Dear Reader:

The title photo shows a wooden plank from Jackson’s family home (later her home) that Matthew, her son, gave her with a sketch of their house and the quote from Maya Angelou that I used in the title blog. (Many of you might remember that just a little over a year ago Jackson lost her home to the “1000 Year Flood.“)
“I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it!”   Maya Angelou

Matthew nailed it with this quote honoring his mother. Jackson definitely took time to shed her tears over the loss of the home her father, an architect, built but then she refused to let this incident “steal her joy.” She made some tough decisions and then decided to go forward, not backward.

Jackson drove us past her home in Columbia where a brand new home is mostly complete…a large, over-sized house (we thought) which definitely doesn’t measure up to the place we all came to love when we stayed with Jackson going to and from various trips.

Now this is home…an apartment in a wonderful area of Columbia where Jackson feels back at home and quite secure. Look what she has accomplished in just a few short months.

*Jackson’s dad was an artist, besides an architect. Jackson was able to save and restore several of his paintings from the flood. Amazing!

She is so happy in her new home…making it her own piece by piece. (These are just a few photos of Jackson’s home…actually she has a two bedroom, two bath apartment home….spacious, new, clean, and bright and cheery!)

As hard as it was to let the family home go…Jackson admitted that she had gotten to a point, like many of us on occasion, when she questioned if she owned her home or if the home owned her. Repairs were constant and financially draining on an older house…now she has the security of stable utility bills, someone to repair home problems and someone to take care of the lawn. Help is one phone call away….not several calls to different people…plumbers, electricians, roofers, floor repairs, lawn maintenance, etc. It is a good feeling.

It didn’t come easy…Jackson said she had many sleepless nights pondering which direction to go…but once she decided to “let it go” and make the move…she found that “inner peace” she had been looking for and it is so obvious in her beautiful new home. It is her happy place and it makes us all smile.

We were still smiling when we got to California Dreaming, our favorite birthday haunt, and met up with Linda and Betsy…Libby’s sister and daughter. We had a great time, as usual!

Last year and this year….Jackson’s birthday celebration! (Thanks Betsy!)

The celebration felt more like Christmas….Betsy gave us all Christmas presents. Then her birthday is Friday…so a lot to celebrate…life and birthdays!

Before we left to go eat…the Ya’s presented Jackson with some special mementos that we felt she would like. Jackson’s favorite book growing up was LITTLE WOMEN. At one time she was the proud owner of four small classic Madame Alexander dolls…but one was lost and the others got badly soiled and broken during the flood.

Brooke and Libby to the rescue…Brooke got on E-Bay and found the fourth sister while Libby washed, cleaned, and ironed the little dresses. Jackson also received a new copy of the story…the binding on hers as a child had pulled loose.

Jackson was so unbelievably generous to give me her tractor she had as a child for the grandchildren to play on….so I got Anne to do her magic with a brush and watercolor…. paint the tractor. She then matted and framed it with barn wood. Adorable! Thank you Anne so much…Jackson loved it!

So until tomorrow…What a difference a year makes…but some things never change…love and friendship. The two forces of the Creation that can outlast even a “1000 Year Storm.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Mollie sent me this picture of Lachlan playing today at Mandy’s house where their former pre-school teacher (Miss Katie) is keeping all three cousins… since the pre-school closed.What a brave soul. (: *We are starting to see some of Tommy in Lachlan when he was little! What a little cutie!