As difficult as it is to imagine, today is the last day of May. I had taken on the NaBloPoMo challenge for May, to blog every day of the month. And I did just that…although my calendar shows two posts on May 19, because I forgot to hit the “publish” button on the May 18 post, and realized it the next day.
Anyhow, I’m going to continue on with the June challenge, just to see if I can do it. And because today was our church yard sale, and I got up at 5:45 to get it going, I’m going to let my very contented self crawl into bed with Danielle Steel’s “Johnny Angel”, one I somehow had missed but found at the sale. (Wow — what a sentence!)
I was doing really well this morning, having gone to my storage place bright and early while it was still cool. My “letting go of books” mood of yesterday had carried over, and I found myself purging English lit texts that I had planned to keep for ever. I was on a roll…boxes and boxes of classic novels and cheap thrill reads were headed to the yard sale pile.
Then I opened an unlabeled box that looked like it was going to be books, but was actually random papers, photos, and scribbles from Mom. I should have just put the lid back on and dealt with it later, but like a moth to a flame I was drawn to a journal I had given her. I flipped it open and started to read, only to be hit with such an incredible wave of grief that it literally knocked me to my knees sobbing. I quite often get teary-eyed reading little notes I find tucked into books or dresser drawers, but they are usually happy tears. This was just flat-out “I want my Mama” wailing, of the sort that I thought I had gotten past, five years later.
Of course, sitting and sobbing wasn’t getting the job done, so eventually I shook myself off, wiped my face, and dug into another box. And I’m happy to report that between the book boxes and the little dressing table that used to be in Georgia’s room, I freed up quite a bit of space in my storage room. Which is a good thing, because the Chinese lacquer chest no longer fits her decorating scheme, so into storage it must go.
Here we are having our typically good time hanging out together with our doll-playing friends.
A happy moment at our doll club birthday party.
All dressed up for a Victorian garden party.
Up until today I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough stuff for a good sale, but all afternoon parishioners showed up with stuff and more stuff. I’m relaxed now, and sure that we will have a successful day. Drop by and see us if you are in the neighborhood!
I have been thinking today about Dr. Maya Angelou and enjoying many Maya quotes being shared on Facebook and other media. In my opinion, Dr. Angelou’s most powerful gift was that of Encourager. It was my extreme pleasure to see her when she visited Visalia a number of years ago, and that was the take-away for me from that afternoon.
The best story of the day was how she came to be in Visalia at all. It seems that in her quest to bring Dr. Angelou here, the lady behind her visit actually took out a second mortgage on her home to pay her speaker’s fee. Dr. Angelou was not aware of this until, due to a very hectic and over-booked schedule, she told her assistant that she needed to cancel the engagement. That was when she was told that a home had been mortgaged to get her here! Needless to say, she did not cancel, the event was standing-room-only, and the organizer in question did not lose her home! Dr. Angelou’s message was that if a perfect stranger had this much faith in her, how could she possibly disappoint!
In my life I have been blessed with a myriad of encouragers, led by my parents and other loving family members. But in thinking specifically of my blog, and my writing in general, there have been a few others who have been ever so encouraging. I I have said some of this before, but it is worth repeating. First in my list of blogging encouragers is fellow blogger and dear friend, Katrina Sinift. Reading her blog made me think, (in the immortal words of Dr. Frankenfurter) “Don’t dream it — be it!” And Carrie (Asdell) Baize with her wonderful fiction helped me realize how much I really wanted others to read what I write. And my cousin Allison Virtue (I really am going to meet her outside of Facebook someday), whose daily writing challenges shared on FB inspired me to do the same.
Daily I read other bloggers’ posts and am inspired, entertained, encouraged…if I try listing them here I am sure to leave out someone really important. But I think you know who you are, and how much I enjoy our exchanges in the comments of our respective blog posts.
So my wish for each of you reading this is that you take the time to be an encourager — it really takes but a few minutes to listen and smile. In the overall scheme of things, I think that is why we are here. Thank you.
I seem to be a sucker for lists and daily challenges, etc., so thanks to my friend Katrina I started this 25 Songs in 25 Days challenges a week or so ago. I have been sharing the links from YouTube to my Facebook page each day, but I’m not sure I can figure out how to link them here. But here is my list ten days into it:
Day #1: A song from your childhood: The Mickey Mouse Club March.
Day #2: A song that reminds you of your most recent ex-boyfriend/girlfriend: Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw (Jimmy Buffet). This was Grant’s and my song. I know, it is warped. So were we.
Day #3: A song that reminds you of one or both of your parents: Empty Saddles in the Old Corral (The Sons of the Pioneers). For Daddy.
Day #4: A song that calms you down: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Iz) This video contains the tribute to Iz where they scattered his ashes at sea — so beautiful!
Day #5: A song that is often stuck in your head: Happy (Pharrell Williams)
Day #6: A song that reminds you of a best friend: Knights in White Satin (Moody Blues) This was for Melody (my best sister) and her best friend Carolyn many years ago.
Day #7: A song that reminds you of the past summer: White Sandy Beach (Iz) This was for Mom, because the beach was one of her favorite places, and I was never able to take her to Hawaii.
Day #8: A song that reminds you of your first love: It’s the Talk of the Town (Bing Crosby) Jack Barker wrote alternate lyrics to this one.
Day #9: A song that makes you hopeful: A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (from Disney’s Cinderella) Georgia was the wish my heart made.
Day #10: A song by your favorite band: Alabama Song (The Doors). The Doors are my favorite band right now. Tomorrow it might be someone else.
I’m not sure whether “eclectic” or “schizophrenic” would be the best word for my taste in music. What do you think?
I am chairperson of our church rummage sale. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me — it would be surprising if I wasn’t chairperson. And this is crunch time, as this year’s sale is four days away. I’m actually getting a bit panicky, as right now we barely have enough “stuff” for a decent single-family yard sale, let alone a wonderfully exhilarating church-wide one! (So any St. Paul’s parishioners who might be reading this: Please answer the call for rummage.)
I was pretty proud of myself this morning. Some of you may have read here about my struggles with my “stuff”, and my quest to winnow it down to a more manageable size. (If you haven’t, click here or here to catch up!) This morning after taking Lily to school I headed to my storage room in just the right mood and turned three boxes of books into one, with the other two designated for the church sale. (I even donated another book about being a “messie”.) Then I brought home a banker’s box filled with tax receipts/returns from 2010 and earlier, and turned that box into a file about 3 inches thick, only keeping the tax returns themselves. A lovely little flowered trunk filled with miscellaneous rubber stamps and stamping-related items was emptied, the bulk of the stamps (now that I have discovered My Acrylix stamps I can’t stand the rubber-on-wood ones) donated to the sale, and the trunk headed that way, also. All I kept was the embossing gun and powders, some lovely glittery stuff, and cardstock — and they all fit into the banker’s box formerly filled with tax information.
I wish I could figure out a way to conjure up the “it is okay to let go of books” mood on demand. Every once in a while I find a mental space where I have permission to send books I have loved and sheltered for years out into the world to bless others. I let go of books this morning that on some level I thought I would always own. But life is too short to be bogged down by so much stuff that the majority of it is in a rented storage two miles away.
Tomorrow morning if the day doesn’t get too hot too soon I shall try to tackle a few more boxes. Our rummage sale needs more stuff, and I need more space.
Today I would like to share a scrap of paper in Mom’s handwriting that I found when going through some of her things awhile back. Being able to preserve memories such as this is another reason why I scrapbook — and also why I blog! Had God’s timing been different, Mom would have become a blogger right along side me.
11/18/02 10:03 PM
Somehow today I have realized I feel like I’m really going to get through all this Dr-ing, radiation, etc. Don’t know if it is the past 9 days of sunshine, which I’ve enjoyed more than I can say, the fact that there are only (?) 5 more treatments, or knowing that Dick and Margaret are going to Barbara’s & Lee’s 50th Ann. All help enormously I’m sure. Also off & on all day I’ve worked on getting the Treasure Room ready to accept all the “stuff” from…
Happiness is a weekend with no drama, only joy! Yesterday I talked about my best friend’s upcoming wedding, and how this one would differ from the others. Last night I watched through tears as she floated down the aisle on the arm of her youngest daughter to marry the man of her grown-up dreams. I love the happiness that simply sparkles from this picture.
The newlyweds are all smiles.
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Today we celebrated the birthdays of both my granddaughters with a My Little Pony-themed party. The house was filled with the chatter and laughter of family and friends, spiced with delicious food and oodles of presents. Here are the stars of the day with their birthday cupcakes.
The birthday girls blowing out their candles
In our family we have a tradition of post-birthday party gatherings, where the new toys are carefully removed from their packaging and the clothes are tried on amidst much ooh-ing and aah-ing by those special people who don’t go home simply because the party has ended. This is what Lily’s part of the living room looked like.
Lily among the presents
I have already announced that no one is to wake me up in the morning before my alarm goes off. I will be sleeping in (if possible) before waking to remember the veterans who made our country and the world a safer place to live.
My best friend is getting married today. In a little over four hours, actually. They say the third time is the charm, and I truly believe it is. I was there the first two times, teary-eyed as she came into view, as I will be today.
For her first wedding, she was “white lace and promises” personified, marrying her high school sweetheart in the church of her childhood. Like many of us, she totally followed her heart, and ended up with two absolutely delightful daughters. The second time was celebrated with a backyard luau and bare feet all around. The spirit of “ohana” was there, along with more than a little grieving for dear ones no longer with us.
Today a grown woman is marrying a man she knows well, who knows her and cherishes her and wants to spend forever with her, cowboy boots and all. They truly make each other’s heart sing, and will be singing together after the ceremony.
Happy wedding, sweet friend, and many years of happiness and companionship with your beloved.
For the first several years of my drinking career, I drank and drove. Actually, I got totally wasted and drove. I’m not proud of that, but feel that by way of full disclosure I have to put it out there. Thankfully I never was involved in a DUI, and my car always found its way home.
Once I stopped drinking and driving, I ended up the default designated driver. If he wasn’t at work, my spouse wouldn’t go anywhere he couldn’t drink, so I gradually took over all of the driving duties when we were together. As my daughter got older, I became the mom the kids could call if they needed a driver, for whatever reason. Sometimes their planned ride home fell through, or their designated driver got wasted didn’t show up — it didn’t matter, they could call and I would come get them. “It’s okay — we can call my mom!” Georgia would say, over the protests of her friends, usually male, who were embarrassed. But none of them ever refused to get in the car.
Now things are a bit different. Now the request is, “Mom, would you mind taking me to the bar?” Let’s face it — cabs are expensive, and I would so much rather drive my grown child to the bar occasionally than have her even consider driving herself (which she wouldn’t do) or taking a cab. I appreciate how conscientious she is about not driving anywhere after having alcohol. I wish I had been the same way at her age. Of course, the DUI penalties 40 years ago were nothing like they are now, and MADD was not out there educating drivers, but the results could have been every bit as devastating had I had an accident. And I truly don’t ever remember even considering the ramifications of having a wreck.
Long live the designated driver…and her passengers.
When I was a girl, the mothers in our neighborhood spent the summer looking forward to the first day of the new school year. They were eager for their children to return to school and their days to become their own again. Our mother cried when school was going to start — she loved having us home in the summer, and hated for those lovely lazy days to end.
Today was Olivia’s last day of preschool for the year, and Lily is counting down only ten more days. I am so ready for summer to be here. I will not miss the early morning crawl through the road construction that started the week the school year began, and am really looking forward to lazy mornings cuddling on the couch, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with the girls.
This last two weeks of school will be jam-packed with activities and special events…rewards for extra achievements at school as well as dance performances for Open House and Lily’s first-ever dance recital. Throw in the wedding of a dear friend, a joint birthday party for the girls, and Lily’s actual birthday, and our schedule begins to resemble a whirlwind.
But the reward at the end of that whirlwind will be sweet: Summer vacation. Summer reading programs at the public library, working together in the garden, playing in the wading pool, staying up late and sleeping in even later. Welcome, summer — we are ready for you!
A happy, self-indulgent space where I write things for YOU to read! These things I write about include life, travel, first world problems, myself and other people. Sometimes I try to be funny, but mostly I'm not.
“Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man.” - Albert Einstein
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