reports that day. At first she looked a little blank and asked what “progress reports” were?

I knew this was a pivotal moment…I didn’t want any kind of negative attachment assigned intellectually or emotionally to this report. So I responded, “It’s just a little note to let you and your mommy and daddy know how well you are doing at school.”

“Oh, said Eva Cate confidently with a big smile…I am doing good, Boo Boo.”

“That’s  terrific Eva Cate…is that what you saw on your progress report?”

“No” she responded. I haven’t looked at it…but my teacher came over and gave me a really big hug today and told me how proud she was of me… so I know I am doing great!

(And she had…all checks and happy faces.) She is now reading to me…just not parroting words but sounding them out. I am so happy I was there to witness Eva Cate showing me how she knew she was doing well…not from anything written on a piece of paper…but from the hug she received from her teacher. A wonderful life surprise!

But that wasn’t the last surprise…Yesterday after returning home from partying with Jakie, later dinner out with all my grown children, and last but not least partying with my little nephew Rhodes for his first birthday…I stopped at my mailbox to check my mail and it was packed with cards and surcies.

Then as I got to the front porch more surprises…a birthday bag and mums awaited me….I was completely overcome!  Got the mums all placed on the porch! It is being transformed from summer to fall!

So until tomorrow…It will take me quite awhile today to read through the cards,open the packages and get caught up with earlier communications…I was so sleepy last evening…that I just barely made it into bed. I hope I can sleep for dreaming about what life has in store for me today with more surprises….what a fun day today will be…and I will just let life amaze me!

*Let me share one funny card a friend from church, Dee Lesko, sent me…I have laughed and laughed.

By now most of you know I have endured a “stalker” dressed in red feathers and filled with “waste materials” that he dispenses on my side car door and rear-view mirror…  a cardinal (a criminal cardinal)….This stalking has been on-going since early spring.

I have literally had to change parking driveways and hidden my car in the back of my house…(to no avail)…he even follows me over to Vickie’s house, my neighbor across the street, and sits on her bird feeder while we talk staring at me through Vickie’s glassed-in room off her beautiful garden.

While I was away…my wonderful neighbor checked on my garden, mail, and put away my garbage bins….then one afternoon I received this…a picture of Sammy the Stalker. She told me he looks innocent but prior to this picture he had driven off all the other birds… he’s mean and greedy! He has become an “angry bird” because my car has been gone and he has nowhere to let loose of his frustrated wayward ways!

But my friend, Dee Lesko, from church has seen another side…she said he appeared at her home and in spite of his troubling ways…actually wanted to send me a birthday card and needed help from her -since he didn’t want to ruin his beak pecking on the computer keys. (*Must save his beak for pecking my rear-view mirror.)

 Hi Ms Becky:

My “feathered” friends and I opted to leave our “broods,” take “flight” and “wing” our way over to your “roost” to “warble” some Happy Birthday wishes to you! Today is YOUR special day- a day when you get top “bill” ing among all “flocks” -human as well as “fowl.”

Hopefully when you hear our “chirping” and “migrate” to the great outdoors from your “nest,” you won’t see me as your “beak”ed, redheaded arch-enemy and immediately beat “tail” back indoors.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO MY FRIEND, MS. BECKY BOO

IN HONOR OF YOUR SPECIAL DAY

CAR MIRRORS GET PASSES, TOO!!!

(A.K.A. Sammy Stalker)

Tommy, Kaitlyn, and I went to Rhode’s first birthday party…it was so much fun to see Ya-Ya (Vikki’s grandmother) and Joan (her mom) again. It was a fun party…I got to hold Rhodes and have a chance to chit-chat with my youngest nephew. Mollie and the boys came…first birthdays are so special.

* Love this table Kaitlyn has fixed up…she is in the process of painting and renovating parts of her and Tommy’s duplex…it looks so pretty.

Dear Reader:

I can’t believe it has been three years since Mandy called to tell me that Jakie had decided to come on my birthday…I was overcome with emotion…What is better than one birthday?…two…together!

There will always be a special bond between our birthdays….many (emphasis) many years apart! I came across this John O’Donohue poem (my favorite Irish poet) on birthdays and I want to share it now…to you Jakie!

For Your Birthday (John O’Donohue) Excerpts

Blessed be the mind that dreamed the day
The blueprint of your life
Would begin to glow on earth,
Illuminating all the faces and voices
That would arrive to invite
Your soul to growth.

Praised be your father and mother,
Who loved you before you were,
And trusted to call you here
With no idea who you would be.

Blessed be the gifts you never notice,
Your health, eyes to behold the world,
Thoughts to countenance the unknown,
Memory to harvest vanished days,
Your heart to feel the world’s waves,
Your breath to breathe the nourishment
Of distance made intimate by earth.

On this echoing-day of your birth,
May you open the gift of solitude
In order to receive your soul;
Enter the generosity of silence
To hear your hidden heart;
Know the serenity of stillness
To be enfolded anew
By the miracle of your being

………………………….

Hopefully I will have time to get at least some photos in the post today from all the excitement yesterday! (And off for Rhodes’ birthday today!)

So until tomorrow…Thank you Father for commemorations of our life through you.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that as I drove back into town Thursday evening (in the footsteps of an earlier thundershower) I cut through old Lincolnville Road and came out right at the intersection adjacent to Town Hall. There was a party going on!

I had almost forgotten…the annual Summerville Sweet Tea Festival! I was ready to get home but something made me turn the car into my banking parking lot…someone was pulling out just as I drove up…a sign…had to do it…I had to at least get a picture of the Sweet Tea Jar this year….

Everyone was in a good mood…the shower had cooled off everything and it felt really refreshing. When I found this year’s largest tea cup container I waited in line to take a picture….but the lady in front of me insisted I get in the photo…she would take the picture. That’s why I love my hometown….so friendly! Here are some pictures I put together quickly yesterday morning before heading back to Mt. Pleasant. Summervillians have gotten very creative with sweet tea…even down to jam!

As I went back to my car I saw one of my favorite houses in Summerville all dressed up for fall and pumpkins…the first one off the block! So cute!

When I got home I remembered my “silver” pumpkins that I hadn’t gotten out yet when I came across this picture from a couple of years ago….it has got me thinking about tea again…and pumpkins!

I put this little message in the blog every year because it touches me every year…what a great lesson to remember.

Pumpkins and Acorns

An old poem describes a woman walking through a meadow, meditating on nature. While strolling about, she came upon a field of golden pumpkins. In the corner of the field stood a majestic, huge oak tree.

She sat under the oak tree musing on the strange twists in nature which put tiny acorns on huge branches and huge pumpkins on tiny vines. She thought to herself, “God blundered with Creation! He should have put the small acorns on the tiny vines and the large pumpkins on the huge branches.”

Nodding off, the woman stretched out under the oak tree for a nap. A few minutes after falling asleep she was awakened by a tiny acorn bouncing off her nose. Chuckling to herself, she rubbed her nose and thought, “Maybe God was right after all!”

*While you are reading this….there will be a party going on….Jakie and I are celebrating our birthdays today (Saturday the 23rd) even though our “official” birthday is tomorrow (Sunday the 24th) … it works better for us. Little Rhodes (my precious nephew) was born on the 23rd (one year ago) and he is celebrating his birthday on the 24th…it works better for them… lots of celebrating going on this weekend! Party On!

So until tomorrow…Let us always remember God… that You made no mistakes in your Divine Creation.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

We did it! We waited out summer and got  our reward- fall ! It finally came! Aren’t these flowers beautiful! Mandy’s wonderful mother-in-law Joan and daughter Michele couldn’t have kicked off the fall season in a more exquisite way! Thank you both- it brightens the whole house!

Eva Cate and I have become roomies this past week and homework buddies! When I pick her up from school we plan a little mini- trip each afternoon to celebrate another good, fun school day!

It makes such a difference to stagger the return of small school children back home (I have realized) so everybody gets their own “me” down time.

Being here this week at John and Mandy’s has brought back memories of child-raising with all its challenges off-set by the sweetest moments you just want to freeze.

It has also been a great lesson for the value of family- why family always pulls together and  helps each other as situations arise that require extra attention. It is important for children to observe this and imitate it as adults.

Since yesterday was the first “official” day of fall I decided to ride around Mandy and John’s neighborhood and say good-bye to summer and embrace fall with a few snapshots!

I headed home last night to check on the garden, pick up my mail and grab some more clothes…heading back later this morning to help with getting set up for Jakie’s little party!🎉

I apparently just missed a thunderstorm when I got in around 7:30 last night…I did stop by the Sweet Tea Festival for a few minutes and will put some pictures on tomorrow’s blog. It was fun…festivals make little “cities” feel like little towns again, don’t they?

So the birthday weekend is getting in high gear….Jakie’s, mine, and Rhodes….love to be surrounded by two handsome young men!

So until tomorrow….I am ‘hitting the sack’ and catching some ‘sleep-eye’ before heading back to Mt. Pleasant. Life is never boring! Thank goodness!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I apologize readers for not responding to your wonderful comments as much this past week…I promise to catch up next week….and any other correspondence I haven’t had a chance to even open. I am ‘belatedly befuddled.’ Thank you for your patience and for those Race for the Cure donations that keep coming in…the best birthday presents ever! Love y’all!

Dear Reader:

Jakie’s and my birthday is drawing nearer. Having given the candle situation some serious consideration, I have decided in the best interests of all cake lovers…we should go with Jakie’s birthday age for candle coverage. Besides not having to call the fire department…I am afraid the cake might be soggy from all the blowing efforts on my part… if even half the candles were lit.

I love that Jakie came on my birthday three years ago. He was due to come the first week in October but he decided to give Boo Boo his first birthday gift early….him. So forever we will be connected with sharing birthdays on the 24th of September.

We have gotten in the habit of having a birthday brunch for Jakie, me, with all the family and craziness as only a three year old (this year) can have….then later some of go out for dinner with just the adults…where we can converse while hearing each other.

I love seeing the pictures year by year…showing Jakie growing up and me growing…well…older…and extremely happy for it! Last year:

The other day I came across a poem on aging that I loved…here are just a few stanzas from it…

As I’ve aged, I’ve become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend..

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.
So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore..
I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.

………….

Three candles…or more…I love that my little grandson decided to pick my birthday, out of all the 365 days he could have picked, to arrive on. What a lucky grandmother I am. It’s time to dance.

So until tomorrow…Jakie and I will start counting down the days together and always have these special moments bonded together in spirit…always young at heart!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Several years ago, when I was still supervising student teachers (clinical interns) –  one of my young trainees did a lesson on Spookley the Square Pumpkin for her unit on shapes and numbers one October near Halloween.

It was so adorable! I shared the lesson with Mandy and other young teachers searching for holiday lessons that coincided with teaching skills. However, the main objective, had nothing to do with math skills but human ones…acceptance of diversity in all shapes and forms.

The story is simple in context but heavy in meaning. Little Spookley was born square-shaped in a pumpkin patch…soon he became the object of ridicule among the other “normal” round pumpkins. He grew sadder and sadder…being rejected and feeling he had no where to belong.

But right before Halloween one year a terrible storm unexpectedly arrived and blew over the pumpkin patch which was located near a cliff over some water…a hole was ripped in the fence and the round pumpkins were being pushed by the wind through the hole in the fence falling down into the rushing river.

Spookley realized the dilemma and wedged himself in the hole…he wasn’t blown around like the others because he wasn’t round…but square. He ends up saving the pumpkin patch from total destruction and is accepted by one and all.

Starting back in early spring…a new movement to use quirky shaped, misshapen, scarred produce (fruits and vegetables) was initiated by Whole Foods Market…called Imperfect Produce. 

Often these are displayed next to their better-looking, more expensive counterparts to give consumers an eco-friendly choice.

The 133 billion pounds worth of misshapen or scarred fruits and vegetables annually plowed under, buried in a landfill, or fed to livestock is sharply at odds with the reality that 48 million Americans face food security.

Walmart brought weather-blemished apples to 300 of its stores to kick off their imperfect role in the movement.

These numbers are staggering to me when we are all aware of world, country, and local hunger around us…we are plowing under “spookleys” just because they look different?

This is a great opportunity to share economic lessons with your children or grandchildren about frugality and sharing all God’s gifts to us on earth.

So until tomorrow…Acceptance of diversity is key to providing the answers to global problems around us.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Walsh and Mollie sent me this welcome to the neighborhood sign they saw driving in – nice gesture!