Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I went out to pick some flowers to put in a vase in my Happy Room. I felt the stare of the garden’s flowers upon me….looking accusingly:  “Who are you and where have you been?”

True confession: I have been everywhere but out in the garden. For the first time, since the garden was created in 2013, I have gone an entire week (actually a little over a week) without stepping into my garden.

Mother Nature has provided just the right amount of rain and sunshine to sustain the trees, plants, and flowers with no assistance from me. The first couple of days I peeked out to check on them visually from the back door window…but after that I didn’t even take a peek.

I had some lunch dates, family outings, household projects, and, of course, my Louise Penny mysteries to keep me quite busy and quite happy. It was never an intentional hiatus…just a chance to take a little pause from the daily routine.

In fact, the word, hiatus, is defined as: a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process. And sometimes….taking a pause from what we routinely do is good for the soul. We all need to break from any customary activity (ies) that is done repetitiously over and over without intervals throughout our lives. Not only does it clear our minds of daily clutter…but it frees our soul to swell and be well.

We need to “mix it up” with life…so routine doesn’t become drudgery but desire. Like the “Sirens” of ancient Grecian folklore…I will hear the garden calling soon…perhaps even tomorrow…but today I will mix it up and plan adventures that I don’t routinely consider during the week. Opening our five senses to unexpected opportunities awakens the childish curiosity and sense of play in all of us.

After all…  adulting is hard. (But you’re doing great!) Now take a break and play!

I have discovered one thing about my garden…secretly I think the flowers and trees have enjoyed my absence as much as I have enjoyed theirs…sometimes distance does make the heart grow fonder. The garden looks better now, in my eyes, than when I was there two or three times a day messing around in it. The garden has flourished without me during this little hiatus.

So until tomorrow…

*Cindy Ashley stopped by to pick up the second book in the Louise Penny series…I gave her a “Honey flower vase.” The gift that keeps on giving.

Congratulations to Mollie who just got promoted to Executive Director of Beautycounter Momma!

We are so proud of you. Way to go!

Ensuring safety in all their products…the family has fun trying on products!

Dear Reader:

The book that contains the story behind the creation of the empathy cards came in yesterday. It has some of the best advice I have read about dealing with difficult situations.

A few days ago a friend mentioned something about a situation being a “little iffy” and I thought it had been awhile since I had heard that expression. The more I thought about it…the more I realized that Life, itself, is pretty iffy. We never know from hour to hour how quickly it can change. Most of us have lived long enough to have experienced this dilemma.

Life Spoiler Alert…Bad Things Happen. This book has some wonderful go-to ways to respond in difficult situations with people who we care so much for but don’t know how to help during the bad times.

An incident happened to Dr. Kelsey Crowe (one of the co-authors) and her little girl, that  reaffirms we are born with built-in directions on how to respond and comfort loved ones and close friends in troubled times…but as we become adults…we start criticizing our own behaviors and self-worth. If we find ourselves unworthy of self-love we come to realize that we  can’t convey love to others when needed. We must first love ourselves before we can love and assist the ones we want to help.

“One day while in the car on the way to pre-school, Kelsey’s young daughter, Georgia piped up from the backseat, “Mom, what do you actually do for a living?’ Kelsey paused, trying to come up with an answer.

“Well,” Kelsey answered, “I help friends be there for each other when they are sad.”

“Oh,’ said Georgia, “that’s easy.”

“Oh really?” said Kelsey. “What would you say to help someone in need?”

Then Georgia rattled off this list.

Take a minute and read this short list again and consider that Georgia just blew up the notion that helping isn’t an ability we’re born with, or a skill we naturally pick up between learning to tie our shoes and figuring out a glue stick. Sadly, something happens as we grow up. We change from being completely unselfconscious and intuitive about how to comfort someone to being self-doubting, freaked-out messes. 

Somewhere along our life journey we have felt rejected or made to feel inadequate in relationships and our two main fears come down to

1. I am unlovable              2. I am incompetent.

If we go to try to comfort someone else carrying such low expectations of ourselves…we are already writing the script for more failure. This will lead to those terrible back home drives when we scringe remembering something we said to someone to try to comfort them, perhaps at work or even in daily conversation or wherever and we know we blew it.  (Personally…I re-travel down this road around 2:00 am.)

The wonderful authors shared a bookmark list (to keep in our back pockets) to help us start and continue difficult conversations from break-ups, pending divorces, loss of jobs, illness, depression, loss of loved ones, etc.

The one thing I could really identify with from both sides of the bed….being in it and/ sitting beside it….It is best to start a conversation by taking broad generalizations and breaking them down to immediate time-lines. For example:

Instead of saying “How are you, or how are you feeling or doing” simply add “How are you doing right now?” This statement lends itself better to the patient or simply a person you are trying to help in other areas… by condensing the question to the very moment of your conversation.

I remember one time a person stopping by when I had just gotten home from surgery the day before and asking me “How I was doing?”

I remember looking at the individual and responding…“It is good that you asked that right now…because at this very moment I am doing pretty good…two hours ago I would have scared  you right out of here… if you had popped in unannounced…and witnessed all the tubes sticking out of me… looking like a human octopus. Tonight I can only hope for the best…but I will probably be looking like something your cat proudly dragged in to show you…but right now, this very minute…I am doing good…great timing on your question.”

I remember we both laughed and it broke the “iffy” atmosphere of whispering instead of talking aloud and laughing. When someone is physically sick or in a mental depression or just suffered a personal loss…now is all that matters….”How are you feeling right now?”

I really do recommend this book…I spent a couple of hours caught up in it yesterday…and found myself taking notes and saying to myself…”Yes…that’s good…that’s a great question…that’s a great answer.”

Along with the book came sets of little note cards, mostly black and white that speak volumes…so you really get a lot for the price of one book.

So until tomorrow…this is one of the little cards that came with the book yesterday: (Isn’t that all we need to hear sometimes?)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

I would like to take a minute and ask a favor of you. Mollie called yesterday and updated me on her last doctor appointment. Everything looked good on the last ultrasound (the one I went to with Mollie) except…the doctor picked up that the umbilical cord is on the far side of the placenta and not in the middle where it normally lies.

Everything is fine right now and there is a good chance it will continue to be so…However, this is a situation that will need to be monitored closely with several ultrasounds scheduled to make sure the baby is getting enough nutrition to grow…especially now while entering the last trimester. In other words…there is the possible potential for things to get  “iffy.”

There are options if the baby doesn’t start growing sufficiently and putting on enough weight…but we are hoping the baby is getting everything she needs and hopefully the worse-case scenario…is that they will do a c-section and deliver the baby a few weeks early… but not too early.

Time will tell…but the power of prayer is so amazing that I would so appreciate you keeping Mollie and the family in your prayers these next few weeks. I will certainly keep everyone abreast of the situation as time goes on. Thank you for being you…the best blog readers and friends there are!

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I went over to see Eva Cate ride her bike (without training wheels) for the first time. Actually it was the second day for her… she finally got up the nerve Saturday to give it a try (again) and this attempt was the charm.

All summer the bike had been in the garage (training wheels taken off) waiting for her to learn to ride it…It was the summer for this goal. But after a few initial “painful” falling down attempts Eva Cate got scared and wouldn’t try again.

She just had to wait until it was her time to fly the nest and Saturday, August 26 was that time. Don’t we all remember that feeling of success when we realized we could balance a bike without falling off? The sense of freedom that comes with first learning to ride a bike, is a fore-taste of all the different freedoms we will experience in our lives.

Eva Cate just experienced a childhood rite of passage without even understanding it now. She will later… when she looks back on the day she learned to ride a bike. This is just one ‘small’ step towards personal independence that will carry her through adolescence and adulthood.

Other events like going to the movies with friends without parents, overnight sleep-overs, camps, retreats, school trips, fifth and eighth grade dances, proms, sweet sixteen birthdays, graduations, and leaving home for college/work will all complete the sequence of steps leading our children and grandchildren to self-independence. (And oh…it goes too fast!)

Eva Cate also doesn’t realize it yet…but she is following in an historical Women’s Movement that Susan B. Anthony recognized as one of the most important: “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.”

Think about it…for the first time the bicycle offered women, stuck at home all day, the opportunity to travel freely around town…what a sense of freedom that must have been! Consider, also, the impact it had on women’s clothing.

Article: “How the Bicycle Changed the World for Women” Shelby Erdman

“It was extraordinary. It affected the way women dressed, women’s sense of themselves, women’s ability to travel beyond the confines of their homes,” Macy told CNN Radio.

For one thing, the layers of heavy petticoats and wide crinolines had to go.

“When they started riding bicycles it became clear that this wouldn’t work,” Macy says.

“The petticoats were getting caught in the spokes. Women were really getting injured just because of the clothing they wore. So quite quickly alternatives to the way they dressed were introduced. They were no longer wearing such heavy clothing.”

Macy said the petticoats gave way to the bloomers, the puffy underpants worn under skirts. Even with the bloomers, though, women weren’t riding for speed or to get somewhere at that time.

Beth Emery is a biking teacher in Connecticut. She’s also a historian on women’s athletics. Emery said women weren’t really riding in the way that biking is thought to today because biking at the time was mostly about being out and being seen.

“It was like parading around and part of getting the fresh air and exercise,” says Emery.

…………………………….

In my first blog post back on November 25, 2014, after taking a haitus between Chapel of Hope Stories I and II to consider whether it was time to stop and try other writings or stand firm and continue with what gave me so much joy…I placed a picture of Rutledge on the cover ( he was a little over one year old and terrified of hair-cuts back then)…to start off the new blog with the comment…“One of the hardest things in life is knowing when to ‘cut your losses’ and start over or follow your intuition to stay the course.” 

So here we are in the final days of the ‘dog days’ of August. We have miraculously gotten some cooler, less humid air to settle into the lowcountry…giving us a hint of September with cooler mornings and nights to come!

And as for me…I know I made the right decision…my life is a balance of activities and energy offset with solitude and conversation with God…the right balance for me at this stage of my life.

A wonderful friend of mine at church yesterday (who has had lots and lots of company this summer) said she has discovered the right expression for the blessed silence and solitude that follows a crowd of guests…her new term: “A happy lonesome.” I had to laugh and laugh….I told her and her husband…that pretty much summed up my life a lot and it was and is a wonderful thing!

So until tomorrow…

We can’t find true happiness without balance in our lives.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

The family shares in the bicycle celebration. Jake even showed off for me on his (well big sister’s) old trike…so proud of his achievement too.

Dear Reader:

I love this painting from Kelly Rae Roberts…all of her artworks are whimsical with a hidden truth within. And oh, how I do thank life each and every day.

Lately…it has been little side trips around the neighborhood and town that have made me smile and fall in love with Summerville all over again…it doesn’t take much…beautiful flowers beside someone’s mailbox, a surprise sighting of a “Little Free Library,” Nala and friends…(some who come in very small packages) Victorian-style bandstands, smores on an autumn night, and another moon flower blooming right outside my window. Life is so good!

Come with me as I share some of my ‘life’s little extras” from this past week.

Vickie and I  rode over (early last Sunday morning) to Tea Farm for her to show me the shell gingers blooming beside the mail box (with such a delicious aroma) along with the purple Moses-in-the cradle plants and Mexican petunias.) Soft and enticing…a little like a gardenia but not as “in your face” strong. I am so hoping that my variegated shell ginger blooms this fall…fingers crossed! I want to be able to open the window while typing on my blog and smell the sweet aroma. What a way to start the week.

Tuesday I was coming home from an appointment and cut through the back streets of Summerville…like the way I used to go while traveling back and forth to Alston Middle School (where I taught for almost 30 years.)

Suddenly there was a white “Little Free Library”  (Take a book, Leave a book or both) on the right hand of the road…It had been erected…based on the honor system…I wasn’t expecting it and found myself smiling at the thought…I must take a few of my books to put in it!

Then yesterday Tommy and Kaitlyn came by and we went to lunch to celebrate their ( August 31) one-year engagement date. What a lot has gone on this past year…wedding, marriage, and an amazing trip to Ireland! Happy Engagement Anniversary!

We stopped by Anne’s for Kaitlyn to get some more solar eclipse postcards while she was in town…Pip and Atticus played with Nala…all three were curious….Nala thinking ‘what are they?’ and Pip and Atticus thinking they were in the land of giants. It was interesting to observe. Curiosity won out!

We went to Oscars for lunch and afterwards drove through Daniel’s Orchard….I absolutely love the Victorian-style Bandstand built in their “village green”…*That is what I wish we had in Hutchinson Square…can’t you see it all lit up at night with little white lights-music playing, announcements being made…awards given…a central platform for the town. Decorated tastefully for the holidays….another way to bring the residents back downtown and have a platform on which to be seen and heard (Kaitlyn said it looked like the bandstand in the television series- The Gilmore Girls.)

Daniel’s Orchard also has a fire pit for  crip autumn nights and delicious smores….yum! yum!

Every day I see something different in my town that brings a smile to my face.

This moon flower bloom popped out around 5:30 yesterday afternoon while I was typing my blog…one minute it wasn’t there…when I looked again…it was. What a miraculous surprise on a late warm August afternoon!

 So until tomorrow…Let us recognize that every day is a treasure to bury in our memories.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*There it is the “Red Robin Baron” of Miler….he is bombarding me again (well the side of my car with the mirror) ….that bird has been stalking me since early spring. I mean really! Give it up! Find another pastime than looking in the mirror…try golf or something. He might be small….but he is devious!

*So glad this author didn’t add “criminal cardinals” to this list…Whew!

Dear Reader:

The other night as I was just drifting off to sleep…a sudden epiphany came to me with such clarity…I actually sat up in bed and then started smiling.. actually chuckling to myself.

After all the thoughts,  readings, and conversations about life that I have participated in with others and myself over the years.. while trying to get a handle on what life is all about…I shook my head (trying to knock the cobwebs out so I could go to sleep) and said aloud “I think I am supposed to just “keep on, keeping on.” Period!”

I didn’t hear trumpets go off or anything remotely close… but the thought came to me that the best eulogy to sum me up would be simply: “She Kept Going.”  (Now everybody can go home and get back in their comfy jeans!)

The God’s Wink didn’t come until yesterday, however. I had seen some really heart-felt good-humored empathy cards for people at a shop on vacation one year  and I wanted to order some more. I couldn’t remember the artist so I simply typed in….good-humored empathy cards and up they popped.

As I read sample note card after sample note card I found myself laughing until tears came down…(though some of them came from the heart and not just the eyes.)

I have had several people who have been on my mind lately…but I find myself putting off writing the cards I know I need to send because I simply haven’t known what to say?

Ever felt like that?…And then suddenly while perusing Emily McDowell’s  website with her amazing note cards…there it was…along with my God Wink…”Kept Going.”

The first card says: “I’m really sorry I haven’t been in touch. I didn’t know what to say.” And then my God Wink…a “foiled” badge of honor card that says…“Kept Going.”

That pretty much sums it up doesn’t it? Eventually life comes down to two types of people….the ones who give up and the ones who keep going. If nothing else…I want to be remembered as a “Kept Going–er.”

I certainly want to do my part to give Emily McDowell her due because her story behind this creation is pretty powerful. In an interview I pulled up on her ‘story behind the story’ …I discovered this…

Tommy and Kailtyn…I wish I could have sent this card to both of you when our little Rudy died…it says it all.

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

As a history teacher I wasn’t overly concerned about my students memorizing historical dates….what was more important to me was their understanding of the incident on that date and how it changed the future…the present we now live in.

As long as students could put memorable incidents into historical time-frames  I was satisfied. The secret to teaching history is to turn the subject into one big story and teach it chapter by chapter….sorta like 1001 Arabian Nights.

And just like Scheherazade’s storytelling was saving her head, as well as the future of other palace girls’ heads…she became the heroine who stopped all the carnage by the dictatorial king.

So I must say that I felt an affinity for my nemesis as the contest progressed over 1001 days plus VS Day…Victory over Scheherazade Day! I had done it and was still here to tell about it . Life doesn’t get better than that!

But Jo Dufford added her wit and wisdom to my own reflection when I commented in yesterday’s blog-this statement:

“Today when I started this blog…I realized that I was now at 1002 stories since re-starting the blog back on November 25, 2014….but the first time it happened it was really cause for celebration…I had just out-told the fictitious Scheherazade, storyteller of  1001 Arabian Nights by one blog post! That date was May 29, 2013!”

I didn’t realize it but I was putting all the emphasis on the first 1002 day victory over Scheherazade and not giving much credence to the next 1002 day celebration. Jo said it so eloquently:

“Although that first record had to be beyond anything most could imagine, I think a celebration is in order again. Because you continued to write and then hit a big snag that would have stopped others. You didn’t let the adversity of some unkind person stop you, and you have again beat that fictitious Scheherazade. By doing this, you have inspired and blessed so many more people. Of course, while you were busy beating her record again, God was busy filling your life with weddings, births, championships, flowers and so much more. I have known many people that felt God had called them to their professions, and I feel you are continuing to answer a call from God.”

Wow! Thanks Jo! Don’t we all need another perspective on our own lives sometimes from someone else who sees things differently than us. Jo…you did nail it when you said this second VS (Victory over Scheherazade) celebration and remembrance…is just as important as the first. There have been many more hiccups and bumps in the road of life during this second “contest”…but through God’s Grace we are all still here together. Now that is something worth celebrating.

Here is a pictorial ‘down memory lane’ Victory over Scheherazade’ celebration party at the house. May 30, 2013

Jo and Colby showed up with the 1001 Arabian Nights Book….I have thoroughly enjoyed reading some of the stories I never read before…I have discovered there is a lot more to the book than just Aladdin and his magical lamp.

Then came food and treats….and look Honey more seeds of happiness!

All the Ya’s arrived and guess what they brought….my “Chicken Man” painting…I had forgotten this was the special occasion for that wonderful gift!

I realize what is so funny now….Mollie was expecting Rutledge, her first-born at this time and now here we are with baby number 3…I need to find Chicken Man and get him to add in all the new members of the family since this painting was done! *(But with little Eva Cate trailing Aunt Mollie in the painting…the symbolism is right this time…Mollie and a little girl in pink!)

Family and friends all arrived…life doesn’t get better! Honey was out of town…but even Honey’s daughter, Ashley stopped by!

Mandy made the banner and created a “Boo” Scheherazade in the making.

Too funny…and so many wonderful memories!

So until tomorrow…Thank you God for life, blessings, and the anticipation of another sunrise!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I have decided to take the idea of the overturned tea cups at night… “righted” the next morning as a symbolism of the gift of life each day. It will remind me of the sacredness of life each morning.

I liked this analogy that Michele Robertson sent in:

…”I know God has the top of the puzzle box and I’m just here to fit the pieces together. When we force them, that’s when we get into trouble! Thanks for your words-you always inspire!”

I am so thankful that only God knows when it is time to gather all the pieces of the puzzle, put them back in the box, and close the lid. I just hope I have been able to figure out some of life’s puzzles before that happens.

Dear Reader:

Isn’t the greatest lesson in life, perhaps, learning that we always had the secret to our own success deep within us…we had the power to “move mountains” as we go on our way?

The irony of life is that we always think that power is located somewhere else or in someone else…we always look outward when we should be looking inward.

Think about the English expression: “To commit something to memory is to know it by heart.” What we are recognizing is the acknowledgment that memories are kept in the heart, not the head.” 

And it is in these deep-seeded ancient memories that the gift of success and fulfillment was given to us by the scripture of Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…”

Each of us has been given the power to achieve remarkable things…but only if we recognize that power/talent within us and use it for others to benefit their lives.

This is only possible if we believe that we have this power to begin with…that God has given us each an unique gift to use for His Glory.

We only get off track when, like Thomas, we let doubt rule the day instead of faith. And isn’t that the greatest challenge that faces us each and every day?

I remember reading excerpts from this book (Embracing Uncertainty) years ago and I am glad I came upon it again…because I definitely need renewal lessons.

In order to find fulfillment during our time on earth we have to re-perceive the future…not as empty but as open to to possibilities and opportunities to demonstrate our strengths and powers.

A new day should not be looked upon with dread and trepidation but with curiosity, wonder, and delight.

This anecdote in Jeffer’s book is one of my favorites. “The Upside Down Teacups”

“I was once told that certain spiritual masters in Tibet used to set
their teacups upside down before they went to bed each night as a
reminder that all life was impermanent. And then, when they awoke each
morning, they turned their teacups right side up again with the happy
thought, ‘I’m still here!’ This simple gesture was a wonderful reminder to celebrate every moment of the day.“–Susan Jeffers

Today when I started this blog…I realized that I was now at 1002 stories since re-starting the blog back on November 25, 2014….but the first time it happened it was really cause for celebration…I had just out-told the fictitious Scheherazade, storyteller of  1001 Arabian Nights by one blog post! That date was May 29, 2013!

It was an emotional victory since when I started the contest on August 31, 2010 I had no guarantee that I would even be around long enough to finish the contest. Yet there I was and now with a total of 2, 570 blog posts to my name…here I still am.

I am one of millions of “God’s poster children”  embracing uncertainty while living with “little c” monthly… check-up to check-up. My on-going condition has taught me faith and for that I am forever grateful!

Tomorrow’s blog will take us back to the Scheherazade Victory Celebration at the house where several of you came and joined in for the party making it so special.

Walsh learned a lesson yesterday too about faith. As he and Mollie talked and texted back and forth over the airport situation and little Lachlan….a very uncertain stage of this drama unfolded.

Lachlan’s doctors (two) gave Mollie the “Okay” she needed to finish out the flight back to Charleston…IF…she and the boys could get transferred to the last flight leaving. She  called the reservation number the airlines gave her but she told Walsh that she had been on the phone for twenty minutes on hold…and didn’t know what to do.

Walsh (texted me later) to say that he told Mollie to “brave it, head back to the airport, and no airline clerk with a pulse could tell her no, once they heard her story.” 

Almost immediately after that text…I finally got the text we had all been praying for…“Prayers answered!!!They got on the 6 pm flight!”

My response was : “I feel like I can breathe again! Hallelujah!”

We have all heard the old tried and true expression: “Look before you leap” but reality is we don’t always have the luxury of being able to see the future before we leap….in this case the drive back to the airport was a ‘leap of faith’ and the saying ” Leap and the net will appear” probably best defines what happened.

So until tomorrow: As the brilliant comedian, Gilda Radner, said after discovering she had a terminal cancer:

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.  Delicious Ambiguity.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Nancyjean Nettles shared in all the solar eclipse fun, creative desserts by making an “Eclipse Key Lime Torte” while adding chocolate glaze to “make it eclipse worthy!” (To heck with eclipse worthy…my mouth is watering for it….yummy!!!)

Anne and her friend, Cheryl, dropped by to see the garden right before the downpour yesterday.

While we were in the back yard Stephanie appeared with the bags of Clemson/Commemorative cokes dressed in the right color…purple! Stephanie…you and your mom, Greta, are beyond unbelievable….I love you both!

The eclipse was equally exciting for children and pets alike:

Dear Reader:

Libby got me thinking along the memories of schools scents. She had texted us Ya’s yesterday morning to update us on the grandchildren’s new school year…who was at what school and what grade this year…and then nostalgically added:” “This is the time of year I just want to smell some crayons.” 

(So I turned to Pinterest of course) and sent her a pictured “bouquet of crayons” for being such a good grandmother and aunt.) * I agree that waxy smell of crayons can send me over the top…the first indicator that fall is coming!

But this did get me thinking…about the smells of by-gone school days. Schools do have an unique scent associated with them…especially old schools…which are my favorite.

So I searched around and discovered that everyone shares pretty much the same remembrances of certain scents associated with school….see if you can relate to any of these.

Come on…admit it…didn’t we all love sniffing glue?…It is kind of like smelling gasoline while filling up your car as an adult…you don’t want to admit you like it…but you do! And the best thing about a school activity using glue was getting to peel off the dried glue stuck to your fingers…that could keep me occupied all the way through arithmetic.

My favorite place at school…the library. As much as I loved reading…it was the smell of both old and new books that kept me asking the teacher if I could go there during lunch or recess on rainy days.

The big pink eraser…I needed it in arithmetic every single day…after one day of math…the big pink eraser would be black for the rest of the school year…lots and lots of mistakes! (But the smell was wonderful while erasing!)

Chalk, Chalkboards and chalk erasers have become almost historical artifacts from the past these days…but how I loved getting called on to come to the board so I could write on it.

I remember we had one little boy, named Freddy, who was always getting in trouble so he would have to stay after school and clean the erasers…making all that dust….but the teacher had to find something else to use for discipline. He loved it…favorite part of the day!

*( True confession: I would volunteer to wash the boards after school myself…I loved it too!)

The smells of the lunch cafeteria…such a mixture of food smells mixed in with floor cleaning mops left in every corner. Some of our favorite childhood cafeteria foods were:  Sloppy Joe’s, pigs in a blanket and square pizza…why square?….easier to cut I reckon!

The big red rubber ball…(the smell of rubber and terror)I believe I still have bruises on my arms and legs from this instrument of torture. Dodge Ball was the game that produced the most pain for me…I was always the weak link… the poor little antelope on the Serengeti. I just prayed everyday I would get hit first and taken out of the “game” so I could stand on the side and become a spectator to other’s pain instead of a “pained” participant.

And last, but not least, the smell of sawdust covering up digestive issues/accidents in classrooms, cafeterias, and hallways. The unfortunately victim never made it to the bathroom or the janitor would not have been called…but everyone held their noses and “oohed” whenever one tramped across these consistent problem areas at school.

Ah yes…the smells of back-to-school! If you can think of some more please let me know. It has been fun reminiscing down childhood “real estate” areas. School!

And so until tomorrow:

Sunday we had the “Blessings of the Packbacks”…each child was called up and given a Dorchester Presbyterian “fish” to attach to their backpack with the words “Go Fish.” I pray that everyone has a wonderful “Go Fish” year and catches more knowledge than ever before. Remember: You are never alone….you have already been “caught” in the net of  God’s Amazing Love.

Genevieve and little brother Andrew are ready for school!

Eva Cate and Jakie were playing detectives over the long weekend…what they were looking for…I am not sure…but hope they found it.

Their cousins, Rutledge and Lachlan, were playing “Farmer in the Dell” at a real “Friendly Farm” in Dublin, N. H.

After such a happy picture of the grandchildren with Papa and Nana…a scare came along yesterday that had the family holding their breath.

Mollie was flying home with the boys and they landed in Philadelphia where they would take the last connection home to Charleston. Unfortunately Lachlan fell and bashed his forehead resulting in a huge goose egg protruding from it.

Lachlan needed to be checked out by a medical physician concerning his head injury before he could continue flying. So Mollie found herself with the children in route to the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia in an ambulance.

They missed their scheduled flight home…and everyone was worried they wouldn’t make the last flight out at 6:00 pm. But Lachlan was given the medical OK to fly and they all made it on that last flight back to Charleston. Welcome home Mollie and the boys…so glad you made it back safely after all!

*A special thank you to my friends for the prayers and emails to Mollie letting her know she wasn’t alone…providing a support line. The power of prayer never ceases to amaze me.

Dear Reader:

My journal, yesterday, began with a double awareness: One- that I was hungry and out of milk for my cereal. (Two: flocks of geese were flying overhead in droves squawking as loudly as they could…I thought to myself that they were sounding the alarm to all their other feathered friends that something strange was going to happen in the skies.)

So I called a friend and went to Alex’s for breakfast…and that is where the waitress with the fun solar eclipse socks was… it set the fun tone for the day. *

Then I stopped by Piggly Wiggly to get some milk before heading home and I noticed that everything looked and sounded like a ghost town. I was one of maybe five people in the store. I thought the streets and stores would be packed Monday…instead it was just the opposite.

I came home and decided to select one flower to follow throughout the solar eclipse cycle…so at 11:00 I took this first picture of the yellow zinnias in full sunlight…it was hot and humid.

Two hours (1:00) later I returned….the first summer shower had come through around 12:30… so when this next picture was taken…it was still drizzling and overcast.

It was after lunch (around 1:30) that I first heard it….thunder rumbling off in the distance getting closer and closer. It sounded like the ominous prelude to some majestic military march…as if the rumbling thunder was announcing the solar eclipse like the geese had done earlier.

I didn’t realize at the time, however, that the thunder would bring storms and rain with it….and put a real “damper” on the visibility of the solar eclipse on inland towns like Summerville, Goose Creek, and Moncks Corner. A bit of a bummer.

I was watching the National Weather Channel and wanted to see the Clemson viewing of the eclipse before I ran outside. They were very fortunate…sunny skies and a fantastic viewing.  (I believe that was the first time I began to feel emotional about everything going on and the anticipation of our own viewing.)

Picture of Coach Dabo Swinney eating some sun chips and probably just wondering what the universe has in store for Clemson this year…taken around 11:00 a.m. yesterday.

After the Clemson eclipse on television…I grabbed my Iphone and ran to take a photo of the zinnias as the eclipse took place…it was so dark my flash went off on the drenched yellow zinnias.

While I was doing this…something kept catching my attention…I turned around and all the garden solar lights were coming on at the same time…including my lights along the side fence. (To be completely honest with you…that was the best part of the eclipse for me…something I had never seen happen before even in an afternoon thunder storm) It was getting just that dark.

As I gathered with the other neighbors in the street…none of us even knew where the sun was supposed to be…it was already pretty dark from the thunder showers  and the lightning kept popping around us…just enough to make everyone a little nervous.

While standing in the street with my neighbor Luke and his buddy…watching the darkness descend…I took a picture of my front yard/home during the total eclipse.

My funniest memory, however, will be me and my colander. One of the weather officials told the television audience about the sun’s rays filtering in through a colander and it would form crescents creating objects.  Since the crescent is our state symbol that sounded like a good memento.

This idea doesn’t work, however, if you don’t have any sun to make shadows through the holes in the colander…There I was standing in the rain, with lightning all around, holding my colander. Luke and his friend just hooted good-naturedly. I was probably turning myself into a human lightning rod.

*Picture of the shadow of a colander with a star shaped pattern, and each spot a crescent during the eclipse.

Despite the unfortunate weather for the “Ville” I did feel a strange affinity for the universe and my teeny, tiny part in it. For the few moments that day did turn into night…it made me feel humble before a Creator Who produced the miracle of life with all that this entails. Mind-boggling…simply mind-boggling!

It was an experience of a lifetime for me…and I am just so glad I was here to feel it in every fiber of my being. It felt like God gave us all a holiday from politics and scary news…so we could come together as one in awe of our Creator…each a child of the Universe. That was the best gift of all!

I was surprised when the children started calling…each of them had seen the solar eclipse clearly and were so excited (I thought everyone was having thunder showers like us but their clouds cleared at the last minute)…from Mt. Pleasant to Daniel Island. Here are some photos Walsh sent from the river bank near his condo on Daniel Island.

So Beautiful…that gorgeous sunset scene that accompanies a solar eclipse …I think I am as disappointed in missing that as much as the eclipse itself over the sun…but I will enjoy it vicariously through friends and family.

*Guess what? It rained all afternoon here and then late last evening around 8:00 we had the most beautiful sunset that would rival even the solar eclipse one.

It was a special day…not long forgotten…special for the eclipse…special for the blog benchmark…special for simply being alive!

So until tomorrow…William Blake is right…” If the sun or moon should ever doubt, they would immediately go out.” Because the eclipse yesterday just reaffirmed, more strongly than ever, that I have no doubt Who is in charge of this magnificent universe.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Everyone have a great back-to-school day…(for Dorchester Two students this will be the first day back.) Again…there will be lots of first day back-to-school pictures on Facebook…visual mementos to be savored of another “eclipse” of time…gone before we know it.

* Look at how the “Solar Eclipse” sunflower/moon bowl mementos turned out…Aren’t they wonderful? Way to go Honey!

Dear Reader:

When Anne and I attended  an international creative workshop in Provence, France( summer of 2005) one lesson we learned when it came to photography (and/or even just looking at the world in general)…was to look at someone or something through a different pair of lenses…besides your own. That lesson has stuck with me ever since.

For example…instead of just taking a picture of the Eiffel Tower…look at it through the eyes of a child playing in a park or perhaps a flower growing in a window box of a store near this historical structure. How would the Eiffel Tower look to them? Like a moving kaleidoscope visual changes happen instantly when we change perspectives….turning our beautiful world upside down… becoming even more amazing!

So when I found this creative painting among all the other same type posters done of the Solar Eclipse…it became the one I wanted for this momentous occasion today…looking at the Solar Eclipse from the perspective of a butterfly. Perfect!

My first reader/ participant photo came from Debi Baker who had her adorable grandchildren making “Solar Eclipse” cookies from a recipe off last Sunday’s Parade issue…too cute!

From there we got hilarious messages on t-shirts, examples of fun creative ideas from the ocean to the mountains in our state and others by every day people with creative minds and talented hands…all proud to represent their local areas during this once-in-a -lifetime event for most people. And we did get some modeling from our readers too….thank you for being such good sports! Here we go…see if you recognize your memento!

Look what Honey came up with as a wonderful “Solar Eclipse” memento too…she  emailed me yesterday and wrote on it “Late Action”…she was getting ready to put them in the kiln….but like I told Anne (when she ordered more postcards) no one remembers a date when you get a special memento about a big event….years later…you only see the keepsake and it brings back the memory of the event. Adorable keepsakes!

“Solar Eclipse” Sunflowers

Trying on the special solar glasses is so much fun….especially when the girls had just dropped off the Krispy Kreme solar eclipse donuts…oh my goodness! Melts in your mouth!

Patience paid off….Stephanie sent this photo of success after an hour and half wait at Krispy Kreme!  Go girls!!!!

Suzanne Blanton ordered these t-shirts for Miler Country Club for all the workers…Vickie showed me hers…when I took her a “Solar Eclipse” donut over from Krispy Kreme.

Breakfast at Alex’s…the waitress’s solar eclipse socks! Love it!

So until tomorrow…I hope everyone has a special, safe day and never forget…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Wondering what  other surprise there is today?…Stop, pause and think (for a moment)… statistically how unlikely do you think this (following) personal occurrence in my life is… connected to a once-in-a-lifetime complete solar eclipse?

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TODAY….AUGUST 21, 2017 – marks the entry of my 1000th published blog post since re-starting Chapel of Hope Stories on November 25, 2014. I have excitedly watched the WordPress Count…and a few days ago when I realized the 1000th blog post would occur on the Total Eclipse of the Sun day…I started jumping up and down! What a God Wink I thought to myself over and over!

The number 1000 symbolizes “immensity” “fullness of quantity”…Early church founders saw in the number “The totality of the generations and the perfection of life enveloped in everlasting happiness.” 

And here we are today…talking about the totality of the solar eclipse and the totality of everlasting happiness with God…just a random coincidence…I don’t think so…

If I had space and time I would thank each of you personally for your comments, likes, shared posts, and views….worth more to me than any 1000 anything...you are a thousand times more indispensable to me and my happiness!

*I fell in love with this 1000 piece puzzle…might have to get brave and tackle it…lots and lots of sunflowers!