Dear Reader:

Saturday when Eva Cate and I went to the Southern Living store…it was having its big January sale with everything half off. When I saw this linen dish towel (title photo)…I just had to have it. It sums up what I want 2019 to be…. a year filled with adventures and spontaneous opportunities to go and see new things and get new perspectives.

My hope is that this foot will finally completely heal soon …so I can go and do anything at a whim again…I miss spontaneity! Having to plan rides weeks and days ahead to the foot clinic got really old… though I will have to admit…the rides over to the clinic and back were much more fun with another person or persons along to talk and laugh with together. *Even the medical personnel keep asking where all my sons, neighbors, and friends are that used to come with me…I think they miss the extra company too. Independence comes with a high price…isolation.

Having finished the latest Louise Penny mystery….several people recommended the Mitford series (Jan Karon) and they couldn’t understand how  I had never read the series when it was so popular…starting  back in the nineties. (Simple answer….children and time or lack of…)

I couldn’t believe that within the second paragraph, on the first page, the rector made the same observation I did after researching the thoughts of the Apollo 8 astronauts as they gazed upon the “Blue Marble” the rest of us call home for the first time. They all realized spontaneously that home is defined by our surroundings…our world or home is different to everyone traveling through earth.

The rector (upon leaving the coffee-scented warmth of the Main street Grill) “often noted the minor miracle of passing through a door into a completely different world, with different smells and attractions. On this day the beautiful weather made this insight become a delight when he realized he was no longer walking..he was “ambling.” And what a difference there was between the two!”

*I took time to look up the word “amble” and it means: walk or move at a slow, relaxed pace for pleasure

So now that is my goal for 2019…I want my foot to get well enough… so I can not just walk along my given path…but I can amble along it! I want to be able to feel pleasure in moving slowly from one destination to another- to take time to really see the world around me on any given day…and absorb the miracle of it.

I also want to steal Father Tim’s daily prayer he had uttered every day for 12 years when the series starts: “Father, make me a blessing to someone today, through Christ our Lord, Amen” 

Isn’t that a wonderful thing to ask of God? To make a difference in someone else’s life…even if we don’t know it. I always pray this happened while I was teaching for over three decades and I have a few conclusive bits of evidence through notes and letters, later emails and texts, that it did….but it should not stop because one’s job or even vocation ends. Every day we should be consciously looking for that opportunity to make a difference in another’s life.

So until tomorrow…. (A Favorite Father Tim quote)“One of the things that makes a dead leaf fall to the ground is the bud of the new leaf that pushes it off the limb.”

What a beautiful thing to remember when we are sad over the loss of someone we love.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

If last night was any indication….the beautiful sunset went from pink to orange….hope it will still look orange today! (*P.S. It did)

I just discovered a fact…tigers usually work alone…when they are in a group, especially with a female and children…the group is called a “streak” or an “ambush”….from these pictures of the Dingle family preparing for the game (Walsh, Mollie, and children)…I think an ambush is coming…hopefully against some elephants :)!

12:30 P.M.

Well the orange sunset, the ‘streaking’ and ‘ambushing’ tigers against the elephants….became reality…no longer hope but the conclusion of hope….victory. Clemson won 44-16 over Alabama. There was no way any of us could have predicted the way the game went last night but oh, so thankful for the outcome!

I had planned to only stay at Donna and Sam’s until half-time…but there was no way I could leave….that game kept you on the edge of your seat the whole way and what a ride it was. I am sure it was our orange noses …that took Clemson over over the top once again.

Jan 9, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney is interviewed while holding the trophy after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

So happy! Whew! I will sleep good tonight! (*Actually I didn’t …I was too wired up to sleep!) I feel like good times have arrived after a long challenging period and it feels great!

Just one thing my children (who are all adults now)- a bit of un-asked for information..Remember this moment as the ‘Golden Age’ of Clemson football! Before you know it… one day you will be telling your grandchildren stories that start with “I remember when....”