Dear Reader:

As I have been pointing out these past few blog posts…my garden seems to sense now that the difficult struggle to survive seasonal summer heat and drought has passed. The summer flowers that took up their individual spaces are now, mostly, gone…leaving more room and fertile conditions for the fall foliage and fauna.

*The Confederate Rose continues to bloom endlessly… thriving in the cooler, wetter climate…it brings me daily joy to watch it turn colors.

My morning glories …counted at 13 this morning, are finding new undercover paths to pop up on the ground, as well as, the fence, window paintings, and wooden fence rails.

I had an epiphany yesterday…a moment when I recognized that my life puzzle is anchored by my spiritual experience with a dolphin at Edisto Beach in the fall of 2008…soon after being diagnosed with breast cancer. (My surgeon, at the time, thought I had the disease about a year before the diagnosis…but it had atypical symptoms,,, unlike most breast cancers.)

So my work and theirs was cut out from the very beginning. Then four months following the initial diagnosis…a dolphin performed a vertical leap in front of me, while sitting on the jetties at Edisto Beach. As this large dolphin stared down at me (with its gentle little smile plastered on its face) I, immediately, sensed what the  message was.

“All is right with the world…everything is just as it should be…”  It has taken me years to recognize the significance of this universal thought and connection. I wasn’t promised a quick fix or for that matter, any assurance that I would or could be cured. And to date…I haven’t.

But…everything is as it should be…I have learned to live with my antithesis -cancer.  And what a life I am living…filled and surrounded by wonderful friends, doctors,  neighbors, and family…I wake up grateful and happy to see each day…and this feeling of peace and serenity is the anchor in my personal puzzle of life.

I don’t ask why anything happened the way it did… because I know why…what I have learned from the ups and downs of living with cancer and adapting to all its on-going treatments and side effects has made me the person I was created to be.

This “anchor” has never left me…the parts of my personal puzzle that I fill in daily are the perimeters that include opportunities and possibilities to share my joy in life.  I seek and find serenity and peace on a daily basis… hidden deep within me despite the troubles that come our way as part of the scheme of life.

We can’t change the politics, rifts, and greedy nature of mankind that evolve into constant clashes and wars but we can demonstrate what a world could look like on a street, neighborhood, or community. We all have to power to change life for the better for those around us.

So until tomorrow…“If your life is in harmony with your part in the Life Pattern (our personal puzzle) and if you are obedient to the laws which govern this universe, then your life is full and good but not overcrowded. If it is overcrowded, you are doing more than is needed…more than your job to do in the total scheme of things.” (Peace Pilgrim/Awakin.Org)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Eloise received her Maine moose cap today from Boo…too cute Eloise.

Eloise likes having her big brother Lachlan at her school this year…but it is only for a year…next year Lachlan will be in public kindergarten…both boys at Phillip Simmons Elementary School. In the blink of an eye…Eloise will join them…time is flying that fast!

Don’t forget to vote today…or if you are like me…I took advantage of voting early and voted last week…it is important to put good decent people in office for local positions, mayors, town council, etc…so hopefully we can have a trickle up effect on getting honest hardworking, caring and respected candidates in at state and national levels…it all starts at home!

Democracy…Let us never take voting…this most important freedom, for granted…too many people have sacrificed their lives for us to have this rare opportunity- Vote!