Dear Reader:

As I was finishing the mystery novel I told you about yesterday a phrase (that I had not heard in a long time) inadvertently came rushing back with childhood memories and loving feelings  intact.

The expression was “There, there.”

A fictional character in the novel loses a close friend and elderly neighbor, who had seen her through some rough times. So now when she gets the news of her passing…she immediately feels homesick, lost, and needs her neighbor to come back and pat her hand… and tell her “There, there.”

After reading these lines…suddenly I was five or six years old again and I was sitting in my grandmother’s lap. She had been shelling peas on the front porch, but she put the bowl down and pulled me over to her, patted my hand and said “It’s all right, shhhh now, it’s all right.” And to the rhythm of the old rocker she whispered in my ear over and over “There, there…it’s all right…there, there…it’s all right.”

It was the summer we lived with grandmother following daddy’s unexpected death at 31 and mother’s left hand amputation (bone cancer) only months later. I have no recollection of what specific event had caused me to be upset and crying…(small children sense when things aren’t right ) …all I remember is how wonderful it felt to rock with grandmother while she patted my hand and kept repeating “There, there.” I needed security and she gave it to me with a whisper and a rocking chair. No further words were needed.

So now when I see pictures from that sad time in my family’s history…I don’t see a depressed child, a little shy and insecure perhaps, but overall the frame has already been built to house a happy personality. This “miracle” was performed by my family and extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) who made sure my brothers and I still felt an integral part of the whole family unit and understood its strength in unity. They taught me how to fly!

Honey knows how much I love learning new words so she sent me a post from some friends of hers in the mountains and what a wonderful word they discovered and shared. We need to all learn it .

(Here is  an excerpt from their blog on the word EUDAIMONIA!)

“Eudaimonia! Huh?”

Eudaimonia is a new word stemming from Greek philosophy. It refers to a special state of contentment felt by taking the right action.

“It means achieving the best conditions possible for yourself in every sense, not only happiness, but also virtue, morality, and a meaningful life.”

Bob and Fran go on to explain how our inner spirit rises when we perform good deeds and/or helping someone else. This feeling of inner happiness strengthens our health, vitality, and prosperity. It is easy to achieve, regardless of age or station in life…we just have to start.

One suggestion they gave was to write the word on a sticky note and put it on the bathroom mirror. So I did just that!

After all…”Who wouldn’t want to live with a consistent ‘feel good’ spirit?

Today our family will definitely have the feel good spirit going in high gear. We are celebrating Ben and Vikki’s birthdays (July 26) with a Sunday brunch at the Old Village Post House in Mt. Pleasant. We will have an additional member to join us this year for this special occasion…little Rhodes…Lee and Vikki’s 10 month old son.

I love it when the family keeps growing and growing…and soon we will have even another addition…a granddaughter…life is so good!

After the brunch John and Mandy are having everyone over for a pool party and to eat some birthday cake…a fun day in the making!

So until tomorrow:

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

What a wonderful surprise last night! I looked out my window and on the tip top of the trellis was the first moon flower bloom of the summer season. I was so thrilled!  I just kept jumping up and down and then ran outside and gave it some extra water for the outstanding performance!