Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

This year I have decided not to try to “out-do” any previous spring/summer gardens I have planted in the four years since its existence. I have decided to let Mother Nature have more a share in the garden and let nature do what it does naturally…stay beautiful!

I remember when Hurricane Matthew threatened to hit our area (in early October)  Sam Clark came over and helped me drag garden items into the garage..I had no idea I had so much “stuff” (shortly before Tommy and Kaitlyn arrived to pick me up and take me to Asheville with them to “weather” out the storm there (So much Fun!)

As I looked around, one last time that day (back in early October last year) to see if I had gotten everything put away I noticed how stoic and serene the garden looked…more like when it first started. I didn’t realize how much bric-a brac I had added, over the years, that I didn’t need. In fact, upon closer scrutiny…I realized that it actually took away from the serenity and beauty of the garden.

This plaque, Honey made for me, sums up the problem. ” Leave room in your garden for the fairies to dance.” I want the grandchildren to have room to run up and down the garden “magical moon” path and in and out of bushes without tripping over garden decorations.

So I have started clearing out the garden. One way to keep the garden open and move-able is to have hanging baskets in strategic places. They add to the beauty and give height to the garden without taking up much place…so I plan to add more hanging baskets.

Old chairs, hung on trees or in front of trees can hold plaques or flowers…again not using up much room but displaying Welcome Signs and flowers in a more simplified fashion.

Give old flower baskets a chance to “resurrect” on their own in the “rehab” location under the tree house. Patience (on my part) is needed to wait it out and see what will return and what needs to be replaced.

Just like I am excavating the past to uncover prior plants and other living foliage just waiting for their time to shine….Squire Rushnell concludes his book (When God Winks at You) by asking us to do the same thing in our own personal past, in regard to God Winks.

Mapping: “Go back to those times in your life when you came to a cross-road. Your life changed abruptly. You lost someone you loved. You found a soul mate. You had a new baby. You moved geographically. You ran into someone that completely changed your career-or your belief system.

Revisit each of those times in your past to uncover God Winks that were sent to you even if you weren’t paying attention. Make a list of the “coincidences” and answered prayers. 

This is what you’ll discover; when there were multiple paths that your life could’ve followed, there were always signposts of reassurance- God Winks of personal communication- to you and no one else on Earth.”

“Here’s more good news! The map of winks from God will continue to unfold long into your future. Just look for them. And acknowledge that He is communicating directly with you.”

…………………..

The nice thing about God Winks is that they also can connect you to someone else. For example: Today on my way to pick up prescriptions from the Charleston Cancer Center I pulled off old Lincolnville Road onto Ladson and got behind this truck.

Linda Carson has mentioned being caught behind it too in early morning traffic and the sign always makes her smile. Now I smile because it reminds me of Linda’s “God Wink” now being shared with me. And because it is Linda’s 2017 word of the year! Smile!

So until tomorrow…

“Keep Life Simple” One thing I have learned in my life is that bigger isn’t necessarily better…just bigger…and less can be best…the best life has to offer!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

When Tommy and Kaitlyn arrived at Lachlan’s birthday party last Friday Tommy told me they had found a book that they thought I would enjoy and had left it in my car for me.

It was Squire Rushnell’s  When God Winks at You. (I had not read that one in the series…just his original book, When God Winks.)

The original book, in the series of “God Wink” books,  started this much-used expression in my blog (“God Wink“) and has been one of its permanent benchmarks throughout seven years of blogging.

(Now that gift in itself was a “God Wink.”)

Many of you are familiar with Squire Rushnell through his books, as a popular speaker, and former ABC television CEO who led Good Morning America to number one. (He is also the “Father of School House Rocks”– one of my favorite series as a parent and teacher.)

If you happen to watch “Kathie Lee & Hoda” on NBC TODAY…Squire is seen monthly on their show bringing true stories of every day God Winks.

I am going to start doing the same thing…occasionally bringing in a story from my “gift” book When God Winks at You and  also incorporate your stories…because everyone’s “God Wink” is fascinating and it helps us learn how to look for and identify our own God Winks when they happen…and let me reassure you they are happening all the time… around each of you.

For many of our readers… who weren’t here for the original explanation seven years ago…let me fill you in now with what a “God Wink” is…as explained by Rushnell, himself.

*To paraphrase one of his simplest explanations…He asks us to go back in time and think about sitting around a family dinner table, either with just our parents, siblings, and/or even extended family…aunts, uncle, grandparents, etc. Suddenly you feel someone staring at you and when you look up there is your grandfather or uncle or aunt and he/she is nodding and gives you a quick wink. Nothing more…just a smile, nod, and a quick wink.

But suddenly everything feels different…someone across the table is letting us know that we are special in their eyes, that they are watching over us, and everything is going to be okay. That incident, according to Rushnell, is a metaphor for a God Wink. 

“Hey kid…I’m thinking about you right this moment. I’m proud of you. Everything is going to be all right.” This is similar, only on a smaller scale of receiving a “God Wink” from God that translates.”Hey kid! I’m thinking of you…right now!”

…”It’s a clear message of reassurance-that no matter how uncertain our life seems to be at the moment, He will help move us towards certainty. 

And it is a sign that we’re never alone. In fact, we’re always on His GPS- a global positioning system I like to call “God’s Positioning System.”

(Rushnell starts his book by saying:)

…”I aim to show that every “God Wink” that happens in our life is a personal experience. I’ve collected one compelling story after another to convince you that we will never again have to wonder where we rank among those six billion others in the world. Like those in the stories that follow, the instant we receive a “God Wink” we’ll know it. We are right there at the top.”

…………………………..

So until tomorrow…“The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be…His treasured possession. – Deuteronomy 7:6.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I had so much fun making arrangements in my new “Honey” vases. When I fixed the one on an end table by one of the front windows…I opened up the window. Since my den is a sunken den…it stays pretty cool all the time…but as soon as I raised that window it felt like someone had turned a heater on outside directed straight through the window. I was almost knocked over by the heat that came rushing through the windows as I went around opening more and more. My Iphone weather app said 90 degrees around mid-afternoon…that must have broken some record. Crazy weather!

…But beautiful natural flowers from the yard and garden!

Dear Reader:

How did Spring sneak in on me early this year? For some reason I always thought Spring arrived on the 21st, not the 20th? I felt sorta silly when I realized it came Monday and I had circled it on my calendar as Tuesday, March 21st.

*Personally I think we just need to pick a date….and make all the seasons arrive on the 21st of their benchmark month…much easier to remember. (Close enough…)

The National Weather Channel announced yesterday that Spring Fever will be hitting 190 million people. Actually, as much as I love Spring, I don’t think I will be in a feverish pitch…maybe just a low grade Spring Fever. Since we really never had winter here…Spring doesn’t seem quite as dramatic in contrast to a cold winter.

My daffodils appear to feel the same way. No one seems to be in a hurry to bloom…each cluster of five daffodils seem content in doing their own thing. Some clusters are full, others only have two or a single daffodil blooming, and some clusters haven’t bloomed yet at all.

Dennis Jones, from a Huffington Post article…Titled: “A Message from the Universe You Might Want to Pay Attention to…” said this about his observations in his new spring garden.

“The amazing thing was, as I sat in the quiet among the fruit trees, palm trees, and various kinds of flowers and roses, I listened and I watched closely — not once did I hear or see even one of these beautiful expressions of life, grunt, push, strain, manipulate, or otherwise try to force its fruit or flowers to grow.”

This observation made him wonder why man thinks he must set deadlines and force nature to follow his time-lines, not vice-versa. We struggle so much to control our lives instead of just being who we are and living life to the fullest each day without worrying always about accomplishing societal-induced goals.

“The blessing of this season is that it announces the coming of light; as we emerge from the darkness of winter, we naturally enter the light of spring — and with light comes the ability to see what lies before us differently, through new eyes. That is what the season of renewal does; it casts new light on what was, what is, and more important, what can be.

Patience, laced with faith, seems to be the practice when it comes to growing anything worthwhile, including a renewed version of ourselves. As you enter the season of spring, may you make a point of remembering that you are one with something infinitely greater than yourself and it knows what it is doing.

Certainly if it knows how and when to unfold the beauty and grace that it is through a rose, It knows how and when to unfold the beauty of a life worth living through and by means of you; yours is to faithfully align with it and step into the new light it brings, trusting and knowing that you are the place where transformation is happening.

Now take a deep breath and smile — here comes a new day, and it’s got your name all over it.”

……………………………….

So until tomorrow…Father… remind us that defying gravity doesn’t bring wholeness” but living within the perimeters of ‘spiritual gravity‘ does.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Honey…thank you for all your gifts! I love the vases and gave one to friend and neighbor Vickie as a thank you for all she does to help me in the garden  and chores that require two people like changing ceiling light bulbs!

I am modeling my new garden attire you got me also- hope it makes my thumb turn green!

Dear Reader:

Redbirds have some of the strangest habits that keep me in stitches. For two spring/summer seasons I had a little redbird that kept banging its head against the sliding glass door on the upstairs garage balcony. Bang! Bang! Bang! Over and over and over!

I reckon, when he saw his reflection, he thought it was another bird…I still haven’t figured it out quite yet…but for either two or three seasons there was the little red bird banging his head again and again. I really feared he was going to have permanent brain damage.

Time passed and over this previous weekend I heard this loud chirping going on around my car. Suddenly I noticed (from sitting on the front porch steps) that once again, a little red bird was sitting on top of the side mirror extension, peeking in the mirror and then banging his head against it too.

Not again….I thought! I must be raising a family of red birds that have inherited this “mutant” gene for head-banging…I will soon have a whole “colony” of special needs redbirds!

Still, since redbirds are supposed to bring good luck, I will take it wherever and from whomever passes the good karma my way…even “special” redbirds with a narcissistic personality disorder.

May you remember cardinals appear when angels are near.

So go now, sit outside and drink your tea.

Keep a look out for the little red bird — It is there where your loved one will be.

–Victoria McGovern

What excites me about writing a blog post…is that once I hit “SEND” (for better or worse) my thoughts and ideas are “out there” and can’t be retracted. A scary thought sometimes…but not in this particular case.

Yesterday I saw where I had gotten a comment about the blog and a personal story… that followed for everyone… especially Michelle and all of us who are fighting potentially life-threatening diseases. (Our loyal readers now include others from around the world and this time, it is a storyteller from British Columbia, Canada, Lynn Gamache. She wrote her story through the Chapel of Hope Connection page.)

*I know Beverly Barutio would love the fact that the chapel blog continues helping others through its beacon of light… like her chapel. It is simply an extension of the chapel for everyone who might never have the opportunity to physically go there.

*Lynn, we must meet sometime…I loved how you started your story with (what I call) a “Dingle Jingle” ….we have a lot in common! And now here is Lynn’s story of hope and courage…and lots of God Winks! She hopes her story will encourage someone else walking behind her.

Hello Dear Becky,
I have been reading and relishing your blogs for some months now. Love story-telling too! And now I have my own “cancer story” to share with you, Michelle, and other “sisters in crisis.”

Sisters in Crisis

Lynn Gamache, Quadra Island, 1997

As I look at the photo there I see,
Someone who looks a lot like me.
‘That must be your sister’, several have said —
Which makes me smile, but I shake my head..
 
For we’re not related by birth or by blood
But we do both belong to the family of God.
So if you have time, let me tell you the story;
I hope it will bless you and bring to God glory.”

Yes, as I look at the photo now, it reminds me of that day so well…the morning of Saturday, January 4, 1997.  I’d looked forward to this holiday for awhile.  Just being in Victoria with my husband was a treat.  Now, this morning, he was coming with me to the home of my friend, Dorothy.  He would meet Dorothy and I would finally get to meet her husband Jack and sons, Jonathan and David.  This was a day that I’d eagerly anticipated for some time….a happy day!

This reunion, I was sure, would be so different from my very first encounter with Dorothy, just one year earlier.  Then it was December — December 15th, 1995 and just ten days til Christmas and one week until my 49th birthday.  But that damp, grey winter day I was not really excited about either Christmas or my birthday.  Somehow these dates, once so special, were only that — dates on the calendar.  They were days that I hoped I would be able to enjoy, but sometimes I wondered  

...and worried too.  For on this Friday the 15th I was scheduled to begin my chemotherapy treatments.  It was my very first appointment at the Jubilee Hospital Cancer Clinic in Victoria, B.C.  I dreaded going — hated even the thought of going!  Tales of “chemo” are usually awful.  Besides, I’d visited this same hospital before — years before when my mother, still in her forties, lay dying of cancer.  Now, here I was, some 28 years later, entering this same clinic with the same dread disease.

My prognosis was not good.  The lab report which returned after my first mastectomy had clearly indicated that I was a high risk patient.  Thus when I met with my oncologist the week before, she had offered me two options for treatment.  I could choose to be part of a select study group receiving high doses of chemo as well as a bone marrow transplant, or I could opt for the more usual method of treatment involving four months of chemotherapy followed by several weeks of radiation.  It was a huge decision, but without too much deliberation I chose the more routine and simple plan, trusting God to carry me through the days and months ahead. 

Still, the prospect of weeks of treatment and all the possible side effects was not a pleasant one.  I went to that first chemo session with uncertainty and fear gripping my mind and body.  My questions were many as I climbed the flight of stairs and walked into the nearly-empty waiting room.  It was a very lovely room especially arranged for cancer patients and their families.  I was so thankful for my mother’s youngest sister who was there with me.  And I believed that God was there too — but somehow I longed for some special evidence of His presence and personal care at this time of great need.  And so I waited, watched and prayed.

Finally it was my turn and I was ushered into the chemo room by a nurse named Dorothy Reimer.  She was tall, slim, smiling and very efficient too.  Soon I was seated in a comfortable chair and the intra-venous needle was in place.  I tried to relax while Dorothy proceeded to carefully and very thoroughly explain exactly what she was doing and why.  She also informed me about many of the possible and probable side effects.  I might be nauseated, lose my appetite, develop sores in my mouth and for sure I would lose my hair, but probably not my eyebrows — a small consolation along the way!

Finally the subject changed and we talked about other things.  I needed that diversion — any distraction from thinking about the potent chemicals which were silently dripping into my body.  My aunt had her own diversion.  As Dorothy and I chatted she sat quietly knitting.  I knew that she was trying to stay calm and courageous with me.

In time our conversation detoured again as Dorothy inquired about my aunt’s handwork project: “Are you knitting something for Christmas?” Dorothy queried.  But the answer was not in the affirmative, for the knitting project this day was a simple toque destined to go to the Vancouver Seaman’s Mission.  This we explained to our nurse was a special maritime mission with the goal of reaching out to foreign seamen who sail into port and find themselves alone in a new land.  “Oh, do you mean that it’s a ministry like the Shantymen?” Dorothy responded.  Then she eagerly went on to tell us all about a book that she had recently been reading which told of the work of the Shantyman’s Christian  Association on Canada’s west coast — a book entitled Splendour from the Sea by W. Phillip Keller.

As Dorothy rambled on, my aunt and I looked at one another with wonder.  Or had we really heard right?!  Hesitating for only a few seconds, my aunt then turned to Dorothy and quietly replied, “Well, Lynn is his daughter”….We instantly found ourselves with tears in our eyes.  Dorothy was astonished and overcome with awe and amazement.  Calling to the other nurse in the room that day she exclaimed, “Mary, this is such a delightful surprise!  This lady is Phillip Keller’s daughter.  I’ve been reading his books for years.  He grew up in East Africa and I think we even attended the same boarding school there in Kenya because my parents were missionaries too.!”  Soon her excited monologue changed to more of a dialogue as she plied me with questions about my Dad, his many books and my life too. 

As we talked, I relaxed.  More than this, my own doubts and fears were replaced by a very real sense of joy and peace.  Obviously God had directed my steps along the way, bringing me to this particular chemotherapy room at this precise time on this dark December day.  I was not here simply by chance or doctors orders! 

I was quite convinced that this was not some strange coincidence.  Rather I saw this meeting with Dorothy as a wonderful gift from my heavenly Father.  It was a special reminder of God’s personal care for me and it also meant the beginning of a beautiful new friendship with a nurse named Dorothy who looks a lot like me!

Added Post Script Note:

…The story goes on.  In August of ’96 Dorothy was diagnosed with breast cancer and proceeded with months of treatment similar to mine.  So the letters and phone calls have continued as we eagerly share notes on our health care and cancer concerns.  When we visited on that day in Jan. ’97 I was finished with treatment and Dorothy was in the midst of hers.  Dorothy now wore the wig while I had my own hair back again.  So there we are (as we look at the picture taken that day) — two women with cancer but not just sisters in crisis.  We are sisters in Christ, both so thankful for our very first meeting and the unique friendship which has blossomed over the past years.

*Linda Carson…I couldn’t help but think of you in this story…you were and are my “Dorothy” ….Lynn and I were both lucky to have chemo nurses whose compassion and encouragement helped us through some tough times…along with some major God Winks! Michelle, here’s hoping and praying you are finding the same compassion with your nurses and doctors.

So until tomorrow… Thank you Father for shared stories and special sisterhoods in hoping and healing.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

• Thank you dear readers for all your encouraging words of hope and prayer for Michelle as she prepares for the next set of treatments (hopefully a new drug) to stabilize her breast cancer.

Dear Reader:

Having the luxury of age and experience does help us recognize the balance of life between good and bad, happiness and sadness. With the gift of hindsight, we now understand that some of (what we perceived at the time) the incidents in our lives we considered bad or tragic, became benchmarks to a new opportunities we had never considered.

When the position to enter the district office as a social studies specialist opened up…many of my fellow teacher friends kept pulling me aside and saying that this position had my name on it. I was terrified…of change, of the unknown. All I knew was teaching…not administration. I always thought I would spend the rest of my working career in the classroom.

When I got the call one evening that I had been selected for the position…I remember that I didn’t know whether to shout for joy or go hide under my bed covers. My mouth was so dry I could hardly respond affirmatively to the offer.

Unlike teaching…this was a new position (just created) so there were no guidelines or deadlines…I had to just find some goals that would enhance the social studies curriculum across the board and start working in that direction. It wasn’t easy. It was scary.

…But I learned a great lesson from the experience. I had the opportunity to meet amazing administrators who I would never have gotten to know, the other specialists and I grew closer over our time together in the district office and even began integrating our individual subject areas to help teachers with time restrictions.

I learned how to write grants and was lucky enough to win some…money to help teachers take courses and travel. My Berkeley co-hort, Carol Poole, and Charleston Social Studies Coordinator, Bill Smyth, pulled our expertise together to write sample questions for the standards and put summer seminars on for the lowcountry teachers.

Because of these experiences at the district level…opportunities to teach more courses at CSU and the College of Charleston opened up for me…during and after my tenure at the district office.

None of these things would have happened if I had “chickened” out that night when the call came…and turned it down. Change is scary but the status quo life is full of pitfalls too…with no opportunities to spread our wings and fly.

The following fable probably explains best how we finally reach a sense of equanimity…defined as: mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.  

(There is no doubt in my mind that the risk-taking I took along my life’s path has provided me with an important weapon to fight “little c.” A faith that God still has a plan for me and has the last word in my life’s meaning.)

“Maybe”

Once upon a time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

–Zen Parable

………………………………..

*I have an important request to ask of you. Friday I received a call from a friend I haven’t seen in quite awhile. Years ago we were all first-year teachers and lived in the same neighboring apartment complexes…becoming mutual friends through our educational ties. Over the years we bumped into each other at special occasions but lately…rarely.

So when the phone rang and I picked it up…and realized who it was …I was so delighted! Sally grew up with Susan Cadwell and they are now spending time together when Susan comes to see little Rhodes every month for a couple of days.

Sally and Susan had been talking and realized that Sally’s daughter-in-law, Michelle, appears to have a similar breast cancer as mine. Sally thought Michelle would like to talk to someone else going through the process of fighting this formidable opponent.

I got Michelle’s number from Sally and called. We did have a chance to compare experiences, similarities, and differences in our separate journeys through this disease. Michelle informed me that she was waiting to see if she was eligible for one of the new immunity drugs out now that help the body fight the cancer. Earlier treatments have not withstood the test of time when it comes to stabilizing her particular cancer situation.

I told her that I had an amazing group of loyal readers who had been there for me during some tough times and I had no doubt that is the reason I am still here…the power of prayer. I let Michelle know we would start a prayer chain with hopes that ….1) She gets approved for this new drug and 2) it works miracles on her present condition.

So readers, I would really appreciate prayers for this young woman going through such uncertainty ….along with her family (including a twelve-year-old daughter.) Thank you!

Until tomorrow Father help us all reach a sense of peace and equanimity in our every day lives. Help us realize that hope and a good quality of life is possible…and that just “maybe” time will show us how this will come to pass.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Some more photos from Lachlan’s birthday party.

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I met my new yard man, Tim, who works with Ernie, the fireman, at his fire station. Ernie had started installing garage doors last summer and was working three jobs. He decided since the garage door installation business had taken off…that he would give up the yard work. He asked his fireman co-hort, Tim, if he was interested in taking over my yard and he was.

So yesterday he showed up at my door. Girls…what is it about firemen that literally take your breath away?…He is a hunkie cutie…(he had the job before we even finished walking around my yard 🙂 He is also very nice, married with small children…a good family man, and seems to be right on top of the knowledge needed to keep the yard looking good through the growing season. Hired!

He kept commenting that he couldn’t get over how large the acreage is in this neighborhood…with big back yards. I told him that originally everyone’s lot looked like a piece of pie…but we bought the “triangle slice” from a neighbor after moving in so the yard is now rectangular and it is big. That is why I need help with it!

(… these are photos of just the backyard…a lot to keep up)

His sister teaches at Westview Elementary and having worked with clinical interns there I knew many names he mentioned through educational organizations. Six degrees of separation…or as we say in the South…just three degrees.

As I was showing Tim around the yard yesterday…once again the blessings of calling this place home flooded me with pride. I was proud to show him my sanctuaries inside and out.

I am also so lucky to have an empty lot next to me surrounded with a fence. It makes our street look so open and country-style living.

As I was reading some devotionals I came across one from Quinn Caldwell, one of my favorite devotional authors. He had written a short devotional on boundaries...man-made and God-created. It seemed to echo what I was feeling about my home and daily boundaries.

“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.” – Psalm 16:5-6

For some of us, the boundary lines of the world fall in pleasant places.  We sit in the midst of our domains, scanning their acreage.  We can’t even see the edges of our territory, our lots are so big.  Who cares what color the grass is on the other side of the fence?  We have all we need right here, and we can walk for days without leaving the space we’ve been granted.

Others of us receive smaller lots from the world.  Some receive so little it’s not even enough space for our bodies to occupy.  Some can’t take a single step, or occupy a bathroom stall, without being called transgressors.

Where are the boundaries of the space the world has handed you?  What is the size of the estate you’ve inherited, by virtue of your sex, your skin, your gender, your nationality, the kind of body you have?  How far are you allowed to go before somebody with power yells, “Halt!”?  Is it far enough?  Is it enough space to hold, to maintain, your life?

There’s the lot the world gives, and then there’s the lot that God gives.  There are the boundaries the world sets, and then there are the boundaries that God sets.  Rarely are they drawn in the same place.

So today, look around at the space the world has granted you.  Do you have enough room to maneuver?  To live?  To thrive?  If not, then the boundaries that hem you in were not set by God.  And it may just be time to jump a fence or two.

………………………………………..

How lucky that I am not hemmed in by military, political, gender bias boundaries in my life. Instead I am incredibly lucky to born in the United States, free to be me, and live in the most wonderful place in the world.

So until tomorrow: “God of great inheritances, let me claim the space you’ve promised me—and no more.  Amen.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Beautiful evening last night at Lachlan’s birthday party- pizzas, salad and s’mores over an open fire pit! It has been a long time since I ate one! More pictures tomorrow but here is how the evening ended

Thank you Walsh and Mollie for all the fun!

Dear Readers:

As I was reading blog comments, Facebook comments, and looking through recent photos and some, not so recent, it dawned on me that March takes on many images.

March is famous for its colorful greens, in plant foliage, new grass, and shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day…but it is also known for wild weather pendulum swings and we have certainly experienced that over the past couple of nights and mornings. Jack Frost made his return with his magic wand turning green foliage into white shimmering frost.

As I looked outside yesterday morning…the empty lot on the other side of the fence was frosty and pristine…in the shadowy early morning. Since we haven’t seen much frost this winter…I found the view quite refreshing!

I took “Big Red” in for the night to safeguard my old friend…It has safeguarded me since 2008…it is the least I can do for my health o’meter red geranium….”Old Faithful.”

I, also, made a tent to cover my Ginger Shell plant, located outside my computer room window. The funniest thing happened yesterday…Vickie’s cat came strolling by, saw the tent, stopped and went in…not sure if she was checking it out for spending the night but figured it would still be way too cold for her outside.

Being a smart cat, she figured that out too and went on home to Vickie’s later in the afternoon. Can you see her gray tail sticking out beside the overturned wheel barrow wheel?

March is International Women’s History Month and several innovative advertisers have made history with their products to commemorate this occasion.

Yes…we now have the Brawny woman on the cover of the package stating that “Strength has no gender.” (Heck, we already knew who uses the paper towels to clean up most of the time…the Brawny man hands the towel to the Brawny woman….she should have been on it the whole time! (These rolls are just going to be available this month…so girls go pick one up…an historical artifact.)

Stress squeeze women’s professional figurines have also popped up this month: Here is the business woman stress figurine and the teacher. Where was this when I needed it? I just chewed my nails!

An adorable statue has gone up in the Bull Market section of Manhatten depicting a little girl standing up to a bull. I think I will try to dress Eva Cate up to imitate the statue….You go little girl…take on Wall Street! We are short a lot of CEO’s!

*The round disk implanted in the bricks says: “Know the power of women in leadership.”

Through the long history of women to keep scrambling for equality …we each can tell our own personal story of confronting gender bias…and our hope for the next generation is that they have an easier time breaking through invisible ceilings than the prior generation.

Humor has helped a lot. The other day a friend from church, Dee Lesko, called and we talked for awhile. Later in the day she made some comments on earlier blog observations and emailed me one anecdote that was too cute not to share.

She remembered my old “Pete and Repeat” joke and she, too, had an uncle (I think there is one in every family) that told the family jokes.

“…I guess I was about 10 years old when my favorite uncle and I were running errands. We drove past a cemetery, and he asked me: “Do you know how many dead people are in Wildwood?” (name of the cemetery) My brain and eyes were trying to “coordinate” and out came a figure like maybe 200 or 175 or????”

And then my uncle delivered the punch line: “All of them!” (What memories we all hold in storage from the days of yesteryear.)

About a week ago, Janet Bender stopped by with a copy of a book a friend of hers just wrote titled: From a Hole in My Life to a Life Made Whole.

She thought I would enjoy reading it and I did especially when I got to Chapter 7. It is called “It’s Time to Prune the Garden”… I loved her metaphors about gardening and life.

This book is autobiographical in nature…simply one woman’s story of her struggles, upheavals, and victories along her journey through life. It is certainly a story that many people, men and women, can relate to or know loved ones who have met similar challenges as Janet Kay Teresa.

Here are a couple of excerpts that I certainly related to…

She found serenity within the garden ‘far from the noisy place she had been living: her own mind.’ 

Don’t we all seek sanctuary from the exact same thing? We can deal with screaming children, broken-down mufflers, loud thunder storms, the noise of work and large cities….but the loudest noise is in our minds. This is so true. When life has gotten too complicated and my mind is overflowing with too many  scattered thoughts…working in the garden stills these voices from within and brings me peace and serenity.

The author concludes this section of the book with these observations:

“As we entrust the Lord to continue being the designer and caretaker of this garden, should we not also entrust in His hands the tools they are used? Usually they are seen as our situations and circumstances …and can be sharp and painful.

How does a soul acquire the virtue of fortitude to endure the pruning and weeding out? In the midst of our uncertainty there lives a knowing that seems to carry us through. It may not make sense, yet there is something that feels strong and it feels like:

“I know that I know that I know that it is going to be all right. The knowing is sufficient and it is grace.” 

………………………………

So until tomorrow…Thank you Father for March…for blustery winds, light frosts, warming trends, Irish holidays, Lachlan’s birthday, seeds sprouting above the ground, the gleaning of the green, and strong women. Women of humor, strength, courage, and compassion….seen only as one of God’s children by the Creator Who made us.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

 Eva Cate flirting with Mandy- batting her eyes as a little thing! Later at Disney World she batted them again at Minnie and it brought Minnie right over with a big hug for a contented Eva Cate.

Happy Birthday… my St. Patrick’s Day birthday two-year-old! Here’s your birthday song sung to you with an Irish accent…quite appropriate!

Happy Birthday Lachlan – YouTube

This next Happy Birthday song to Lachlan is sung by animals.

Lachlan Children & Infantiles – Happy Birthday

Dear Reader:

As I turned off Highway 17-A into my neighborhood of Miler Country Club, yesterday, I caught myself smiling. I was home!

I pulled over to the side of the road and took a picture of what I see every time I turn the corner into my little community.

These days it looks so pretty I have to pinch myself to remind me that this is home…how blessed I am!

…And to live on Rainbow Road…I can’t think of a prettier name for the street I call home.

My last turn is my driveway- depending if I am going into the house or the garden- I can pick one of two driveways to enter!

Both my home and garden are sanctuaries to me!

“Turning the corner” is certainly a metaphorical phrase that can be used figuratively or literally. When I ‘turn the corner’ into my home today I think back on the days when just keeping the roof over our heads was an on-going struggle. Yet, somehow, we all made it.

I ‘turned the corner‘ when I returned to get my Masters Degree (which ended up being a Masters Plus 30.) I ‘turned the corner‘ when all three children graduated from high school and then college. I ‘turned the corner‘ when I took a district job to finish up my teaching career. Every ‘corner’ turned out to be a stepping stone to another opportunity.

My Masters allowed me to be an adjunct professor at the College of Charleston and Charleston Southern for several years into my retirement, and later as a supervisor for clinical interns. All these opportunities were enjoyable and profitable at the same time.

And sometimes, even, life’s lemons can turn out to be ‘corner’stones that lead to the release of hidden passions. First came “little c” then came the discovery of St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope, and finally came the creation of the blog. In all three cases, I didn’t know know what lay behind my breast cancer diagnosis, the full meaning of my visit to St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope, and how to begin to write a daily blog, but in each case I gathered enough courage, from somewhere, to ‘turn the corner’ and let whatever lay around the bend play out the way God intended.

Honey and I talked on the phone yesterday. I had just gotten her beautiful letter talking about her journey with the MS Challenge Walk. It all began with a radio announcement , eleven years ago, asking if she could walk 50 miles over three days and raise $1500.00?

Honey was doubtful on both questions, initially, but with Mike’s support they “turned the corner“. They accepted the challenge and entered their first challenge walk. ($70, 450 dollars-raised later- Mike and Honey, Tarshie, Brandon, Ashley, and extended family can answer both questions with a resounding “YES!

* Psst! Guess who is joining a new race this year…The Race for the Cure! Honey will be walking with us this October!!!! So Excited!

Honey told me, through a beautiful story, that the name “Eva” means the “gift bearer of life.” She reminded me that when John and Mandy told me they were expecting in 2009…soon after my cancer diagnosis…the thought of seeing my first grandchild brought the fight for life back to the fore front… and the gift was named Eva Cate.

It was the first of many God Winks to filter through my daily life and the blog.

It is hard to believe that Eva Cate is turning seven next month and the youngest of the grandchildren, Lachlan, is turning two this St. Patrick’s Day weekend! God knew that when I ‘turned the corner‘ more grandchildren, laughter, and love awaited me.

Eva Cate, Rutledge, Jake, and Lachlan…I could never have imaged these many blessings waiting around the corner. All four of these little “huggies” continuously bring light into my life.

So until tomorrow…Father, help us be strong with turning corners…To expect the unexpected sometimes, the good and the bad, and give us the courage to meet what lies on the other side with hope and perseverance.

   Home Sweet Home!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Jo wrote a response to my incident with the purse and cited a remarkable comment her daughter Donna made to her as a seventh grader. (I told Jo no wonder Colby was so amazing…she is a ‘chip off the block’ of both her and Donna!

“So glad Sir Angel Rick found your billfold. There are so many good people in this world. It is too bad that the bad guys get so much attention in the news. I remember when Donna was in the 7th grade I became an assistant principal at Spann, and she said, “Mom, please learn the names of some of the good kids, too, so you can call their names when you see them.” Maybe your trip to Ireland caused you to have an extra dose of that Irish luck. .”

Dear Reader:

I believe Grandmother was right when she said “Timing is everything in life.”

We finally got rain Monday afternoon and it lasted until the early morning hours of Tuesday…I could hardly wait to see how my daffodils loved the quenching of their thirst, along with cooler temps that they prefer. They were very happy!

*Daffodils grow wild in Ireland in profusion. The cool moist climate is perfect for them. The title photo is a picture of them growing wild along an Irish river bank. 

Spectacularly beautiful! I already know this fall I will plant even more bundles of daffodil bulbs…they make me so happy!

…And did you know daffodils bring good luck? I am so glad I checked on them yesterday before leaving to run some errands because I needed all the luck I could get…luck of the Irish and luck of daffodils.

…But I digress (getting ahead of myself)…First let me tell you some folklore I discovered about the beautiful daffodils.

We can all bring a little piece of an Irish garden into our own as long as we understand how to read the Irish compass.

The Irish have five traditional compass directions: North, South, West, East…and Here. Here is an old expression the Irish immigrants used, to mean wherever they live in the world, the mother country is with them in their hearts. Here is wherever the spirit lives, and its days can be brightened with a lush, green garden evocative of the Emerald Isle itself.

The more varying shades of green we bring to our garden, as well as, lots and lots of daffodils, the more Irish our gardens become. 

Here is some samples of the folklore about the magical daffodil.

• Plant lore tells us that daffodils bring good fortune to the person who avoids trampling on them, so watch where you step!
• The daffodil is a symbol of rebirth – a sign of the new beginnings that come with spring. Daffodils are often found connected with Easter and Easter religious services because of their new birth significance.
• Daffodils are the birthday flower of March, the same month as the spring equinox that heralds the beginning of a new season. 
• Never give a single daffodil, as bringing a single daffodil into the house will bring misfortune.  Always give a bunch to ensure happiness. 
• In Wales finding the first daffodil of spring is expected to bring more gold than silver to your life and home during the following 12 months.  
• The daffodil is associated with Lent, the 40 days of fasting and penitence before Easter Sunday in most Christian church’s and  is known as the “Lenten Lilly” in England. 
• There is a legend that the daffodil first appeared on the night of The Last Supper in the Garden of Gethsemane to comfort Jesus in his hour of sorrow.
• The daffodil is the American Cancer Society‘s symbol of new life and hope that a cure for cancer will be found. “You see a daffodil and know there’s hope,” says Debbie Jaramillo, volunteer chair, California Division Daffodil Days. “And with hope, there’s a cure. They’re a burst of sunshine, a ray of hope. Even if it is still cold outside, you know there’s warmth and light ahead.”
• Roman soldiers would carry several Daffodil bulbs with them and if mortally wounded, they’d chow down on the bulbs.  The bulb would work its narcotic wonder and the soldier would painlessly die. (Daffodils are part of the Narcissus family from where we get the word Narcotics.)

I can’t possibly end a blog post on daffodils without William Wordsworth famous poem on them. He and his sister Dorothy were walking around the Lake District area near their home when they suddenly came upon hundreds of daffodils growing along the water’s edge…sometimes in groups, sometimes alone. Based on his sister’s journal of observations from that day, he later wrote “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” or simply known today as “Daffodils.”

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden Daffodils;
Beside the Lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:-
A Poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils.

…………………………

Now let me tell you the incident yesterday that called for a lot of luck…Irish, daffodils, etc. …anything else available…and I got it!

I was running errands finishing off with a trip to Target. True confession: I can never leave that store without a bag of popcorn…I am a popcorn junkie. I paid for the popcorn and put my clutch purse in the top of the cart and headed towards the parking lot. I threw my car keys in my coat pocket since they take up too much room in the purse.

I unloaded everything, remembered my keys were in my pocket, started the car and was on my way out…when I passed Zaxby’s and decided to get a chicken salad to eat for lunch. 

As I was waiting in line I glanced down to get my purse to see if I had enough cash to pay for it or needed to get my card…no purse!

I literally tore the front and back seat apart…going through every purchase-no purse! My mouth went dry, my heart was pounding…I knew exactly where I had left it. 

It was in the top section of the Target cart. For some reason it wouldn’t push back all the way…but big enough to squish my purse down in it.

I frantically began driving like a crazy woman around the Target parking lot haphazardly pulling over by each cart designated location and frantically going through all the carts. I had been doing this several times and had gotten back in my car…my shoulders, head, and spirits slumped over the steering wheel when I heard a tap on the window.

A nice gentleman was smiling and I quickly rolled down the window. “Did you leave a purse in your shopping cart by chance?” he asked amiably. “YES!” I screamed back in excitement. “Well, I found it and turned it into the front cashier’s desk for safekeeping. They have it right now.”

The poor man must have thought I was demented or something because the right words just kept getting tangled up…”OMG, thank you, thank you, thank you.” I wanted to give him something but remembered the purse was inside and he shook his head at the suggestion.

 I did manage to ask his name and he said it was “Rick.” I told “Rick” that he probably didn’t know it…but he had been chosen to be my guardian angel for the day…protector of absent-minded women with small purses.”

He just smiled, waved, and said he was glad he was at the right place at the right time. (And I knew Who put him right there.)

I went in and described the purse…nothing had been touched, disaster avoided.

So until tomorrow…Whether the Luck of the Irish kicked in early yesterday or I got rewarded with good luck for not trampling down any daffodils…I had the pleasure of meeting a guardian angel and pure goodness flows from these special messengers.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*When I got home I put on my lepreachaum hat and ears…because I felt like I had found my “gold” in meeting “Rick” …no rainbow needed or necessary.

*Part of the reason  I went in Target was to get a box of starter fire logs (30% off)! Getting to have a fire again each night during our cold snap is such lovely luxury!

Dear Reader:

Everywhere we look these day…the azaleas and flowering fruit trees are in full bloom.

I, also, discovered the most delicate apple blossom on one tree and a bush covered in the Cherokee Rose vine in Ridgeville on my way back from Duke’s Barbecue last week. Spring has so many wonderful surprises awaiting us if we take the time to get off the trodden path and look behind and inside the seasonal foliage.

Life, I believe, is supposed to be lived in “full bloom,”  don’t you? We need to put ourselves, our personalities, out there every day and see the ripple effect begin to take place.

We all have our own view of the ideal life, the one that writer Elizabeth Murray calls a life in “full bloom”—a life that’s good, meaningful, and full of creativity and compassion for others. To achieve that life, she writes in her new book, Living Life in Full Bloom, we have to foster and develop the qualities of four distinct personality characteristics that each one of us harbors deep within: the gardener, who nurtures and observes; the artist, who uses creativity to discover new possibilities; the lover, who is guided by her heart and passions; and the spirit-weaver, who expresses gratitude and recognizes blessings.

As I think about the people I surround myself with…I see these four distinct qualities in each one of them. I, also, discovered, after reading a clip passage from the book that my 2017 word, Listen, plays an important role in living life to the fullest.

Listen Deeply

Listening with an open heart and without agenda is one of the greatest gifts we can offer someone. The author makes dates with friends she hasn’t seen in awhile for a catch-up stroll. She purposefully keeps her thoughts and opinions to a minimum because she is giving her friend the gift of time…to listen to her about the ups and down of his/her life in the present moment. A most precious gift!

Simplify Your Life

A week or so ago, there was an estate sale in our neighborhood and for just a fraction of a second I entertained the thought of joining dozens of others who had packed the streets and the home searching for antiques or treasures. What stopped me was the thought…“I am trying to get rid of “stuff” not add on more. I have started practicing saying “What I have is enough…no more.” (I half expect to see a dark, black raven sitting on my shoulder each time I say these words to myself…”Nevermore.”

The other day as I was jerking a kink out of my water hose for the umpteenth time (my neighbor Vickie casually mentions each time this happens that it is money well spent to buy a more expensive, durable hose that won’t kink.) It did make me think, however, that the kink in the water hose is like our own personal kinks in life.

To live life in its fullest, we must un-kink and resolve issues in our lives that deter us from a “full bloom” life with water flowing over us consistently helping us grow. We all know what these kinks are (to name a few): grudges, envy, procrastination, weak excuses, depression, etc. Kinks are anything that slow down our life supply of necessary ingredients to bloom our best.

So until tomorrow…Help us Father bloom under your guidance and spread the sunshine along the way.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh