The other day I walked into my den as a young actress was telling her ” American Dream” story of going from rags to riches … and when asked how she kept her dream alive ( against all odds) she responded that her lifetime verbal compass summed it up in three words… ” No Matter What!”
Determination! Collins dictionary defines the expression ” No matter what” as ” in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles a person is definitely going to achieve his/ her goals … they are going to do it!”
A survey asking movie-goers (from different decades )what movie they would most like to re-see… Gone With theWind…took top honors… and the one scene most wanted repeated was Scarlet O’Hara’s famous scene…many movie goers could still recite from memory.
Scarlet’s famous line that she would never give up… and ” After all tomorrow is another day!” In other words ” No Matter What” she would prevail. No one in the theater doubted it for a minute.
Take a moment today… and think about the strong relatives in your family tree… who prevailed against herculean obstacles -who set the example for you to keep picking yourself up and getting back in the race.
Mother, of course, was my example… Her memorable adage to me and my siblings… ” No matter what life throws at you… you can overcome it!”
Outside family or friends… give this topic some thought… think about the figures we study throughout history as heroes who never gave up… the George Washington’s, Lafayettes, Alvin York’s, Dolittle Raiders, Churchill’s, FDR’s, the soldiers in our families who fought and died for democracy, … they are all eternal members of the ” No Matter What” club.
So until tomorrow… everything that will comprise our life as it is defined by others at our end … comes down to one word. CHOICES. Life is about the choices we make… so ” No Matter What” make your choices count towards achieving your personal goals… and never give up!
I remember the last time I rode through the “It’s a Small Small World” Disney ride… I left with tears in my eyes… there is something so touching about listening to the children sing while watching all the adorable child-like mannequins from different countries. I would be perfectly content to stay seated in the ride and travel around the world repeatedly. If only the real world had this same innocence of acceptance for the world’s people inhabiting our planet.
I think historians will look back at 2020 when the Deadly Pandora Box was opened and released the ” Coronavirus” spreading throughout our entire planet – as a change agent that upended cultural customs and daily life routines for each country’s citizens …like nothing we had experienced on such a monumental scale.
There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and as recent medical reports have explained… this stubborn mutant virus doesn’t seem to want to disappear now that it has arrived…so it just keeps transforming itself. It has made most countries want to close the doors and throw away the key… turning inward. But as history repeatedly shows… that never works!
(As our own country has learned) …we are tied to the rest of the world for essential trade and economical bartering … if ” No man is an island” … then no country is completely self-sustaining. We have to find a way to help each other in order for everyone to survive.
And the more we study history… the more we realize that most of us grew up with a rather skewed image of it…geared towards bragging rights for our country’s achievements… while leaving out important achievements that other countries had forged ahead … long before America entered the picture.
For example… we all grew up celebrating Christopher Columbus and memorizing the little ” ditty…” In the year 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” We were lead to believe he was the best explorer around… he founded America and then other European explorers jumped in the game …the” giants”of snatch everything you can” explorations. It took awhile to admit that these ” explorations ” were destructive to the cultures who initially welcomed them before realizing they were there to take and control… not give or live in peace.
Admiral Zheng He was almost seven feet tall
But 75 years prior to the European ” Age of Explorations” Chinese explorer -Admiral Zheng He lead a series of seven spectacular voyages to the West. The little known explorer makes Columbus look ” small-time.” He commanded a fleet of 300 vessels … nearly five times the size of Columbus’ ships ( size of a soccer field today)
Zheng He’s biggest ship was the treasure ship. Measuring 440 feet and 180 feet in beam. It was powered by 9 masts -the ship was loaded with gold, silver, oils, and silks, which the Chinese explorers didn’t plunder from newly discovered lands, like later the Europeans, but the treasures were given as gifts to the countries. A thank you for the visit.
His ships were served by 28 thousand men ( as compared with 90 men on the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria.) Unlike European expeditions, Zheng’s voyages were not in search of treasure or trade, but to show off the might and power of the Ming Dynasty… historians think Zheng might have sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, Europe, and even the Caribbean…. almost a century before European explorers.
Today the European explorers get credit for voyages because a new political party comprised of conservative Confucian scholars convinced the Chinese emperor that these voyages were too costly and China should turn inward and isolate itself from the rest of the world…. keep building the wall and write off Admiral Zheng’s accomplishments from the official record. So as Europe began broadening its horizons and sending explorers across the globe… China was closing its doors.
Two interesting tidbits… Admiral Zheng brought back exotic animals for the emperor’s zoo. The first giraffe came to Beijing in 1414. ( The Chinese were convinced it was a legendary animal from their folklore, the ” chi-lin.” It was believed to be an omen that the heavens favored them.)
I know Eva Cate and Jake’s favorite part of visiting the Columbia Riverbanks Zoo was always feeding the giraffes!
Riverbanks Zoo
So until tomorrow… If the world could just remember one adage and everyone adopt it as their mantra through life… ” Be kind, Be kind, Be kind”… what a beautiful world we could create together. ( A real small small world) ” No matter what” follow the Golden Rule. Let’s dust off and bring ” integrity ” back into our daily vocabulary… especially when we make choices for leadership positions! Who can our children look up to… they desperately need strong moral examples… the new heroes of tomorrow!
Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh
Yesterday I had a craving for pizza… I always get a big one to divvy up the slices among the neighbors… there is the nicest lady who runs the Pizza Hut… and she always has the ” kindest ” signs out… changing them periodically.
( loved reading this)
Every time I get in my ( still ” Mr. Clean”) car… I immediately smile because my Bohemian steering wheel cover of love is based on a Bohemian flower arrangement entitled ” LOVE.” What better way to travel than to be steered by love?
Happy Birthday to my nephew Lee and Mollie’s mother -Marcia! Don’t forget… take time today to have a popcorn party… since it is National Popcorn Day!!! Cards heading your way!
Yesterday was my scheduled oncology appointment… you would think by now I would be used to it after all these years… but when you are living with cancer … one knows that things can turn on a dime. It is just the nature of the ” insidious” ( my radiation doctor called it) disease.
And of course change never stops when it comes to losing doctors and then changing oncologists and locations… which is always initially unsettling. It certainly has happened to me… and I am sure many of you readers can relate. It is like having the rug pulled out from under you… or maybe a towel.
Like the title picture says… we have to simply keep going… While I was getting my bloodwork done… that same sign had been added to the wall beside my chair. Great mantra.
Dr. Ashley Jeter
Meet Dr Jeter… my present oncologist after my first one retired a few years back. As it turned out… I taught her husband, as well as, her brother-in-law and sister-in-law! And her mother-in-law is a good friend and fellow Alston Middle School teacher co-hort. Small world! *** I think the older we get… the younger our doctor should be so they don’t retire on us.
Overall a good status quo report yesterday -keeping an eye on a few spots but got a steady white cell count and I will take that ” to the bank” these days.
When I got home… I started listening to a new medical testing result that stunned many in the medical field… I just smiled to myself. There were more premature deaths for adults who exercised and worked out moderately than the subjects who had close friends to talk to and share with… with no planned exercise programs.
Barbara Streisand was right all along… ” People … People Who Need People … are the luckiest people in the world.” ( And apparently live the longest… close friends can’t be replaced by exercise. ) Good to know! And surprise outings and gatherings just add heightened anticipation! Something to look forward to…
So until tomorrow… ETC. ” A study of 300,000 people reveals the one secret to living a longer healthier life. It’s not supplements, a certain diet or a fancy exercise program that leads to a healthier life. Instead it’s something we can all use: good friends! 😉 ( And I am so blessed in that department!)
Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh ( Psst! Winnie told me to share this mantra for 2023 … I agree!)
One last ” free school ” student day for Charleston County students yesterday- Mandy and Jake planned a picnic in the park by the Ravenel Bridge! Mid-Winter delight!
I know my grandchildren must run when I get on my platform and start lamenting the loss of written letters and cursive writing… but it breaks my heart when I hand a birthday card to one of the grandchildren who struggles to read it… because ” You forgot Boo Boo and wrote it in ” cursive”… you would have thought, by the tone, I deciphered it in pig Latin! ”
Yesterday was Martin Luther King , Jr. Day and it brought back memories of Anne, Lorraine, Mandy, and I taking the newly formed ( very diversified) Gullah Club students to Penn Center in beautiful St. Helena Island near Beaufort, South Carolina. Penn Center was the first school in the South for formerly enslaved West Africans to learn to read and write…in the very heart of Gullah culture!
At the end of the first session the students were all laughing and yelling out in unison ” We be Gullah!” The vivacious tour leader had started out asking who in the group thought they were “Gullah” and only a couple students raised their hands and mentioned a grandmother or ancestors who spoke some Gullah.
But the guide continued…started giving examples of coming home and seeing a pot of rice on the stove frequently and/ their mother , father, or grandparent stirring in left over meat or other vegetables from the night before to stretch another meal… serving ” perlo!”
She then started on popular slang expressions and had everyone shaking their heads in delight at the discovery of the Gullah origin!
The session ended with everyone singing ” Kumbayah” -( Gullah for ” Come by here”) … wonderful memory.
Too many times on MLK Day… we hear ” I Have a Dream” speech over and over to the point that most public school children only associate that one speech with Martin Luther King, Jr.
Most historians instead point to the powerful letter King wrote from his jail cell in Birmingham , Alabama… on April 16, 1963. He was exhausted and despondent… tired of marching and being thrown in jail, missing his wife and children.
But his passion in his letter spoke volumes… ” Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere! ”
Does there seem to be a familiar ring or theme to these words…
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, uses the same central ring when he addresses all democratic countries- ” The fight for Ukraine is the fight for democracy everywhere.”
Since I taught history through storytelling… I was always on the lookout for children and young adult writers who wrote historical fiction and non-fiction for my students.
It didn’t take me long to discover Eve Bunting… one of the must recognized and award winning children’s authors. At 94 today, she has been married for over 50 years to her beloved husband… she was born in Northern Ireland but has lived in the states her adult life ( Pasadena, California) and still writes and lectures at UCLA.
Here are just a few of her stories that I used while teaching…
Teaching Children How the Holocaust Came to Be Through Animals) The Story of the Origin of the Orphan TrainThe Story of the Vietnam Memorial
Every year for 30 years … as I began my search for the perfect Christmas Eve Story … I soon realized that a Christmas story didn’t have to have been originally written for Christmas.
If the story contained all the right ” ingredients ” ( love, forgiveness, hope, faith and a potential sprinkle of magic) it could easily be turned into a beautiful Christmas story. Just add a new setting and time.
One Christmas Eve… many years ago, I did this with Eve Bunting’s story about homelessness in America for which she won the students’ ” Heal the World Award” .. her most coveted achievement because the award came from the young students whom she wrote the book for…
In Fly Away Home… a little boy tells the story of how he and his dad live at an airport since their mother died and they have no home. He never introduces himself or his father by name. We learn no more about any events leading up to this homeless life lived in an airport.
But we do discover how they have learned the importance of blending in -both wear blue jeans, blue shirts and jackets… they sleep sitting up and moving from airport to airport. They have made friends with other homeless individuals and families… but also learning from their mistakes when they were caught.
On weekends… an elderly homeless woman watches the little boy since his dad has a janitorial job in a nearby large company building. The little boy takes back empty luggage carts for .50 apiece. He is saving too… for the day when he and his dad can get an apartment like when his mom was living.
It was on such a weekend that something happened that brought the little boy hope for a new life. A little brown bird got into the main terminal and couldn’t get out. It would throw itself at the glass panting and then perch on the girder… one wing hanging limply.
The little boy silently encouraged the little bird…” Don’t give up… please don’t give up! And then one day…in one instant it happened… a sliding door was open and the bird slipped through… the little boy watched it rise… it’s wing seemed okay. ” Fly bird ” the little boy whispered” Fly Away Home.” ( The little boy concludes that though he couldn’t hear it… he knew it was singing… nothing made him as happy as that bird!)
At the end of the story as the little boy watches people meeting loved ones and calling out ” I missed you so much and It’s So Good to be home” the little boy admits he gets angry… he wants to push them and shout” Why do you have homes when we don’t? What makes you so special? He just wants to cry… afraid he and his dad will be stuck there forever.
But then he remembers the bird. it took awhile but a door opened. And when the bird left, when it flew free… he knew it was singing…
***I remember when it got to this last part of the original story… I stopped and looked around and there was a mixture of tears and sad’ sweet smiles. So I added… if you don’t mind giving me a little storyteller ” freedom” on this magical night… then here is my ending.
Tonight is the night of miracles… it is the night the ANGELS sing… and hope reentered the world … a gift for every man, woman, and child. So… here we go!
It is Christmas Eve and the little boy watches as one passenger, a man, runs past him as fast as he can to make the last flight out in time to get home for Christmas. He doesn’t realize he has dropped a Christmas box .. a present for his family.
Before the father can stop him … and remind him not to stand out-blend in … the little boy has picked up the box and is yelling at the man scurrying to the platform to board… the father can’t catch up… just as the man is checking in the little boy… breathlessly… taps him on the shoulder and gasps … ” You dropped this mister!”
The man’s eyes widen as he sees what it is… a very special Santa gift for his little boy who appears to be about the same age… the father catches up apologizing for his son… but the passenger stares at both the boy and father and says quietly ” Your son saved Christmas for me.”
As the steward is hurrying the man on to the plane he reaches out and puts something in the father’s hand and then disappears inside the plane.
When the father opens his hand… three crisp one hundred dollar bills lie in it. Christmas morning shows the little boy walking out of the airport with his father to their new home they had saved for over two years… they had their down payment for a tiny apartment connected to the company where the father works as a janitor… the little boy is singing loudly and happily!
So until tomorrow Merry Christmas or as my Swedish friends said in their Christmas card that just arrived … God Jul!!!
Kalla, Frida, Kewin and Rikke!
Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh
I remember when I finished my last Christmas Eve Story ( a year ago Christmas Eve) Don Oswald, member of Dorchester Presbyterian, came up to me and said ” Do you know what my favorite Christmas Eve story was … that you ever told? The one about the father-son living at the airport” Thanks Don for reminding me of that beautiful story!
The day I retired from teaching and administration… I remember… carrying all my gifts and personal belongings to the car, along with a huge bouquet of balloons from my surprise retirement party.
Just as I reached for my car keys… a burst of wind snatched the balloons right out of my hand. One of the secretaries was walking to her car and witnessed the incident.. she cried out in dismay ” Oh no! Your beautiful balloons”!
I think she was shocked at my reaction as I watched them float higher and higher in the beautiful blue azure skies… I was laughing hysterically… I felt such a sense of freedom after three decades plus in the classroom and administration.
I knew teaching, the love of my life, would remain in my life… with future undergraduate classes at CSU and the College of Charleston… Carol Poole and I would contract out to work for the State Department traveling around the state presenting sessions on the strength of combining social studies and storytelling… and lastly… taking teachers to historical sites around the country in summers. The best of both worlds! I didn’t know it that afternoon but I felt… free to be a new improved me.
If I had ever doubted that God was in charge of my life… when breast cancer hit in the midst of my new life…I never doubted again. I was terrified I would lose everything trying to pay medical bills but instead I got full social security disability retroactively to the day I was diagnosed with a medically bleak outcome. God provides when we” let it be.”
Today most of us immediately think of The Beatles, especially Paul McCartney, when we ever hear these three words… Let it Be. ( The Story Behind the Story) is powerful.
Paul wrote this song, inspired by his mother, Mary, who died of cancer, when he was only fourteen. It was a turbulent time… the Beatles were breaking up. Paul said he was paranoid and desolate over the disharmony where once creativity, camaraderie and laughter had reigned.
One night his mother Mary appeared to him in a dream … calm and loving… she reassured Paul that all would be right, things would work out, and to ” Just Let it Be.” He woke up and started writing the song to honor his mother in gratitude. Times were changing, and as sad as it seemed going through it… new opportunities were waiting around the corner. Mom was SO right!
Carpool Karaoke with Late Late Show Host-James Cordon ( If you have never listened to this segment shot in Liverpool-… like James… Paul ‘s story behind “Let it Be”will bring you to tears… take some time to pull the video)
The message behind the expression ” Let it Be” teaches us that when we are stuck in an unproductive and unhealthy situation after giving it our all… it is time to distance our self from it and let it go… as sad or scary as it might be… bring closure and then have faith to move forward to brand new opportunities and adventures.
I came across this story that centers around this same central idea.
One day a man decided he wanted to climb the highest mountain in the world-he prepared for years but wouldn’t accept any help from colleagues… he wanted the glory of doing it by himself.
So alone, cold, dark with low visibility he kept climbing. Suddenly his foot slipped and the pull of gravity had him free-falling with no one to help him. His life was flashing before him.
But right before he hit the ground…a rope tied around his waist caught on a branch and had him flaying in mid-air. He cried out ” Help me God!” ” SAVE ME! ” God said He would… but only if He followed what He told him!”
The man heard God’s Voice call out… ” CUT THE ROPE!” Instead of following the directions the man tried holding more tightly to the rope.
When the rescue team found the man the next day his frozen body was still hanging from the rope… six feet above the ground.
So until tomorrow… Remember when we are in personal turmoil… we must listen to God’s advice… it is time to put the present situation away… ” Let it be” … by letting it go we can focus on new horizons waiting on us to discover.
Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh
Love when tulips let go and just spread out and be themselves in their new freedom!
Writers insert many different names for the first peek of the first rays of the morning sun… this daily miracle goes by sunrise, dawn, daylight and in today’s story… daybreak.
There are different reasons for choosing different terms and especially in this true remembrance by Archibald Rutledge… owner and restorer of Hampton Plantation… daybreak best symbolizes this daily reminder of on-going hope and poignant words from a friend.
*** This is the second time I have rewritten this story because it is one of my favorites… the last time was 2013… it is the type of story that pops up in my memory at every sighting of ” daybreak.”
Or maybe the students were right all along… teachers do have eyes in the back of their heads… ( like Janus) so in January our memories of favorite past stories grow stronger.
” It Will Be Daybreak Soon”
Sam Singleton was a boatman at Hampton Plantation and a friend of Archibald Rutledge. .. both of whom shared a love for nature and hunting. Since Sam was the expert on the plantation when it came to the river and boating… he would usually accompany Rutledge on duck hunting expeditions.
This particular time Rutledge and Singleton left home in the middle of the night to paddle down the Santee River to a place called ” Tranquility ” since ” it is as solitary as being in the heart of a wild delta can make it.” They thought they had started at a time which would make their arrival coincide with the first early morning flight and hunt …But things didn’t go the way they expected… as Rutledge continues his tale.
” A southern river at night can be a haunting thing, with great stars hanging like spangles in dark pines and the ancient water oaks fringing the river shores. Baffling to navigate by broad daylight, the Santee at night is mysterious. The perils of the situation was heightened by the craft in which we were traveling.”
” A dugout cypress canoe… it had a certain tendency to roll as had its parent log, utterly lacking the virtue of stability that one relishes in a boat… especially when voyaging through the darkness of a hugh river that seems to be wandering toward eternity.”
” The stars that had been shining when we left home were soon obscured by a fog so dense we could hardly see beyond the bow of the little canoe. Suddenly there was no land visible and the waves that began to roll our canoe were suspiciously like sea waves. The roar of the surf that we had heard for a long time was becoming almost deafening.”
” The fact that the tide had now turned or was about to, confused us still further. The canoe shipped water, gallons of it. The mist blinded us. There was no use avoiding the truth: we were in some serious danger. I told Sam mildly that in case the canoe was swamped we must turn it over and cling to it. How can I ever forget what he replied”
” Never mind, Cap’n,” the humble boatman told me: “It will be daybreak soon.”
” What was there in the plight that night on which we could certainly count? Only one thing there was; the coming of light-daybreak, sunrise! It came in time to save us, though we were really on the brink of the sea when the rosy radiance over the delta disclosed our position to us.
” Yet the real lesson didn’t escape me; It was Sam’s reminding me that it was SURE to come, restoring thus my courage.”
” And even now, after all these years, whenever the shadows are the deepest and most impenetrable, I seem to hear, out of the dim celestial past, the quiet voice of Sam Singleton saying to my doubting and besieged heart, ” Never mind, Cap’n; it will be daybreak soon.”
And so until tomorrow … When going through troubled times always turn to God’s constants ( sunrises and sunsets) for the serenity we seek… God is our constant and compass!
The past two days have been a blur… but happy ones. My nephew , Lee, texted me Tuesday to let me know he would be playing at Wellmore Assisted Living ( Ben’s home) in case if I would like to stop by Wednesday afternoon! I was so excited!
When I saw Lee he was all duded up in a blue velvet jacket. A jazz guitarist hoping he could hit the “right chords” with the wants of this amicable group of Happy Hour residents… excited to hear Ben’s son.
They loved Lee… they started shouting out requests of songs from the past that meant something or brought back memories of someone special to them. Got teary-eyed myself when Lee played ” I’ll be seeing you in all the old familiar places” because that was one of mother’s special songs remembering daddy.
Lee’s fan base wanted him to return the next afternoon… hopefully he can do an encore soon-the music brought such joy to so many faces!
I had already called Mandy and asked her if I could spend the night Wednesday since trying to return to Summerville in 5:00 afternoon traffic is a lesson in futility.
When I arrived the family had a surprise for me… my cute homemade coupon Eva Cate helped make me for a ” free” car detailing BooBoo Christmas gift ( along with Jake) was coming into reality yesterday morning. The detailer was coming to John and Mandy’s house! Beyond excited!!!
As soon as the children left for school I got dressed and was so ready for my little car to get the cleaning it never got. I bought it from Enterprise ( after a year of renting… these cars come up on market…. it had relatively low mileage and the price was right! It was a 2018 Hyundai Tucson and I got it in January 2019… in a few months it will be paid for!!! Never had a major problem… love this car.)
But it never was new in the sense of the ” new” smell of a car… I got it after a quick perfunctory vacuum had gone over it. I was assured yesterday this would be the closest to new I would have ever smelled and seen upclose and personal. True!!!
Anthony showed up an hour early… at 9 and immediately I adored him. He worked ceaselessly for almost four hours. He even put on my newly ordered steering wheel cover! He wouldn’t let me come out until he finished -he wanted it to be a surprise. Check out… before and after…
And then….Inside, Outside and oh those tires… new looking -paws! Anthony…One of the nicest people I have ever met-overcome personal loss and tragedy and is one of the most upbeat positive people around… fun and the hardest worker to boot! Had to get a hug from Anthony before he left! John is looking into him detailing Mandy’s car!
I told him … I wrote a post and was going to give him a shout-out on-line. Tommy and Kaitlyn had recommended him to John and Mandy for my car.
Remember he will come to you… If you live in the Lowcountry area… and you need car detailing done… Call Anthony… 843-826-8450. Just call and talk to him… he sure made my day!!!! ( Kaitlyn mentioned sometimes his son helps out too.)
This whole happy experience yesterday about ” detailing” is pretty foreign to me because , by any stretch of the imagination … I am a big picture kind of gal… details and organization are not normally my strong suit.
I think the problem with creative people is that when we get in our zone… whether talking about writing, painting, building, etc. everything else stops and is not addressed until we have completed whatever creative endeavor we started.
Then we return to normalcy and everyday chores and routines are addressed until the next ” zone” envelopes us.
It is almost 8:00 and I haven’t eaten supper yet or unpacked because I have been lost in memories and embellished feelings and surprises to share with my readers!
So until tomorrow… Help me keep my balance and equilibrium God… between creating and living life… it’s not easy… sometimes I overstep the tightrope. Just catch me please!!
Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh
My new Bohemian sofa throw… brightens January days! As well as bright floral colors…
It is hard for me to believe that it has been almost two years since I finished my story to pass down to my family. It took 52 weeks to complete … answering 52 of the most difficult questions ( including this one) I ever pondered. It really was a gargantuan task of love.
Yesterday… as I was dusting off the coffee table… I casually picked it up… early morning sunlight was sprinkling dancing beams across the cover… as if inviting me to open it again. When I did… it immediately turned to the chapter question… What is Your Definition of Love?
Now I was curious… how in the world did I answer that? I began to read the first paragraphs. My answer actually surprised me … all this time later… instead of critiquing my response… I astonished myself… no doubt… I was not alone when I was answering each weekly question that year. I wrote:
How can it be so hard to define a four-letter term like ” love” … yet it really made me pause and ponder. Feelings are always more difficult to pin-point in a precise definition than concrete facts… because feelings are abstract and invisible… with no perimeters to enclose their meaning. On further thought… love should never be enclosed… it must be free to expand exponentially like the wind and clouds.
This is the best definition I can conjure up after much thought and deliberation. Love is a feeling of belonging in connection with life’s vast relationships between all living things… a feeling that separates life from mere existence.
Think about it if you dare… a world without love. It is really too terrible to contemplate. What if we all came into this world like sea turtle hatchlings… left alone to fend for ourselves along our path in life… with no relationships with any other living creature until we die? To never feel love or security or a connection to anything else in the universe? ( except perhaps the pull of the moon?)
So until tomorrow… enclosed is my vision of a love photograph… surrounded by people who have given me a place of belonging and acceptance… and yes, love… the greatest force on earth!
When I came across this picture …if was as if I had been transported back to Grandmother Wilson’s kitchen and her back screen door… it looks just like it! What nostalgic memories it provokes.
I remember Grandmother ALWAYS screaming at the last grandchild leaving… ” Don’t slam the door!” ( All for naught… it always was slammed. One time , when I was the last one out and the culprit for forgetting to grab the door in time… again… I courageously peeked back in… and was totally surprised.
Grandmother was enjoying her morning coffee ( one of her few idle delights of the day… and did grimace as the door slammed… but then to my shock… a glimmer of a smile escaped her face.) It was as if she sensed that too soon that raggedy screen door (that she could repair with chicken wire and one hand tied behind her in no time flat) would grow silent and she would yearn for the giggles and slams again… followed by “Sorry!”
The on-going heroine Chief Inspector Armand Gamache in the latest Louise Penny murder mystery ( The World of Curiosities) best yet… 👍💗… made this keen observation too after spending time with his family and grandchildren at their lake house.
He wrote: ” The slamming of a screen door-best sound ever! It meant children awake and playing… it meant all was right with the world.”
Upon Gamache and his loving wife-Reine – Marie returning to their home… once the site of imprisoned terror… they held hands… waiting to see what their reaction to the brutal invasion would have on their psyches… instead their home smelled like home… coffee, wood, pine, bee balm, and vases and vases of perennials ( roses and lavender) so soothing to the senses… peace and calm and happy spirits welcomed them back.
If the perennials could survive harsh Canadian landfalls… then they could too and continue blooming in peace.
Today screen doors have gone ” retro” … young couples are using their creativity for continuing projects with the chicken wire. ( Photo cabinets) Hanging Lamps
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle