Dear Reader:

As I returned to Summerville yesterday afternoon…I suddenly had an urge for a lemonade on such a beautiful, warm day…and pulled into the McDonalds on Main Street.

It wasn’t until later, while working on a blog, that I noticed the “Half full, Half empty” logo on the cup..McDonalds was definitely drawing the line (literally) where we had either finished half our drink or we still had half to drink.

Ah yes…the old half full/half empty attitude towards life.

Suddenly I imagined a funeral service where two bins were placed on a table by the coffin. Each funeral-goer was given a shiny new penny to place it in the “half-full” or “half empty” containers… according to their perception of the deceased life.

In my visualization…I could see Lincoln’s face on each penny being dropped into one bin or the other. At the end of the service the minister would announce which bin had the most pennies.

How would we be gauged according to this simple Lincoln penny measurement? Would people think we had lead a half- full or half-empty life?

Or was my visualization just a reminder that the “demarcation” line on the cup of life is always changing…depending on how much and how fast we drink of life.

Some days we speed through life without stopping to see any of God’s Handiworks…while other days we slow down and savor the moments of family, friends, and love.

The quality of a fulfilled life isn’t measured by the length of our cup of time…but by the enjoyment of the sips and gulps we take along the way.

This was true of both Abraham Lincoln and his African-American valet, William Johnson. Both died young… Lincoln in his fifties and Johnson only in his twenties. Yet both men, in their own unique way, fulfilled their destiny more than “half full.”

Here is an excerpt from a story on their special relationship I found in a New York Times story written a couple of years ago.

(Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Johnson…By PHILLIP W. MAGNESS and SEBASTIAN PAGE– Feb. 1, 2012)

One day in early 1864, a journalist found Abraham Lincoln busy counting greenbacks. “This, sir, is something out of my usual line,” the president told the reporter, “but a president of the United States has a multiplicity of duties not specified in the Constitution or acts of Congress.” The money belonged to a porter in the Treasury Department who was in the hospital and so ill from smallpox that he could not even draw his pay. The president had collected the outstanding wages himself and was dividing them into envelopes in accordance with the porter’s wishes.

What makes Lincoln’s concern for a low-ranking employee all the more remarkable is that the man was also an African-American.

Today we know little about that man, William H. Johnson. He has no surviving photograph, and we can only speculate as to his age, although there are strong hints that he was at least in his mid-20s. He was, however, very close to the president: the earliest records of him show that he began doing menial jobs for the Lincoln family in Springfield, Ill., around 1860 and soon accompanied them to Washington.

… Within a week of his arrival, Johnson fell victim to the rigid hierarchies of the White House staff, where lighter-skinned servants traditionally received preferential rank and responsibilities. Aware that prejudice had overshadowed Johnson’s ability, the president secured him a messenger’s post at the Treasury Department. “The difference of color between him and the other servants is the cause of our separation,” explained Lincoln. “I have confidence as to his integrity and faithfulness.

Lincoln clearly thought highly of Johnson. Even after Johnson left for the Treasury, Lincoln allowed him to do side work as his barber and valet to eke out a living, wrote him checks to tide him over and apparently trusted him with carrying large sums of money. The president occasionally requested to borrow Johnson’s services from the Treasury for a whole day or two, and Johnson accompanied Lincoln on his famous trip to Gettysburg on Nov. 18, 1863.

Even as Lincoln delivered his address, he was coming down with disease. Most accounts say that Lincoln had varioloid, the milder form of smallpox, but recent research suggests that he actually had a more serious strain and that his life was in very real danger.

Whatever the case, the president recovered; his valet, who tended to Lincoln in those early stages, was not so lucky. Johnson contracted smallpox and died sometime between Jan. 11 and Jan. 28, 1864.

“William is gone,” rued Lincoln to a Washington banker. “I bought a coffin for the poor fellow, and have had to help his family.”

A Treasury clerk later confirmed that the “president had him buried at his expense.” The anecdote reveals Lincoln’s humanity at its best and appeared in a Republican campaign biography later that year, albeit stripped of any hint that Johnson may have contracted the disease from the president.

Today his tombstone bears his name and a word Lincoln had added to it…”CITIZEN.” The symbol of hope that one day our country would acknowledge all men and women of every color as citizens of the United States.

* To see a picture of the tombstone located at Arlington Cemetery….click on this link and scroll to the bottom of the article. Take a minute to read the caption next to it…

Professor Ron Rietveld’s Lincoln Memories

We might look at this story and assess Lincoln’s life as half-full and Johnson’s as half-empty…since he died so young, perhaps contracting the disease as he selflessly tended to the seriously ill president…but if we look closer…these two men’s lives intertwined for a reason…to show society the possibility of a better world. Two halves make a whole…two men who lead fulfilled lives!

So until tomorrow…Let us always be grateful for leaders in every sector of society who conduct themselves with humility, respect, and gratitude for all.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*** Yesterday was a completely “full” day with three wonderful friends (Debbie Baker, Gin-g Edwards, and Honey Burrell)…we spent a day in Walterboro and had a ball! We even got some ‘cat calls’ walking down main street…at our age…it does a girl good!

Had a delicious lunch, went to the Artisan Center and I discovered a whole fence covered in yellow jessamine…and bumblebees!

We decided this little house was just about right (outside the artisan center) for retirement…not much to clean and time to rock. Inside the center was a beautiful palmetto cross!

Hold open space

Dear Reader:

I, purposely, chose this hermit crab drawing to start the blog because a favorite fellow blogger of mine, who has MS, just recently lost the last bit of strength in both her arms, so she  took the scary plunge, as an artist… to draw with her mouth.

Isn’t it fabulous? Jenson learned how to overcome her fears and “hold open space.” She is consumed with new happiness for overcoming this challenging obstacle to maintain an important joy in her life.

It wasn’t just the amazing sketch that pulled me to her blog the other day…it was two simple paragraphs Kate Wolf-Jenson  (blog “Journey Dancing“) shared that forced me to reflect on my own fear of “open space.”

“There are times, in our lives, when things are shifting. We have a sense that we are leaving behind the old and moving toward something new, but we don’t know what. These are vulnerable, sometimes scary times. Like hermit crabs, we scuttle between shells, feeling exposed. We worry about predators.”

During those times, it’s tempting to run for the nearest overhang, tempting to crawl inside whatever looks safe. Our greatest growth comes when we slow down enough to “hold open space” We must be willing to dwell in uncertainty so that the work of change can take place.”

……………………….

Haven’t we all watched little fiddler crabs scurrying around the beach…looking like they are in a panic to find what they need in the form of subsidence and then hide under a broken shell or a patch of seaweed before venturing out again?

Open spaces are scary…there are “things” out there waiting to grab us or, at the least, turn our world upside down. I love Jenson’s expression about these stages in life …calling it “holding open space.” 

I am sure Mollie is going through this uncertain open space period right now…as Jenson says:

… “There are times, in our lives, when things are shifting. We have a sense that we are leaving behind the old and moving toward something new, but we don’t know what. These are vulnerable, sometimes scary times.”

Our little Baby Dingle must be feeling the same thing…he/she seems quite content to stay in its “shell” where comfort and security abide. To be born means to “hold open space.” And it is very scary, as I can only imagine, to a newborn. (His/her first leap of faith.)

Yet, when we reflect on the greatest growth in our lives to date…I think most, if not all, of us must admit that the major achievements, along our life journey, have been made when we did “hold open space” and risk the unknown over the secure and familiar.

………….

Every month Jenson has a “Kind Promise” she makes to herself and shares with her readers….this month it is:

Kind Promise:    I will surrender patiently

In the Bible Study (on the prophet Jeremiah) many of us have been struggling with the message this prophet heard from God telling Jeremiah to convince his country to surrender to its enemies. Victory and peace would come later….now they must surrender.

Obviously this was a very unpopular message back then and it still is today. Following Jenson’s blog and hearing monthly of her latest physical “losses” (which saddens me) she continues to amaze me with her reserve to meet each immediate body loss with determination to find other creative ways to counteract the loss.

…And part of that determination centers around total surrender to God’s plans for her along this arduous journey she is travels. She starts by calling her journey the “Dancing Journey” and imaginatively dances in her wheelchair daily.

Jenson might call a friend and ask if he/she would take her somewhere “joyful”  and then she “patiently surrenders” the plans and details of the trip to her friend.

The light is just now beginning to dawn on me that surrendering to God is not a loss of personal power but, simply, an acknowledgement of a greater power.

A potter can’t mold clay if it is hard and brittle…only when it is soft and pliable. If the clay is not workable for the potter…then the dream and goal of the finished product ceases to exist. By surrendering to God’s will and not ours… we are assuring ourselves a finished ending  that reflects a fulfilled life…not an unfinished journey with hardened hearts and brittle souls.

So until tomorrow…Give us the courage, Father, to “hold open space” within our lives so that You can guide us through the changes necessary to bring us back home to You. By surrendering our will to yours…a life of amazing possibilities loom ahead.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Those of you on Facebook might have seen this already but I couldn’t not put it on the blog for non-Facebookers….our own Honey Burrell won the 2015 award (MS Walk) for Most Motivated Walker!!!  Honey spent her birthday weekend giving to others….a gift she has done all her life! Congratulations Honey…we are all so proud of you and you are so deserving of this award!!!!

*** Sunday afternoon I got a call from Mollie saying she thought something might be happening in the baby department and she and Walsh wondered if I could come over and wait with them to see if this was it! Of course I was scurrying like a little mouse to get there.

I ended up taking Rutledge over to Eva Cate’s to play (give Mollie some quiet time) and we ate supper there and then returned home to wait and see if our “Velveteen Rabbit” was real yet. I heard Walsh and Mollie return home some time in the night or early morning Monday. ( No baby…I reckon 3’s a crowd.)

( A couple of photos from Mandy’s…Watching our favorite show…”Jake and the Neverland Pirates”… eating Easter Bunny sugar cookies…hot out of the oven

The hospital experience turned out to be a trial run…but it appears we are getting closer to the finish line. This is always the hardest part… I found this cartoon the other day that says it all…..

*

*Pam shared this funny photo she saw and liked…me too!

Before leaving yesterday I took Rutledge “outshide” to play…a boy and his trucks is love at first sight. When I went to get him out of his crib when he woke up…he was already flipping through his truck book (he had taken to bed)…pointing to each truck and (as best as he could) letting me know each name. This little man loves his trucks!

Dear Reader:

Saturday morning (following the freeze Friday night) sunlight, filtering through the windows, woke me from my sleep. It was round 7:00 and the sun was just coming up. For me this is the “magic hour” to take pictures.

I threw on “old pinkie” my heavy bunny-rabbit looking robe (definitely tattered and “thread bare” from loving usage.) I started walking around the back yard -so I wouldn’t scare the neighbors by doing so in the front.

I glanced back at the deck…steam was rising off the outdoor heating unit. As I stared at it…I thought to myself…it looks like the shape of a cartoon dragon being released from a magical lamp.

I chuckled to myself and  continued looking for spots where the rising sun was turning the mundane into something more…something magical…like the frosted empty lot next door…or the newest little angel placed by the fourth grandchild’s tree…waiting behind the veil of sunshine and shadows.

As I turned away from our littlest angel…I spotted a recent garden plaque I had added to the garden and it pretty much summed up my feelings on a frosty March morning.

Little did I know that a beauty delight and two God Winks awaited me inside.

The first was “Big Red”…my geranium that is still feeble from a deep freeze disaster several weeks ago. The covering I placed on it blew off and “Big Red” lost most of its limbs…leaving only one major stem left.I have faithfully lugged that plant back and forth-inside and out-to try to save the heart of it.

I was warming up in the Happy Room (coming in from the garden) when the sunlight hit the inside of the front door where “Big Red” was sitting. It was then I saw it…a cluster of buds on the tip tip top and one was just starting to show some color. It took my breath away with its beauty.

Hope. It comes in all forms and shapes…but for me this particular morning…my ever faithful, persevering “Big Red”… was re-defining the word by showing me that it wasn’t giving up on life. How I love my loyal “foliage friend”!

So many mysteries in life…so I decided that the blog would deal with mysteries in some shape or form. I decided to go on the internet and looks for thoughts and ideas on life’s mysteries. Two quotes jumped right out at me…two God Winks.

The first stated what I had just discovered….finding magic in the mundane…the “obvious” left unseen.

The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles

It was the second quote (Big Wink!) that uncovered the connection I was looking for…and it did it using a dragon…of all things.

“No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.”
― R.A. Salvatore, Streams of Silver

Double Wow! I had just lived that quote. Chills went down my back and I re-read it several times….three words kept popping out...magic, mystery, and faith!

Without magic, there is no mystery, and without mystery there is no faith!  A Big “A-Ha” moment!

Isn’t faith filled with mystery? The mystery of the unknown, the mystery of not knowing… but still believing?

Life is a mystery and our greatest tool for solving it is called faith. God gave us imagination to see beyond the laws of reality. It is not to be left behind in childhood but continued in adulthood blending and changing into faith.

It is faith that frees us from the visual restrictions of reality into the limitless world of unseen possibilities.

Faith is the “sixth” sense given to man after seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting concludes. Faith is the special “feeling” that over-rides the five physical gifts from God. It is the “knowing ” sense of God’s presence…the sixth and spiritual sense of the Creator in our lives.

So until tomorrow Father…Open our eyes to better see you, our ears to hear you, our hands to touch you, our smell of roses to “scent” you, and sugar cookies to taste you. Lastly, open our heart and soul to believe in the greatest mystery of all…Your on-going faith in us and our faith into the unknown.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* When I stopped by Anne’s to drop off something Sunday…it was like a “field of dreams” awaited me….the whole front and side yard were blooming with daffodils….(if I hadn’t thought the neighbors would call the guys with the big nets) I could have danced with the daffodils,too!

…“And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”

Dear Reader:

I went on one of my favorite artist’s blog sites recently, and thought (immediately) that Kelly Roberts and I must be “soul sisters.” She makes my “wild and crazy” Happy Room look tame and mundane. She is the guru of the “Possibilitarian” movement and she lives it in every part of her life.

In the rooms in her home…(for example) she has double-patterned chairs…one for the seats and another for the backs… with colored wall hangings or stenciled decals set against the  interiors. She is my kind of gal! A “Bubbly Bohemian”!

* Click on  the website, below, if you are interested in seeing some whimsical home decor she has created! Once you click on this site…click blog in the upper right hand corner and scroll down until you reach the tour of her home with its amazingly creative ideas!

 *Kelly Rae Roberts : Home

I especially love this particular artwork’s saying… for the message that lies within:

“Surrender your Seriousness. Come Alive! Take a risk! Be radically kind. Share your heart. Shine. Celebrate Everything!”

When I was first reading the words…(minus reading glasses) I thought one section of the message read: Share your heartshine. Instead of Share your heart. Shine.

My mistake has given me a new word to love. We should all share our “heartshines” with each other as we celebrate everything together!

This past week (with the roller coaster weather and the roller-coaster anticipation over our impending addition to the family)…has made me realize that not a single day goes by that we can’t find something in it to celebrate. (Even if the celebration is simply getting through the day…it is still a celebration!)

Recently life has felt like being in a Beethoven concert while the music rises and falls according to the story the conductor hears in the notes. The paradox of simultaneous crescendos and crashes reflects the feelings the family has felt. Giving birth is always extreme…no living in the gray area or sitting on the fence for this wonderful benchmark in our lives.

The most wonderful thing about this unique waiting period in life…is that it is soon forgotten as the days, months, and years follow the birth…the frustrations of ‘hurry up and wait‘  soon dissipate… leaving only the most important memories to linger behind..those associated with the human senses.

We remember seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching the little “miracle” we held in our arms and quickly dismiss the earlier “waiting blues” for what it was all along…just a part of the grand scheme of the “wonderfulness” (another new word I love) of  life. Or as Kelly Roberts would say…We  “surrender our seriousness.”

So stop reading right now…because I am going to quit writing…and let’s go celebrate life today using creativity as our compass.

Let’s be “radically kind”  as we live this gift of life and be generous to others by sharing our personal “heartshines” with all we meet!

So until tomorrow….find yourself a new word to express your celebration of daily life…perhaps something like “joy-sounds” or “peace-patters” or “soul-soothers“…and “heartshine” them on our fellowman.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Yesterday I planted little purple pansies by the moon gate…and it did turn it magical!

On the way to Lowe’s to get some peat moss for the garden…I parked right beside this truck with this sticker on it…(you can see my hands reflection taking the photo)…because that was what I was just getting ready to do.

Dear Reader:

Isn’t spring the most anticipated season of the year…especially this year, I believe? And spring is such a wonderful metaphor for new birth, renewal, hope, and grace. I came across this quote yesterday which I love.

“Gardening is an instrument of grace” (May Sarton)

This bush (title photo) that Mary Lee gave me-along with two others  were planted around the deck.. mixed in with some tea olive plants for a lovely scent… knocked me over yesterday when I walked out to the garden!

For the past two years the bushes have struggled and suddenly I looked down into the most beautiful rainbow of colored leaves…it literally took my breath away. It was as if God sprinkled some magical “moon dust” on them last night and suddenly one bush miraculously went from brown/greenish leaves to this.

After the two beautiful warm days we had Wednesday and Thursday…Friday was a shock… returning to wet and cold…it was a day we had to step back and remember:

1) “Despite the forecast, live life like its spring.” Lily Pulitzer

and

2)  

So true in both cases…today will be warmer and tomorrow even better…and oh how we will appreciate the spring days to come!

We can learn from the flowers and plants with this philosophy of appreciation. Thursday I walked around the garden and yard checking on everything…I found myself smiling broader and broader because there were  little surprises popping up everywhere.

“However many years she lived, Mary always felt that ‘she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow’.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

I don’t remember when my garden grew but I remember when it started…with stepping stones to nowhere but a dream. Pictures on the left to right… 2013-Sept., then Oct. and then November – with the delivery of the magic moon gate.

Even though the garden is still half asleep…let me show you it today…since I haven’t gotten that panoramic photo-taking down yet…I will divide the garden into four parts…from the grandchildren’s Japanese maples with lanterns hanging down, to the moon gate and main path, to the fountain, and the benches.

…..

It was while I was trying to decide which flowers and plants I loved the most… that I suddenly remembered reading something about the wonder of a fantasy world…one which allows the first thing a child sees each day…to become it! I thought what a wonderful way to introduce a garden to a child…if he could become a different flower each day.

(I finally found the source of the memory…it came from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass!)

There was a child went forth everyday,
And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became.
And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, Or for many years or stretching cycles of years.

I started thinking what flower, plant, or tree would I choose to become…if I could become that object for a day? I think I would have to become a different part of nature each day so I would know what it feels like -from the inside-to be that gift from God. (* Though I would love to be “Big Red” and look out over the front yard from its perch on the white bench…and, also, try to help it recover from the freeze that took most of its limbs away).

Th thought (of looking at something uniquely from the inside out) is so beautifully expressed in this poignant baby nursery wall decal…

Come with me now… as we look for clues that spring is about to be “sprung” on us!

1) The first bud opening on the pink azalea bush in the front yard.

Spring is all about hints...”hints of things to come.” It takes little imagination to predict that this spring, with our unusually long winter, will produce the most beautiful of all springs  to enjoy…We will be rewarded for our patience with Old Man Winter.

 My little angel statue “Bliss” is happy with glee to see all bulbs planted last year and the year before… springing up for us to guess what it is …we get to anticipate its name and beauty.

  This dwarf azalea named “Scarlet” is flirting with the other plants and flowers in the garden… as her red buds slowly reveal her stunning beauty. We will all just have to wait to see the final results … because as Miss Scarlet would say… “Tomorrow is another day.”

All my delectable yellow beauties…it really is like:

A wizard must have passed this way
Since—was it only yesterday?
Then all was bare, and now, behold,
A hundred cups of living gold!

…And with the rain we had Thursday night…wonderful mud puddles…what would spring be without them? I think we must have a ‘mud puddle party’ in the garden when the weather warms with the grandchildren!

“The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.”  e.e. cummings

Since Friday was a reminder that spring hasn’t quite arrived yet…Old Man Winter will continue to pop up unexpectedly..we must keep our memories of what the garden looked like last year with our hopes and dreams for it this year.

“God gave us memories that we might have June roses in the December of our lives.”  James Barrie

So until tomorrow…may we delight in the longer days of light beginning to slowly descend upon us…reminding ourselves to stop and spend more time thanking the One Who is the Light.

* Reminder: Spring forward tomorrow….set your clocks!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Look at this adorable picture Patty Knight sent of her grandson, Jeff, and his favorite stuffed animal- his racoon! Thank you Patty for sharing with all of us!

Jett loves his coon! I am sure it will be thread bare.

* Most of you know that my doll Polly was, is, and will always be my “doll-smudged” love. While going through some old pictures I found a couple of Eva Cate (when she was around two years old) loving on Polly, Teddy, and Dolly Dingle-at the same time)

Dear Reader:

I found this adorable lamb a few months ago in the sales bin at a department store, pulled it out, fell in love with its expression, and took it home to await the arrival of our latest little Dingle. The little lamb is getting more excited every day waiting to meet the one who will love it until “threadbare”…

When Eva Cate came to play earlier in the week…we went to Joann’s Fabric and Craft store  to pick out two different ribbons…one pink and one blue, to put on the lamb until we discover whether we have a little boy or a little girl… and then one ribbon will be removed.

Since Eva Cate worked so hard on picking out the ribbons and writing a note to her new baby cousin…I told her she could be the “giver” of the little lamb. So now it sits in the rocking chair just waiting to meet its owner and be loved “to bits.”

As a little toddler, Eva Cate didn’t care much for stuffed animals, just the real ones. She thought of Tigger as her stuffed dog… and Tigger thought of himself as human, like Eva Cate. ( He still does)  *Reality is in the eyes of the beholder.

Now Eva Cate loves stuffed animals and so what did she pick for her special stuffed animal…who sleeps with her every night?…a little white dog! When she was two…her Halloween costume was a white “shaggy dog.”

Rutledge fell in love with “Teddy” (not a very original name I gave it… but long-lasting.) Like the little lamb, I found the soft, love-able stuffed bear months before Eva Cate was born.

I decided it would stay at Boo Boo’s house and be there for each grandchild when they visited. That idea worked okay for Eva Cate but Rutledge loved Teddy so-o-o much (also Teddy grew lonely at Boo Boo’s between grandchilden visits) so I decided Teddy needed to go home with Rutledge one day…and just stay. He needed to be loved to “bits.”

These days Teddy is still the love of Rutledge’s life…

Jake, “Mr. Cool,” decided on a polar bear and sleeps contentedly with it by his side.

This whole idea of remembering our favorite stuffed animals (that were “loved to threadbare”) came about when I saw a book written about a project one man conducted on remembering our stuffed animals from our childhood.

Mark Nixon, photographer, watched his son playing one day with his threadbare stuffed animal and suddenly he remembered his favorite bear. His elderly mother still knew where it was in the attic. Nixon put the call out for any and all adults to stop by his photo studio and bring their must beloved stuffed animal…the rattier the better..and be ready to share their story.

He then started a series of these pictures/stories and collectively added them to a book called “Much Loved“…

  What Nixon found so heart-wrenching was how every adult who showed up knew the stuffed animal’s nickname…because, as one participant stated, your stuffed animal wasn’t “real” until you could tell mommy and daddy to give (Teddy, Buddy, etc.) a goodnight kiss too.

Take a minute and look at some of the stuffed animals who appeared for their “photo shoot.” So uplifting….if any of you would like to take a picture and send me one of your favorite stuffed animals or toys growing up...please do…I would love to display them on the blog!!!

From threadbare teddies to bears loved to bits, hundreds of …

Even our pets have their favorite stuffed animals….Mandy has patched up Tiger (Joan sent Tigger this stuffed animal for his first birthday) so many times but somehow that beloved stuffed tiger is still holding it together for Tigger!

* The only time Tigger ever gets upset is if someone takes his beloved “Tiger” from him.

Kaitlyn sent these adorable pictures of Rudy and Atticus with her “Teddy” that her dad gave her on the day she was born…She and her dad, Butch, share a fond love of  teddy bears…and apparently so does Rudy & Atticus!

Kaitlyn found this funny little picture too…she explains:

Rudy got sick a couple of
years ago and had to wear diapers.  He slept with Alphie the lion in a laundry basket!

Both  Rutledge and Jake love Mickey Mouse!

My favorite lines from the “Velveteen Rabbit” are:

“Once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always, ” the Skin Horse says in The Velveteen Rabbit.

“… You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

…………………………

So these days, when I look in the mirror and see some definite “hair” issues, drooping eyelids, and ‘slower to get up’ joint problems…I suppose I must smile and be thankful that I have been loved ” to ‘bits’ in my life! God loves us unconditionally which means He loves us until we are all “thread-bare.“

So until tomorrow…”Everyone is beautiful…in their own way“…if they have loved and been loved along the way!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I captured a picture of the first bloom on the Bradford Pear tree in my front yard yesterday…Spring is coming…all the buds are ready to pop…I told Mollie maybe it was a God’s Wink that someone else (Baby Dingle) is getting ready to  “pop” too!

Dear Reader:

Every spring at the end of another school year…I would read my eighth grade students “Oh, the Places You’ll Go“…Dr. Seuss’s last published book. When I reflect back on this book…it is probably the best “self-help guide to life” one can read.

It dawned on me a couple of days ago…that I am letting myself get stuck in the “Waiting Place” while pausing throughout the day to glance at the clock or my Iphone for the umpteenth time.

I wonder what kind of night Mollie had…did I accidentally hit “mute” on the Iphone or is it on vibrate…will I hear Mollie or Walsh when they call?

It is so easy to fall into the “Waiting Place” isn’t it when life’s benchmarks loom, largely, in front of us? Dr. Seuss nailed the problem and solution with these few lines from his book…

You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…

…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO! That’s not for you!

Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

………………………

So I decided that I am escaping the “Waiting Place” today and I am going to find where the “Boom Bands are playing.”  After all…bright days are pretty rare lately, we must take advantage of them when they come!

As I read one of my daily devotionals it talked about the thoughts (in steps) to living in the moment called “Just for Today“- Abby, in her column “Dear Abby” used to change the words, slightly, to this prose every year on January 1. (Dear Abby revised the thoughts from the original Al-Anon poem.)

So here are 10 thoughts I have for what I would do if I could change things….”Just For Today.“

1. Just for today… I would go to my garden and plant more flowers because flowers are a child’s first language.

2. Just for today…I would write my worries down in a letter which I would address to “God”-Location: Everywhere and then smile at the postman’s face as he studies the address, duly noting the extra stamps added, and finally smiles as he drops the letter in his bag.

3. Just for today…I would finally get eight glasses of water in me before the sun goes down…no more excuses…just keep drinking…for both my physical and spiritual “living waters” health.

4. Just for today…I would remember that “I am the story of myself” and each day offers the possibility of a great adventure in it. We just need to get out in the world to add the next page.

5. Just for today I would remember to write all my grandchildren because nothing is more special to a child than getting mail. I would even write a note for our baby-to-be welcoming him/her to the world…after all babies are the link between man and angels.

6. Just for today…I would acknowledge that babies are bits of stardust blown from the Hand of God. (Barretto) We are all ready to see the stardust form beside Mollie!

7. Just for today…I would remember the little child living within me and take her out to play.

8. Just for today…I would sit in the sun and lick an ice cream cone while it drips on my bare feet… tickling them and making me laugh

9. Just for today...I would pray to God to remind me that to love and be loved is the essence of living and prayer is an act of love

10. Just for today…I would remember that tonight the moon is full and also my heart…filled with gratitude for life!

So until tomorrow…Help us Father not lose a moment of living for waiting for things to happen…Push us out into the world as needed! (* We need you Baby Dingle!)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

***A Big Shout-out today for Honey…it is her birthday and typical Honey…she and Mike left today for the MS Walk! She will spend her birthday weekend walking for others who can’t walk….and wear layers Burrells….for BURR! Friday!

If anyone is interested in making a donation for the MS Walk…it is never too late to give. Make a comment on the blog and Honey will get back with you with the info for doing so! Or contact me (comment/email) and I will get you all the information needed for a donation!

* Gin-g has had several God Winks from her spunky little mom the last few days since her death….remembering the last line in the Sir Walter Raleigh eulogy about…”If it is allowed…you will hear my laughter in the cloud?”

The last three days (beautiful, blue, and warm) Gin-g has sensed her mother playing peek-a-boo from behind the clouds and heard her laughter!

*** The “chocolate” bunny arrived early at Mollie and Walsh’s house…now if the stork would do the same…we’d all be very happy. * I told Mollie that between the full moon tonight and an almost 50 degree barometric drop….mother nature is pulling out all the stops for the entrance of Baby Dingle.

Dear Reader:

My younger brother, David, died March 4, 1973…42 years ago today. When I discovered this picture a few days ago it made me smile. Oh…how David loved that tractor…up and down and up and down the sidewalks he’d go….and it looks like this time he lucked up and even had a lollipop along for the ride.

Every time I go in Tractor and Supply to get Rutledge another truck or tractor I always think of David. I believe the old adage “Only the good die young” holds true…at least in my opinion of my brother’s short life. (21)

David was so sweet and gentle…I never remember a single argument between us and that is something quite rare among siblings. He shared willingly, spoke softly, and the only “stick” he ever carried was one of forgiveness for the unkind comments his peers made about his later physical appearance.

The “title” photo was probably the last photo of a healthy, normal looking four year old…by five his appearance would be drastically changed. By eight his height had passed me (I was three years older) and it wouldn’t stop until he was 6 ‘ 5″ and weighed only 135 pounds. * You can see the effects of Marfan’s Syndrome disease in his long hands and fingers in the second picture.   

I told Mollie, a few days ago, that the gender was always tough to call but I had a  feeling that the baby might come the first week in March…because I always have David on my mind then. Birth and death go hand in hand in the Circle of life. For everyone we lose…another comes along to take their place in the circle.

It seems like there have been so many deaths lately and it brought back a conversation I remember grandmother telling mother while visiting on the farm one year. Grandmother said that you would think the cold winters would take the sickly and elderly but usually people survive this…it is right before spring that so many people pass.

Each year I think grandmother grows wiser in my estimation….because it does seem to happen that way. Perhaps that is why annually…in early spring… farm families always took the horrible tonic caster oil to flush out the winter blahs and perk up the metabolism for the spring planting to come… with that nasty-tasting iron based oil.

In the Lion King…the father/king Mufasa explains the circle of life to his son Simba this way…

Mufasa: “Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king you need to understand that balance and to respect all the creatures in the kingdom… from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.” 

Simba: “But, Dad, don’t we eat the antelope?’

Mufasa: “Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass and then the antelope eat the grass. And so we are connected in the Great Circle of Life. 

“You, like all the creatures of the earth, must take your place in the Circle of Life.”

……………………….

How true! As a living creature of the universe and a child of God we must all take our place in the Circle of Life. We must all strive to keep the delicate balance of this circle. We must all respect every living creature in the web of life.

It is important that this lesson be passed down from generation to generation. I just think some people, like my brother, are gifted learners in their understanding of the circle. They, intuitively, share the circle and protect the circle so well on earth…even in their short stay…that they are called back home into the loving arms of their Father…their Creator.

So until tomorrow…Let us treat each other with the respect we all deserve as children of God…following Christ’s last commandment: “Love each other as I have loved you.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* My day with Miss Eva Cate…It started out bright and early around 7:00 with cinnamon rolls that Eva helped me make and eat…(Isn’t it amazing when small children leave the high chair behind… then they circle around and want to return to it)

Eva Cate picked out the place in the garden to plant her lollipop seeds for Easter.

The Princess and the Pea…Once Upon a mattress!

Eva Cate had a “test run” Easter Egg Hunt on the B&B side and then we took a new little angel statue to put beside the new baby-to- come’s Japanese maple tree.

Wishes were made in the fountain for a baby girl cousin named Holly….(according to Eva Cate’s wish… and she wants her to “be just like me.”)

And our finally activities (besides shopping) were swinging and tree climbing…a day full of “making sure of each other.”

Time to head back to Mt. P….John, Mandy, the kids and I met Tommy and Kaitlyn for dinner…(compliments of Susan Komen’s free gift card for our team’s successful Race for the Cure). Our “free” dinner was entirely possible because we had such a diversity of gift donors participating in the fund-raiser for fighting breast cancer. In other words, thank all of you for dinner last night!

Tomorrow is the full moon (5th)…so maybe the Man in the Moon will nudge little Dingle to come join the family (if he/she hasn’t already arrived…)

Dear Reader:

I believe scenes like this will become more prevalent with the new sibling’s upcoming arrival. Rutledge will be checking in constantly to make sure that those he loves are near-at-hand…he will just be “wanting to make sure of you.”

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind “Pooh!” he whispered “Yes Piglet?” “Nothing” said Piglet, taking Poohs paw “I just wanted to make sure of you.”

Down deep…don’t we all want to “make” sure of those we love? Sure that they will always be there for us? …Because the reality of life is that no one can be there forever for us and it is quite unsettling, not just for children but for adults, also.

That is why it is so important to instill God’s Everlasting Presence in our children so they grow up realizing that they are never alone with God in their lives!

We understand completely the quote: “If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” ~Winnie the Pooh (attributed to Winnie the Pooh but not found in any works)

For this new grandchild and my other adorable three grandchildren…I think I would have this same Pooh saying on each bedroom wall…because it is how I feel about each one.

And how I love having adventures with my grandchildren…it gives me the chance to be a child again and play with total abandonment.

Eva Cate’s pre-school is out this week since ECDC is located at the College of Charleston and aligns with its schedule… and this week is Spring Break for the school. Eva Cate was scheduled to go to another facility and wasn’t too enthused. So Mandy and I talked and I picked her up yesterday after school and we had a spend-the night party last night.

Today we are planning a girls’ day out…to shop and eat out and just have fun together….an adventure with my oldest grandchild. I will have some pictures of our “adventures” tomorrow.

Here are some snapshots taken picking her up and arriving at Boo Boo’s for our evening of fun together….

“The biggest adventure we can ever live is to live the adventures of our dreams.” (Winfrey) This is my hope for all my grandchildren…to live out their dreams and “never settle” for anything less…even being the Lorax for Dr. Seuss’s birthday and wearing glass slippers forever.

With the Cinderella movie about to come out….a girl must be prepared with her glass slippers.

Dr. Seuss shares his birthday with W.T., Eva Cate’s granddad so she drew him a birthday picture….while holding hands with little Jake…quite talented!

*** Today is my 1ooth post since returning November 25….thanks to all of you from the bottom of heart for returning each day to “make sure of me.” I appreciate it more than you can imagine! You loyal readers provide me the security of “making sure of you.”

Dear Reader:

When I was still presenting at various social studies workshops in the district…I, usually, took some form of “parting” gifts to leave with the participants… as a reminder of the activities we did together.

For example…if the theme was ‘creativity and imagination through social studies’…each participant would leave with a key (and a ribbon tied around it) as a reminder that imagination is the “key” to developing a love of learning in students.

…Or maybe the theme was geography and I would give a compass to the teachers  so they would recall the important role they play, as a compass, in guiding their students in the right direction to become lifetime learners.

…Or lastly, to give each participant a little looking glass as a reminder that just because a student “wanders” off the given educational path…doesn’t mean they are lost. There are some students who just need a more intense glimpse into their personal histories by the teacher…a little more love. Teachers must realize the truth in the following quote:

Saint Exupery: “Perhaps love is the process of my leading you gently back to yourself.”

With the imminent birth of our newest Dingle looming larger each day…I can’t help but think that this wondrous child is beginning its greatest adventure … into the frontier, the unknown, called Life…and it must be done alone.

Every newborn must find his/her own path into the world without a physical tool to help them. Each compass has been charted since the beginning of time and remains a built-in, biological and spiritual magnet that draws them to the light of the world.

It is this spiritual compass that grows stronger each day of life as the child hears stories about kindness and helping others. The “compass” tool through life has now become storytelling.

Newborns don’t have a “key” to unlock the many doors in life facing him/her…but the child soon discovers that there are special mentors God has assigned to help open the doors for them throughout their lives.

Once again the “key” to living a fulfilling life appears through the stories we hear…even as our own story begins to take shape. Stories that show us the true, constant “Compass” …the spiritual compass…Who, in the end, will lead us back home to peace.

“The Path”

The story is told of a missionary who was traveling to a remote village to train leaders of the local church. A guide was selected to take him to the village but the only way to reach the remote place was to travel through the jungle. The journey started out without much of a problem because the path was good but soon into the trip the path literally disappeared.
The missionary grew concerned and asked, “Where is the path?” The guide smiled and drew a machete from his belt. He began to slice and chop his way into the brush and thickets. The guide looked back and told the missionary, “I am the path.”

As the child grows…the spiritual metaphors of life become clearer and more understandable by using the “looking glass” given to us in the Word…in scripture.

Proverbs 16:9   A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

“The Bible does not provide a map for life – only a compass”

The child learns that we all have access to the “True Compass” but we still must charter our own course to mold and develop each individual and unique gift for the world…with our Creator as our guide.

Emily Dickinson wrote:

“I never spoke with God,

Nor visited in heaven

Yet certain am I of the spot

As if the chart were given.”

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that the greatest gift a fairy godmother can give a newborn is curiosity. I whole-heartedly agree…except I would add the word faith. Without faith…it is very easy to get “lost” in life when the hard times come…and they will come.

Like Emily Dickson’s certainty of heaven sight unseen, it is faith that provides the strength and endurance to separate one’s quality of life from simply that of existing to living.

Faith is the greatest gift we can give each newborn-the anchor to a life lived to the fullest!

So by the time one reaches my age (as I watch my grandchildren grow)…it is my faith that now understands St. Exupery’s thought…”To live is to be slowly born.”

So until tomorrow…Father, help us discover all the tools you have given us to find our way back home to you…to find peace.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Since we have been talking about directions… and this week we remember Dr. Seuss on his birthday…perhaps we should leave with this little ditty:

“You have brains in your head, You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

* John just sent me these photos of Eva Cate and Jakie at five months….Eva Cate is working her “cuteness” and Jake remains “Mr. Cool.”

 *** A big big “shout out” to W.T.! John’s wonderful dad and Joan’s loving husband. Happy Birthday! Since I just got your card off today….here’s a little something to tide you over!

I just read it in the Scientific Don’t Believe It Journal of Unforgettable Facts