Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

While we have all been anxiously watching weather reports for the past few days on Hurricane Irma…Fall “snuck” into the Lowcountry.

(When I checked to see if “snuck’ was a real word I was assured that it was a ‘non-standard’ past tense of sneak acceptable only as part of the language pattern in North America. Do say! It seems all so very proper to me…but it concluded by saying “snuck” sneaked into the American vocabulary of colloquialisms.)

So once again…I re-iterate…Fall ‘snuck’ in while we were otherwise preoccupied with Irma.

*Update from the Charleston area here…as Irma turns more west…our situation is improving considerably…and while I actually slept the best sleep I have had in awhile (after Tommy texted me around 11:00 Thursday night)…I also have felt a type of “Pre-survivor’s guilt” (even before Irma hits)… because I realize that as I am becoming more cautiously optimistic I know others are looking on in apprehension at the shift.

Still Irma is fickle and certainly no one is ‘out of the woods’ until it arrives and leaves.

The humidity has lowered to the point where I can actually walk in the garden and not come back drenched in perspiration. In fact, amazingly enough, it was actually a little (dare I say it?) a tad chilly while walking in the garden yesterday morning around eight. The most delicious feeling! The first feel of the first hint of fall.

It still warms up in the day but the evenings and mornings are spectacular! I followed butterflies in the garden yesterday and then took time to take photos of some of our older historic homes in the neighborhoods not far from my teaching Alma Mater…Alston Middle School. I spent almost 30 years of my teaching career there and feel very blessed to have done so.

Yesterday I was plucking yellow leaves

off the morning glory vines and started

chuckling to myself when I remembered

one gardening book say ‘yellow leaves

are to plants and vines  like gray hairs

are to humans…keep plucking!’

The blue skies are such a brilliant blue now… as only autumn can produce after banishing the thick humidity obscuring the sapphire skies. The fictitious town of Three Pines might be famous for their tall White Pines…but Summerville (“Flowertown in the Pines”) has its tall pines too.

I live in one of the older subdivisions in town that have produced these “Hugo Survivor” Tall Tall Pines. (While beautiful…you can see how daunting they look during hurricane season…The thought of these pines falling on your house is disconcerting.) *See how tiny my garden looks below.

Autumn has always been my favorite season…not because so many of the family members share fall birthdays …but because of the temps and beauty of the season…and certainly those unique smells associated with it…”toasting s’mores, bonfires, leaves, pumpkin pies, baked turkey, costumes, jack o’lanterns, candy corn…the list goes on and on.

Last year, however, was the first time I was ready to see fall go….While in the midst of getting my cataracts removed and new lenses put on at the end of August…I discovered one small spot on my breast bone that turned out not to be  scar tissue (like my surgeon initially thought) but my “little c” breast cancer returning. (After being in “stabilization” for almost four years.)

On the morning that tropical storm Hermine hit Charleston Mandy and Jackson were taking me to a 6:00 a.m. appointment for exploratory surgery. At first it looked promising…the margins came back clear…but only two weeks later the cancer appeared under my left arm where it started originally.

So that lead to the hormone/chemo oral medications that I am on now. It is definitely slowing things down somewhat but not eradicating it from the surface like the other drug did…still I am just thankful for the “pause” and pray it continues.

So until tomorrow… Right now I just want to enjoy every moment of this fall this year…making the most of every day of it…from fall decorations to planting mums to ‘Racing for the Cure’.  Autumn represents the best of times for me…so let’s all get out there and enjoy it. (especially after Irma gets out of here)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Please keep Anne Peterson in your prayers…she got an insect bite a few days ago that later became infected, went to the doctor and got antibiotics…but as of yesterday it was still infected and did not look good at all…or obviously feel good either!

** She went to see a medic friend from church who specializes in wounds and got her foot cleaned up and out, and looking better. She still has to give it time to heal but no doubt your prayers will certainly assist in this stage. Thank you.

Dear Reader:

When I read this phrase the other day “Which is the worst? To be locked in or out?” …it made me pause and think about the statement. (I re-read it again while trying to decide if one situation is preferable to another.)

As we go back down our childhood memory lane…don’t we all remember feeling (at one time or another) that we were “locked out” of the neighborhood gang, or classroom cliques, or sports teams, cheerleading, etc. (whatever it was that we wanted so desperately to be a part of…)

It is never fun being on the outside looking in is it?

Flip side…Haven’t we all had those days when we feel trapped, ‘locked in’ to a situation or circumstance that leaves us feeling isolated from the rest of life?

Perhaps it is a physical disability or ailment that has cropped up limiting our ability to do all the things we used to do prior to it’s appearance. We find ourselves, for the first time feeling ‘stuck’ in life, locked in …cast out from the mainstream of socialization and a sense of belonging.

Many of us who are in the path of Hurricane Irma are now waiting and wondering if we will need to leave or can we stay? The populace is always divided along these lines with every hurricane or tropical storm that comes our way. Last year it was Matthew…now Irma. Thank goodness with Matthew the lowcountry didn’t get the brunt of the storm so everyone made it through fine…on both sides. But every storm is different and even with all the modern technology…hurricanes still are unpredictable until they actually arrive.

The emotional side of making that decision is a toss-up too. Part of everyone wants to hunker down and be home to check on things and be ready to start repairs if needed…while the other side wants to lock it all up and leave it for whatever happens…coming home with fingers crossed and a knot in the stomach. It’s hard not knowing and then, later, it can be hard knowing.

*In the meantime…to put a slight spin  on this excerpted verse of scripture:(Matthew 24:6) “And ye shall hear of storms and rumors of storms; see that ye be not troubled…” These days everybody is a weatherman…you can’t go anywhere without hearing someone in line telling a complete stranger…”The National Weather Service says the hurricane will be downgraded to a 1 or 2 tropical storm by the time it gets to Charleston while another person farther back in line is telling a fellow wait-er….that he has heard we are now at a category 6 (now that’s a new one on me and the weather men I believe.) We must all keep a sense of humor.

So until tomorrow: Locked in or locked out?  Once again we must turn to faith in times like these for God to guide us through the storm until the sun returns. *I think I will fall back on that beautiful rainbow that smiled down on Walsh and Mollie’s (almost) new home last week…and pray that God’s covenant keeps us all safe from harm with as little damage as possible

.

“Today is (still) my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Wednesday night…two gorgeous blooms…one Moonflower and one Jamestown bloom…both beautiful in their own right.

Yesterday Fall arrived for us…perhaps a gift before the storm…but the humidity has disappeared and I can’t stay inside for the luxurious coolness awaiting me outside. But more on that tomorrow…Summerville has never been more beautiful!

Dear Reader:

Lately one of the popular mantras used in marketing different products has been: Be the Change!

You have probably either seen it on television commercials or heard it from motivational speakers, educational and/or religious leaders. The expression finds itself in many graduation speeches…a rallying call to young people heading out in the world.

There is not a one of us who has not thought that a certain situation in their lives needed changing…but few have taken that extra step to become the change they want to see in the world…at least in their daily life world.

But what if we take it to another level: Be the Miracle

Our first reaction to that statement might run along the line of thinking…”Isn’t that being a little presumptuous of me….only Jesus, only God performs miracles?” 

But think again…Didn’t God use Jesus, in the form of man, as His vessel to perform miracles during Jesus’ ministry? So don’t you think we receive miracles from everyday people who show up at the right moment to deliver us from trouble or provide an ultimate surprise.

How many times have we seen or heard news reports or documentaries about a survivor saying something like, “If he hadn’t heard our last attempt to call out from the crevice…none of us would be here today…it was truly a miracle he ever heard us.”

In a recent Guidepost article (“Five Ways to Discover More Miracles Around You“- Ella Price) The author states:

1. Stay connected to others…the wider the circle of friends and acquaintances in your life the higher possibility you will witness more daily miracles… from the clerk behind the coffee counter each morning to the new neighbor who just moved in.
2. Forget about outcomes and concentrate on the process of getting there.
3. Keep your eyes open to everything around you.
4. Live in Gratitude
5. Last, but not least, be someone’s miracle. Sometimes all it takes to brighten someone’s day is a smile or holding open the door. Spread a little cheer and wonder in the world, then wait and see the wonders that come back to you as a result.

Some of you who are recent blog readers might not know about my good friend, whom I have never met (but feel like I know as well as my own children and family) Ambika from Dubai. (Doc Ambika Murthy)

Several years ago…Ambika was going through a tough time in her life…searching for the right path to follow, when she couldn’t sleep one night and typed in Hope on her computer. Guess what popped up? Chapel of Hope Stories!

I remember picking up on the fact that I was getting comments suddenly on the blog post from this woman named Ambika… finally my curiosity got the best of me. I told her I loved her name…it was beautiful and wondered how she got it.

Ambika responded with the story behind her name…she is from India originally and how she came to find my blog. Since that time her life has changed dramatically…from a single girl to a wife to a mother with  an adorable little boy. All those years and Ambika still reads the blog and I am still here to write it. That in itself is a miracle.

Yesterday her comment on the blog just confirmed that there is still a connection between us and God is sending her God Winks through the post to remind her she is not alone. This is what she wrote:

Thanks for the blog Becky… BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD was an assurance I needed for today…

Dear Reader:

Haven’t we all heard the words “We need to talk” and immediately we feel our stomachs start tightening into a knot?

The situation can vary from an electrician or plumber (after checking on a problem in our homes) to a construction problem to our banker talking to us about the results of a loan, to a doctor after an examination or appointment,  to a friend, or spouse approaching us with those dreaded words. Yet…why should they be dreaded?

Experience. Experience has taught us that too many “We need to talk” conversations end badly. And it really doesn’t matter who instigates the conversation…yourself or another…it is still probably not going to go well…at least to one party involved.

Truman Capote’s famous slant on the art of conversing is right on target.

The problem with the “We need to talk” conversations is that they are normally monologues. The conversational instigator wants to get the problem or bad news out as quickly as possible and then (usually) really doesn’t want to listen to a response…especially a long one…His/her job is done….they told you what they thought and now they just want you to deal with it, no matter how devastating it might be to the listener. Their job is done.

It is another case of us playing God. Nicole Johnson in her article “A Deeper Knowledge of God” makes this astute observation:

“My personal translation of the verse: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) is-“I can be still and know that God is God, or I can stay busy and keep wondering if I am.”

When we begin running our own lives, making all the calls, and handling all the problems…we make ourselves the center of the universe…not God.

Johnson remembers this old joke that is still an “oldie but goodie”  worth sharing.

“What is the difference between you and God?”

“I don’t know, what is the difference?”

“God never gets confused and thinks He’s you.”

Stillness provides us the opportunity to keep the “Who is Whom?” question answered correctly.

There comes a certain point, in all our lives if we live long enough, when we realize we can’t play the role of God…not successfully over the long period of time called eternity. We realize we might want to be like God…but we do not want to be God.

Don’t we all know people (and at different stages in our lives might even have been one) that just can’t sit still? They have to be doing…just “being” is not good enough…not satisfying enough for them. They can’t seem to concentrate on anything long enough to complete it but like the butterflies seen in my garden today…these people flitter from one place to the next…never satisfied with being stationary.

If we are true to ourselves we see this ‘condition’ for what it is…’harried and hasseled’ is our excuse for not being silent, still, and seeking God . We are terrified of what we might discover if we actually talk and more importantly listen to what God wants us to hear.

As parents and grandparents we know the importance of stillness when we try to help our children or grandchildren with their ‘boo boo owies.’ We can’t put a band-aid on a scraped knee if the child doesn’t sit still…or put ice/antiseptic cream on a painful insect bite if the child keeps moving. God must feel the same way when He tries to have a conversation with us…but instead watches us grab the band-aid or piece of ice and stomp off to do it ourselves.

So until tomorrow…the next time we need to talk with God…let’s remember to take a deep breath, then take a moment, and then tell God where it hurts…remaining still, silent, and open to His healing and advice.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Honey Burrell and Susan Cadwell….”We need to talk”.…Thank you both from the bottom of my heart for being the first donors in the Race for the Cure. The warmth from your donations has me already “warmed up” for the race ahead. Bless you both!

Dear Reader:

I am happy. I am so happy. The Lowcountry Race for the Cure will be taking place October 21 at Daniel Island and here I am getting ready to walk it one more time…a walking miracle…I know it and I hope I do it justice.

Tommy and I first walked it together in 2009 so this year will be our ninth year participating together with the rest of the family and friends marking their eighth year. (Which means, of course, that next year will be a very special celebration…the tenth anniversary!!)

John sent me a picture of all the grandchildren playing dress-up yesterday at their house…Eva Cate, the Queen, has all her subjects in their proper attire…with a brother and two boy cousins…you have to work with what you have…but soon a new princess will enter the scene….that should help balance these play dates!

Eva Cate and Rutledge haven’t missed a single race since they were born…Jakie and Lachlan were either too tiny or not quite here yet to make the first race but they were there for their second and ever since too.

You can imagine what a wonderful feeling it is to be surrounded by the grandchildren, children, my wonderful Dingle sisters, Lassie and Doodle, my special niece Carrie and others who pop up to walk and make this event full of surprises and love.

John and Mandy graciously and generously host a wonderful brunch for the participants afterwards at their home. It is a day I look forward to each year.

*As I have looked back over photos from past Races for the Cure…my Beauty Berry bush always blooms just in time for the race…a wonderful sign for the fruits of life given us.

But there are also so many other trinkets and memorabilia I have collected…from many of you over the years. On the day of the race I have to have everything out and ready to go ….I wear as many gifts as I can possibly fit on me including my holding cross that Jan Hilton first gave me and told me about.

I have a cute little pink bunny hidden in my top closet waiting for Eloise’s arrival…but she is dressed for the race too.

The Race for the Cure is about life, not illness or death… it is also about families and friends…because there is not one cancer patient whose loved ones have not been affected by this “insidious” disease. I enjoy watching the children interacting with their mothers, aunts, grandmothers, older siblings during the race….cancer doesn’t discriminate when it comes to inflicting this disease on loved ones…not age, gender, race, height, weight, religion, political affiliation or financial status…none of it matters when it comes to this disease.

Personally I think the best way to attack is to be happy. Never let this bully of a disease think it is getting to you…because it is limited…it can’t take our soul or our spirituality so any other victory is a mute point…God always wins.

* My former oncology nurse, Linda Carson, gave me the pink and white pillow that says Choose Happy. Good advice…it has served me well. (Bumped into Linda at Anne’s yesterday…she was picking up some paintings Anne had done for her! So great to see her again..the best cheerleader around!)

***This year I especially want you to remember Kristen Gault, my friend Patty Knight’s daughter, who has just started chemo infusions for breast cancer while still teaching second grade and raising her three-year-old adorable little boy. She is my hero…an acorn off the oak of her mother Patty…strong and persevering. Kristen…I walk for you this year!

*Mandy babysat Kristen when she was a little girl…so my whole family is praying hard that time will fly through these procedures and soon Kristen will be saying “Remember that year way back when?” We want that time to come sooner than later Kristen! The Dingles love Kristen and her family!

Last year was our best fund-raiser and of course we always want to meet that goal and surpass it… cancer never stops attacking  …we have to stay ahead of it with treatments like the kind I am on right now… that keep us on this side of the daisies.

To make a donation…just click on this link.

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

Just go to donate button and select either “participant” or “team”. Then type in either Becky Dingle as a “participant” (or any other team member listed) and/or Legally Pink as “team”. It all ends up going towards the team either way you choose to donate. We made one of the top 12 teams last year….to be so small…we were mighty! Thanks to all of you!

(“Legally Pink” has been our team name since both Tommy and Kaitlyn passed the Law Bar and began working in the legal field….For the past three years they both work for the Styles Law Firm who has been so supportive of this endeavor. Thank you Brooks Styles for hiring Tommy and Kaitlyn and for being an advocate for the Race for the Cure! And thank you Tommy for heading up the team, once again, as our captain.)

So until tomorrow…choose happy because happiness chooses you.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

As I was reading one of the Louise Penny mystery novels recently…Chief Inspector Armand Gamache was thinking to himself”: As we get older we yearn for less. (He then began to prioritize what was important to him now in his late middle-age years…his wife and children, reading, long walks and his dog Henri. These things made him fulfilled and completely happy in life.)

As we get older we yearn for less… I think Penny’s heroic, fictitious character nailed what has been behind my crusade to clean out closets, drawers and shelves of everything in my house. I don’t want a lot of stuff around me any more…it hinges on producing a slight suffocating feeling within me,  if I see things junked up.

I think I must have gotten a visit from one of those special angels “who don’t let us get too comfortable, fall asleep, and miss out on our own life.”

I want to surround myself these days with family and special friends who hear us when we never say a word. They know what we are saying without uttering a sound.

When I entertain I like to do so spontaneously with just one guest or perhaps a very small group of friends…so I don’t pull a “Becky” and start cleaning under sofas and wiping down baseboards. (I can really do a number on myself)

But if I don’t plan ahead…simply call and say that I have left-over this or that or just picked up some yummy lasagna…can you join me…I don’t give myself time to do anything but chill the white wine and have a good time.

The French have an expression that I love concerning close-knit  meals with others called “en famille.” It suggests a last minute, very relaxed, ‘come as you are’ gathering. Actually, it even means more than that..these types of meals are reserved for only special guests who are considered family. It is a compliment to be invited…a special position felt by the host towards the guest and vice-versa.

What got me thinking along these lines of hospitality and familiarity…was my visit to Denmark almost two decades or so ago. Several teachers in our district became involved in a state teacher exchange program with Denmark. Some of us traveled together…we each had a host family for two weeks and they were located all over this beautiful country.

I got lucky…my host, Benedikte Christensen, lived in Copenhagen. She had already come to my home earlier in October and remarked (on numerous occasions) about the warm weather and the direct connection, she thought, to the warm-hearted people who lived here.

I was visiting Benedikte in early April (over our spring break) and it was frigid…within any 24 hours…it could go from rain, to sleet, to snow, to sun but always quite chilly. I discovered, however, because of the cold weather (that extends for such a longer period of time in Denmark)…people there actually entertain more than here.

Every night I was there, with the exception of one or two evenings, we went to a friend or relative’s home for supper. Always taking something, usually wine along with a dessert, and we had a ball…laughing, eating, and drinking well into the evening. Schools there actually start at a practical time…more like 9:00 than our 7:00 (especially for teachers.)

The academic part of the day ran on a half-day schedule, when the students stopped and went home for lunch to return for extracurricular activities according to their interests and aptitudes in the afternoons. *Benedikte taught what would be equivalent to our third grade and most of the students spoke English quite well. I had no trouble working with them on their English lessons. This is a poster the class  made for me.

As teachers get older in Denmark they can decide to teach less hours (obviously for less money) if they  so choose…and many do. (They definitely don’t have the same high rate of teacher burn-out that we do in our country.)

For the last few years you have probably seen on Sixty Minutes that Denmark has been crowned “the happiest country in the world.” Just for the short time I was there I picked up on this uplifting atmosphere stemming from the lack of stress one feels going about every day work and living.

When Cindy Ashley stopped by to pick up the next Louise Penny detective book she was telling me that she and Dennis are going to Denmark this summer to trace down her ancestry…since her heritage goes back to the Scandinavian countries.

She has been reading up on a contemporary word which symbolizes a new cultural attitude in Denmark called Hygge. It is the Danish counterpart to the French  “En Famille” except it is broader and encompasses more than just a meal…it is a way of living.

Cindy provided me several links which I will pass on to you but in a quick synopsis its roots go back to this origin:

*Term comes from a Norwegian word meaning “wellbeing”

*First appeared in Danish writing in the 19th Century and has since evolved into the cultural idea known in Denmark today

“It’s interesting that the word doesn’t really translate into other languages. Hygge isn’t restricted to Denmark, so why is it so hard to describe without borrowing a Danish word?”

The blogger Anna Lea West, has offered “coziness of the soul” as an English definition. “Hygge was never meant to be translated. It was meant to be felt,” translator ToveMaren Stakkestad has written.

(2016 Word of the Year) Excerpt from The New Yorker(“The Year of the Danish Obsession with Getting Cozy”: Anna Altman; Dec. 18, 2016)

…“Perhaps Scandinavians are better able to appreciate the small, hygge things in life because they already have all the big ones nailed down: free university education, social security, universal health care, efficient infrastructure, paid family leave, and at least a month of vacation a year. With those necessities secured, according to Wiking, Danes are free to become “aware of the decoupling between wealth and wellbeing.” “After our basic needs are met, more money doesn’t lead to more happiness.” “Instead, Danes are good at focusing on what brings them a better quality of life.”

……………………………

I don’t think the ‘special angels’ have to check on the Danes for being too comfortable…they have just realized that more money doesn’t bring happiness…just more greed and troubles. Life is good when one doesn’t have to worry continuously about saving money for college, health care, insurance, etc. Instead the Danes gather for meals, shared friendship, vacations, and travel. Danes travel a lot! The best kind of education!

* Every morning all the students at Benedikte’s school would gather and sing…folk songs, patriotic songs, etc. What a great way to start the day! On my last day at the school…the students had secretly been practicing a song and suddenly I heard (to the tune of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.)

“My Becky lies over the ocean, My Becky lies over the sea, My Becky lies over the ocean, Oh bring back Miss Becky to me. Becky, Becky oh bring back Miss Becky to me….Becky, Becky oh bring back Miss Becky to me.” (I will always love that memory)

So until tomorrow…”Life is either a great adventure or it’s nothing.” Helen Keller

Here are a couple of the links Cindy provided: Hygge (Thank you Cindy!) * Like me…you might feel like catching the next plane out…for a slower-paced life.

http://www.countryliving.com/life/a41187/what-is-hygge-things-to-know-about-the-danish-lifestyle-trend/

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Birthday Weekend! Lots of fun!

Eva Cate can now start and stop  her bicycle…it was Jakie who got the ‘Boo Boo Owie’ when his trike toppled over.

*As I noticed this community sign leaving Mandy and John’s neighborhood…I had to laugh at the creative spin on the Wizard of Oz...But it was true…the USC Gamecocks, Citadel Dawgs, and Clemson Tigers all had “Oh My” performances Saturday. Way to go state teams!

I received this picture from Kaitlyn as they walked the dogs while going back home to Chattanooga ….was glad to see the sun was out there today and no rain for them too.

Dear Reader:

Susan Jeffers, Ph.D. in her book Embracing Uncertainty has a ‘time-out’ for all of us to do when we get those feelings (that come out of nowhere) that the days are slipping through our fingers faster and faster…and yet have we done enough, experienced enough, been enough for this precious gift of life we were given?

The name of the ‘exercise’ is called  “ I Have Had This.”

One of man’s greatest fears of dying comes not from the actual experience itself but the prospect of it. Who wants to die before they have lived? The fear of the prospect of death can be diminished by appreciating life’s simplest little joys.

What this means is ” Life is not passing me by when I remember that  I have enjoyed this. I have experienced life when “I Have done This.”

Here are some examples Jeffers gives readers from her book:

When taking a walk on a magnificent day, I stop for a moment while enjoying the view and say to myself, “I have had this.”

When enjoying a meal with family or friends, I say to myself “I have had this.”

When taking in the delicious warmth of the fire in my fireplace, I say to myself, “I have had this.”

When spending a day with my loving family, I say to myself, “I have had this.”

…………………

If we start collecting these “I have had this” experiences (can put slips of paper in a Joy Jar or keep a log of the amazing experiences we have enjoyed)…we begin to feel ourselves filling up with the joys of a life well lived. Our fear of death is greatly diminished by the thought, “If I die tomorrow, I have had all these wonderful experiences.”

I have only to go back to Friday’s blog and look at all the new. secret paths and beautiful flowers I discovered on the back roads of my own neighborhood. It was a day filled with wonderful experiences.

If I get out a map…I can point to all the places I have lived and traveled to…five major countries in Europe, as well as, the Scandinavian country of Denmark and the Caribbean. I have visited almost half of the states and exciting cities within them.

I have had three wonderful children, soon to be five beautiful grandchildren, a wonderful teaching career, along with my passion of storytelling, my share of accolades and honors…I have been blessed beyond measure.

And don’t get me started with friends…God has provided me with so many amazing people around me in my life…whom I gladly and proudly call my friends.

By simply counting my blessings…I know my life has been amazing and every day I live is simply ice cream on the cake, ice cream on the pie…or just plain ice cream!

*If I ever write a book I think I shall call it: “Life Alamode.” That pretty well sums up my feelings about the gift of time and life I have been given.

*Today is a special day to remember about counting days… because I remember counting the days until my first-born arrived…rather impatiently. Today is Mandy’s birthday!

Her due date was August 28 but she didn’t come until September 3 and I was very anxious. I finally got to the point that I wouldn’t pick up the phone because I remember in those last few days I knew they were calls from well-meaning family and friends asking “The baby STILL hasn’t come?” Somehow it made me feel like a failure.

But then SHE did arrive and it was and has been well worth the wait ever since!

Happy Birthday Mandy!!!

So until tomorrow: Father… guide me along my life’s right paths and let me gather in all that it has to offer.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Who knew I would get a God Wink at McDonalds yesterday?

I went to Publix to pick up a few items for the Birthday Weekend Saturday morning and decided to get a breakfast biscuit at the McDonalds right beside the Publix in Knightsville.

It was typically crowded, especially since it was a weekend morning. I ordered my biscuit and I was in the outside lane placing my order. As I went to make the circle to get in the pick-up line another car from the inside lane had just finished placing her order.

I motioned for her to go ahead and pull in front of me. She smiled and waved. (The nicest thing about retirement is that I am rarely in a hurry these days…such a luxury!)

A few minutes later I got to the payment window and the cashier told me that my breakfast had already been paid for…by the lady in front of me. As the young clerk was handing me my bag…she was smiling from ear to ear…she had heard of customers doing this kind of nice gesture but had not witnessed one until yesterday.

I told her this was the second time in my life I had ever received a free breakfast and the other incident took place at McDonalds too from a wonderful friend, Rene Harris. I think the motto is right: “I’m loving it.”

Can hardly wait to pay it forward on my next breakfast pick-up at McDonalds!

Rutledge is playing soccer for the first time this year…he met his coach yesterday and got his outfit…he is so happy it looks like “Flash” his super hero’s outfit and dad is happy he has the number 4 on his back…Deshaun Watson’s number and Rutledge’s age!

Dear Reader:

This will be a short blog, but it is an important one for me to remember (about something I recently witnessed) and want to share with you.

As difficult as it has been to watch the devastation on television from Hurricane Harvey and the total destruction it has left in its wake…it has been, as equally hard, to avoid. Many of the scenes from newspapers, television, my Iphone, and radio programming are deeply embedded in my psyche…and my heart.

Thursday morning…I saw a gift of giving that touched me and has been present in my thoughts ever since.

When I woke up Thursday morning…it dawned on me that I was out of cereal, milk, and bread. The only staple keeping me going was toilet paper for which I was very thankful. I had meant to stop Wednesday and pick up my breakfast basics and bread for sandwiches but had forgotten to do and so as I lay in bed I groaned to myself that I needed to get up, get dressed, and go to the store…which reluctantly I did.

In order to take all the daily prescriptions I am on…I must have food in my stomach before taking the majority of them. So it wasn’t something I could put off…I had to do this in order to stay on my “Daily Dozen” prescription plan… as I call it.

It was about 8:30 in the morning so Bi-Lo was almost empty when I grabbed my small cart and started down the aisles. Two bananas, cereal, lowfat milk, yogurt, and bread. There…I had done it.

There was one, lone elderly gentleman in line ahead of me when I approached the one cashier at the only working check-out lane. The gentleman had a basket with two bananas, cereal, milk, and bread in it. No yogurt but everything else was the same.

I smiled and made a comment that we could have just “dittoed” each other’s grocery list. He turned, looked at my ‘mini-cart’ and smiled back nodding pleasantly at me. “It’s all we need isn’t it?” he replied in a soft gentle voice.

It was then that I noticed his hands shook rather badly as he began pulling dollar bills out of his wallet. The cashier told him what the amount was and the gentleman handed her a ten and a five. He got back a couple of ones’ and some change. I could see him counting the rest of his money he held tightly in his hands.

Five ones in total…and some loose change. He put the loose change in a change jar and was folding his five ones when I heard the cashier asked him something and he paused for a moment as if thinking about the question.

Then, without another second’s hesitation, he nodded and unfolded the five ones and handed them all to the young girl behind the counter. I heard her thanking him automatically, without even looking up, and putting the ones in a separate slot in the cash register.

The man turned back to me, wished me a good day, took his two bags and started to turn…but then slowly turned around and said to me “Aren’t we so blessed?” I told him we were indeed and watched him shuffle out of the store.

I handed the cashier my few items that I was putting on my bank credit card when the cashier asked me “Would you like to contribute to the Houston Emergency Hurricane Harvey Fund?” I nodded and said certainly…and told her amount to add to my card. It was then that I realized what had happened to the gentleman before me.

He had a decision to make…he only had five ones left to probably last him awhile…but instead, he gave all his money to the relief fund…because in his mind…he was blessed beyond measure while there was need elsewhere.

Immediately I felt like I was back in Biblical days watching the widow give all she had.

Mark 12: 41-44

The Widow’s Offering

⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

There is no doubt in my mind that the gentleman had given everything…all he had to live on for a certain period of time. What for me was simply breakfast food…I have no doubt, for him, was his enire daily amount of food…breakfast, lunch, and dinner combined.

Whereas I took more out of my checking account…he was the one who really gave Thursday morning…because he gave everything.

Now I am the one who  feels blessed for being there in Bi-Lo (at the right moment) to witness the miracle of completely unselfish  giving to our fellow man in need.

So until tomorrow….Thank you God for letting me be a witness to one of your disciples of love.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

My moon flowers seem to be in a regular pattern of producing one moon flower bloom every other evening…I look forward to it as the bloom starts to open and I can watch it unveil right from my window.

Football season has arrived! Good luck to everyone and your favorite team this season! I got my new garden flag ready and cleaned off Honey’s clay plaque…Bring it on!

I kept Rutledge and Lachlan for Walsh and Mollie to run go eat a bite together at Surmets…wonderful restaurant on Daniel Island..a dinner out to celebrate Mollie’s promotion.

I watched Rutledge swim and Lachlan play with dad…then they left to go eat and we went to the park and played… came home and ate supper. Walsh and Mollie returned early and suggested we all go to the new house. Unfortunately the code they were given didn’t work but everything on the outside looked good….just a little painting left to do.

While we were admiring the house…Rutledge pointed to the sky and told us to look ….a beautiful rainbow…actually a double one. I told Mollie and Rutledge I took this as a sign that the house was being blessed…their own covenant with a home for their family and soon new little sister.

Dear Reader:

Remember a couple of days ago…I mentioned that I was taking a hiatus from the garden while Mother Nature was cooperating so well with the balance of sun and rain to do something new…perhaps an adventure through a familiar terrain…but with a new perspective.

Vickie works part-time at Miler Country Club and said that she could borrow a golf cart any time we were interested in riding around and see our neighborhood(s) through the back paths and not just the main drives. Yesterday was our day to do just that!

It started off by finding an isolated area behind a dead end road where we found a beautiful but unusual tree…it was like someone got a blow dryer and swept the trees ‘hair’ (limbs) all over to one side…perhaps it happened last year during Hurricane Matthew.

Our adventures taking the back paths of the neighborhood gave us some of the most beautiful scenery around.

Besides the falling pine straw…we can tell fall is about to arrive by the lengthening shadows…I loved this path through the woods. The sun dappled through the old oak trees creating flickering lights that looked like fairies dancing. (Don’t you love the word “dappled” I do!)

I am always drawn to “Resurrection Ferns”  like the ones growing on this old oak… that is begging little children to come climb its branches.

It is only when we get off the beaten path…that we can see children’s secret tree houses, filled with imagination that lead to adult homes built back off the road like an adult tree house.

Tire swings, hand-built mailboxes, and horseshoes…just waiting for players.

We might not have “Three Pines” in Summerville but these two pine trees came mighty close to the picture in the Penny Louise books.

My favorite gardening areas were the sun flowers and  wildflowers home owners had planted…I really want to grow wildflowers in bulk for next season…they just can’t be beat for beauty. (I think I will need about a truck load of dirt to go over my sand.)

*I love these wooden blocks in Eva Cate’s room…”In a field of roses, she is a Wildflower!”

There were so many beautiful butterflies out and about…and I loved this butterfly chair too.

Here are our two favorite Tea Farm doors….I love that the new trend in housing right now is painting a front door color that “pops.”

…And speaking of the Tea Farm neighborhood…the original Tea Farm house is really getting a make-over with a new copper roof…it is going to be gorgeous when it is finished. I did have to chuckle however when Vickie and I rode past this sign on the dirt road where it is located. Not sure anyone can do too much about stirring up “DUST?” (Glad we have had a lot of rain and we were in a golf cart.)

We both thought this home looked like a French Chateaux.

The one observation that made us slightly sad, however, was the fact that we didn’t see anyone out and about around their homes for the whole hour we rode around Miler and Tea Farm…It was eerily quiet…a beautiful ghost neighborhood….a sign of society today…people work hard to live in some of these beautiful homes and sometimes I feel that this leaves little time to actually live in them…enjoy them…just a thought.

So until tomorrow…A Blessing for a New Home (favorite stanzas) by John O’Donohue

May this house shelter your life.
When you come in home here,
May all the weight of the world
Fall from your shoulders.

….

May this home be a place of discovery,
Where the possibilities that sleep
In the clay of your soul can emerge
To deepen and refine your vision
For all that is yet to come to birth.

….

May it be a house of courage,
Where healing and growth are loved,
Where dignity and forgiveness prevail;
A home where patience and spirit is prized,
And the sight of the destination is never lost

Though the journey be difficult and slow.
May there be great delight around this hearth.
May it be a house of welcome
For the broken and diminished.

….

May you have the eyes to see
That no visitor arrives without a gift
And no guest leaves without a blessing.

……………………….

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*If you order from the Emily McDowell studio today (24 hours) all her artistic  “wares” (cards, pins) are on sale to benefit Houston Texas.

*Happy “Lucky Rabbit” Day…it is the first day of September! Say “Rabbit” and have a wonderful Fall month!

Dear Reader:

Anne and I have been flip-flopping books so much we are starting to forget who has read what. I found some stick-on (old mailbox letters) and we split them up (before church the other Sunday) so we could stick the numbers on the back binding to help us keep them straight in our minds.

But even then…I ran over to Anne’s house Tuesday night to get the next book…only to be reminded that Anne had given me two books on our last swap…it was at home. Duh! (But I did stop by Tastee-Freeze and get us some ice cream…so all was not lost.)

And besides Anne had some interesting and funny news about the main character (who everyone falls in love with when reading Louise Penny’s detective series- Chief Inspector Armand Gamach)

She had gone to the “Y” in town for a “fiddling” practice session and upon leaving realized the streets were congested from a train stopped (or maybe it was just moving real slow) on the tracks a block ahead. She ended up turning into another little street and started laughing out loud….who knew?

Let me remind you that in all the murder mysteries in Louise Penny’s novels Three Pines is a fictional town in Quebec province . Supposedly it got its name, dating back to the American Revolution…because the town planted three trees together…a secret code for Loyalists during the war to know that they were welcome to come to Three Pines for refuge and comfort.

(As a history teacher, it reminds me of the symbols put out on the Underground Railroad, during the Civil War,  for fugitives, run-away slaves, to follow…many times in the form of certain quilt patterns hung over clothes lines)

This symbolism continues throughout the book as more and more of the main characters realize what a jewel the little town of Three Pines is and it remains an emotional refuge for all the characters at different points in their lives.

Since both Anne and I are now over halfway through the series (scary thought…we don’t want it to ever end) we continue to  ‘eat, drink, and sleep’  the lovable main character…Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Not a name that we are likely to come across in real life…but then…

As Anne turned into this side street off Railroad Street Sunday…what did she see but…

Do you happen to notice that the street is PINE Street? I drove over and took these pictures but in an ad I found for this local lawyer…I thought the S. Pine looked like  3 Pine (my eyes water terribly while on this oral chemo regiment) and it was so blurry…it took me a minute to rein in my unbridled excitement and realize the visual error. Who knew we had a Gamache right here in Summerville?

Another strange thing…the ‘Three Pines’ stand at the entrance to the fictional town by that same name in Quebec but here in Summerville…there is a round cemented circle in front of the legal office and a huge old beautiful oak tree  stands right in the center.

(I picked up on the irony of Summerville being known as “The Flower Town in the Pines”…with its motto saying: Sacra Pinus Esto (The Pine is Sacred)” while Summerville’s Gamache’s office has a gigantic oak instead of pines.)

One of the best ways we can tell if a book is going to be memorable deals with  the words of wisdom and the simplicity of life’s lessons found throughout the pages.

These traits are more enduring than just the story line. It is the words of wisdom we take from the reading that is the most important.

Here are a few samples of the types of experienced wisdom found in Louise Penny’s novels.

 “I was tired of seeing the Graces always depicted as beautiful young things. I think wisdom comes with age and life and pain. And knowing what matters.”

What are you afraid of? I’m afraid of not recognizing Paradise.”

The leaves had fallen from the trees and lay crisp and crackling beneath his feet. Picking one up he marveled, not for the first time, at the perfection of nature where leaves were most beautiful at the very end of their lives.”

To be silent. In hopes of not offending, in hopes of being accepted. But what happened to people who never spoke, never raised their voices? Kept everything inside? Gamache knew what happened. Everything they swallowed, every word, thought, feeling rattled around inside, hollowing the person out. And into that chasm they stuffed their words, their rage.”

“Things are strongest where they’re broken.”

“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.”

What did falling in love do for you? Can you ever really explain it? It filled empty spaces I never knew were empty. It cured a loneliness I never knew I had. It gave me joy. And freedom. I think that was the most amazing part. I suddenly felt both embraced and freed at the same time.”

“Now here’s a good one: you’re lying on your deathbed. You have one hour to live. Who is it, exactly, you have needed all these years to forgive?”

“Goodness exists”

So until tomorrow:

These are just a few samples of the types of “Aha” moments one has while reading this series…like Louise Penny said…if her readers only remember one thing…do remember that Chief Inspector Armand Gamache had seen it all…the very worst side of human nature….yet to the end he always believed “Goodness exists.” Shouldn’t we?

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Rutledge is all excited about playing soccer this year….Lachlan is looking at traveling attire to wear whenever he is around airports…and their latest friend must live on Daniel Island too..hopefully sticking to his lagoon far from them.

Later…