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. .”