Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Yesterday… 100 Rainbow Road, felt like a train station where friends, surprise gifts, and unexpected memories popped up to turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary one!

It started with a book trade between Anne and myself… I texted to let her know I had just finished two novels I thought she would enjoy. Anne said she had a surprise book for me and would drop it off on her way to work at the artisan center.

So around 9:00 Anne arrived bringing me a surprise – a recently published book -Drayton Hall Stories: A Place and It’s People by a mutual friend of ours-another middle school teacher…Sue Anne McDaniel’s husband- George McDaniel, retired executive director of Drayton Hall.

Anne and I, along with Lorraine White ( Music teacher at Alston Middle School) wrote and won a humanity state grant to introduce eighth graders to the Gullah Culture. We agree it was the best experience we all had in our teaching career. We went to the Penn Center, ( once a school for freedmen to learn to read) Beaufort, museums, took the Charleston Gullah Tour, art exhibits, learned basket weaving and had the children write poetry about colors that define them and construct Story People that revealed their dreams and aspirations . ( My daughter Mandy took on the project of the Story People ” mannequins ” ) *Enlarge

Anne saved hers and sent me a picture of it!

Anne created a ” red” outfit to symbolize the boldness she wanted to acquire-wearing bright bold colors… an exaggerated ear for listening closer to those around her and she chose this MLK Jr quote from the Penn Center as her life mantra.

“Men hate each other because they fear each other…

They fear each other because they don’t know each other

They don’t know each other because they can’t communicate with each other… because they are separated from each other” ( Dr Martin Luther King, Jr)

The Gullah Connection project ended at Drayton Hall Plantation where the students shared their new experiences with skits, Gullah dances, songs, art basket displays , poetry readings and Gullah cuisine brought by the students and families served outdoor buffet/ picnic style! We can never think George McDaniel enough for opening up Drayton Hall for educational learning centers and ” living history ” at its best!

As I showed Anne my gardens she stopped and snapped the title photo of me in front of the giant gardenia bush… as we walked farther along the garden path the strong sweet scent of the gardenias mixed with the airy Confederate jasmine growing on the picket fences. I wanted every sense to be present when I imagined my sanctuary and it has them all!

After Anne left Susan called to say she had been practicing making boiled peanuts-would I like to try some? Would I??? Yes, Yes, Yes… been craving some! ( Susan… they were perfectly out of this world) We had some wonderful catch up time… after she left I was watching more of the pomp and ceremony across the pond. Some women were modeling their latest fashionable hats… the young gals, especially were modeling “fascinators” … I went looking for the adorable breast cancer fascinator Mollie bought me years ago when the girls attended a luncheon to raise money for cancer research! I stuck my Boo hat on and ate peanuts … a lovely lunch as I watched all the British activities!

So until tomorrow… Friends, surprises, and visits can suddenly turn an ordinary day completely around… leaving a smile pasted on our faces as we fall asleep!

Today is my favorite day/Winnie the Pooh

A special thank you to Tommy and Walsh for taking Uncle Ben and Butch ( Kaitlyn’s dad) golfing Thursday… Ben was beyond excited… his description of heaven… even on a hot day! It was just nice being around family!

Dear Reader:

If you were like me… I spent a bulk of time changing television stations yesterday between the happy upbeat Queen’s Jubilee and the sad but determined Olena Zelensky-wife of Ukrainian President Zelensky -interview with Robin Roberts.

As the one hundredth day of war emerges Olena Zelensky… said giving up any of their country’s land will do nothing to end this war of aggression-conceding territory won’t stop the war because this ” aggressor” will not stop at that… he would continue pressing, launching steps forward… with more and more attacks.

I thought of this paradoxical riddle: If we did love everything and everyone in the world… would we still need boundaries? Truth is… boundaries don’t define love. Love is limitless!

One paradox on love and war that should be a central thought for all of us-in war or peace is: God is the only One to whom we can surrender without losing ourselves.

Olena sure hasn’t ” surrendered” hope as she wants children back in schools in the fall and their people even closer and more united than ever in their love and gratitude of country.

So until tomorrow… one country’s jubilation over a beloved leader of seventy years…the ” Queen” …one country’s determination to fight aggression and tyranny under the courage of a new untested leader-President Zelensky who is showing true grit-a combination of ( John Wayne/ Winston Churchill) Ukrainian style!!

Even my deer-assaulted hibiscus is back with a vengeance… five blooms and four buds bursting at the seams! All life-plant and animal- have daily struggles to overcome to survive.

Dear Reader:

Memorial Day… Kaitlyn and Tommy gave me a beautiful gemstone bracelet from Ireland! I haven’t taken it off since… so special! But just as memorable was this compilation of Irish folk tales given to me also by them..,that has kept me reading non-stop since returning home Tuesday.

One tale in particular caught my attention because a popular cafe Tig Aine in County Kerry ( Graigue) is located nearby … the origin setting of the tale.

Almost fifty years ago Micheal and Aine Ui Dhubhslaibe bought and rebuilt a ” ruined” house from Mary Shuilleabhain . She told the couple ” I”ll sell you my old house, but a house is no good without a field… so I’ll give you ” Field of the Menhir” too.

The field is also known as Gortna Sprice- which means field of the projecting rock. …true to its name, a standing stone of almost 1.5 m high, stands as a boundary marker overlooked by the sea. north of Clogher Head. The stone is of unknown age, it’s origin lost in the mists of time,and many such stones-have their own story.

So Micheal and Aine bought the ruin house and were given the field with the standing stone. They opened the cafe Tig Aine in 1975 and finally moved it to its present-day location in 2007. Both have remembered the one condition Mary had stipulated ” Whatever you do, don’t interfere with the standing stone! Because that’s the place where the fairies meet.

It is well-known in Ireland that it is best not to mess with fairies, such as foolishly removing standing stones-to do so has often lead to disastrous results for the reckless offender!

Aine concludes that she calls the fairies Na Daoibe Maithe meaning good people so as not to offend them. Just like she entertains tourists in their cafe… she lets the fairies meet and gather on their standing stone.

The fairies are drawn to the cafe’s summer songfests and parties and many a customer has cited seeing the twinkling fairies … if they land on your shoulder and leave pixie dust…one will have good fortune and happiness!

Lately I feel like my house is starting to fall in on me with one problem after another ( plumbing, electricity, and broken appliances.) So yesterday I decided to try changing my luck. I moved some of the garden fairies to my entrance garden rock Vickie gave me… am hoping I will get sprinkled with some magical pixie dust soon- very soon or pixie gold.

So until tomorrow… Let’s pick June as the month we will be kind to ourselves. Finally … read that book we keep putting off because we don’t have the time or travel or gather with friends and loved ones… let June be your memory-maker month… keep a look-out for fairies and find a standing rock for the fairies to gather! And always check your shoulders for pixie dust!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Jake sure kicked off his summer in a big way-braces! Rainbow braces!

Need a fresh sweet smell… freshly cut gardenias do the job! Best diffuser around!

Check out this menu at Tig Aine (that also has an art gallery adjacent to the cafe)

Dear Reader:

This will be a short post today because I had a l-o-n-g day yesterday at Eva Cate’s Graduation Day Ceremony . Remember I told you I was packing a lot of Kleenex for the tears I knew I would shed… and I did as they sang their last song but honestly I needed the Kleenex more for pure perspiration… I mean serious heavy ” sweat” running down my face.

Time did ” expand ” as the sun rose higher in the sky over our packed lawn chairs… on a squishy terrain where my white pants turned to speckled gray. I tried ” mind over matter” imaging and remembered some high school graduation ( I recently caught on the news) that took place in Colorado amid a freak snowstorm … for just five minutes I would have traded places.

But look at that face? What we do for love? This was my first grandchild whom I feared I wouldn’t live long enough to see born… coming two years following heavy cancer treatments. And now time has contracted and I can’t remember a time when she and my four other grandchildren were not in my life.

Since I was a middle school teacher and simultaneously a parent raising three children who all attended the middle school where I taught… I am well aware of the pitfalls and joys of the ” Wonder Years” … the eye-rolling, exaggerated sighs, and comments like ” Mom… you can just drop me off here ( two blocks before my middle school) while I would try not to break out laughing… ” Hum.. have you forgotten I teach here too?”

I wouldn’t want to repeat those days again but a sense of humor goes a long way during these trying years! The awkward middle school years are painful but a necessary bridge to cross to self-exploration and finally acceptance.

So until tomorrow… School is never out… the final bell might ring, summer holidays and graduations might come and go, expand and contract… but until we take our last breath… we live, thus we learn!

Guess What? Today is the first day of June… unofficial summer has arrived and you know what else it means? ” Rabbit! Rabbit!” May June bring you pauses of pleasure and fun memorable time with loved ones!

Today is my favorite day. Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Hopefully, as many of you are reading this post today… I am watching Eva Cate dance the Maypole Dance and then receive her diploma at the fifth grade graduation ceremonies. Needless to say… I will be loaded down with Kleenex!

Sunday… as I was sitting by my old computer… something fluttered down and landed at my feet. It was a letter I had saved -given to me by my neighbors and longtime friends-Sam and Donna Clark. Curious… I opened it and began to read:

” These cuttings we left are for your garden if you would like to use them. They are Stokesia or Stokes Asters. We were given a few of them by a friend who has now passed on. He gave them to us in the Spring before Dana and Mandy ( our daughters were in the same class) graduated from high school.

On the afternoon of their graduation the flowers suddenly were all in full bloom for a graduation ” get together” that our family had at the house. Since that time we have preferred to think of them as ” Graduation Day Flowers.”

I glanced at the date on the letter… 4-14-18…four years ago! It took a couple of years for the plants to grow… last year I had a couple of blooms but this year they are proudly displaying their full beauty!

And it certainly has dawned on me that it is graduation day for Eva Cate, Mandy’s daughter, from elementary school and once again the Stokes Asters are in full bloom. Donna and Sam are right… it is the ” Graduation Day Flower.” It is also a treasured memory of friendship, kindness, and everlasting legacies!

So until tomorrow… I hope we all continue to learn from life because life is the greatest teacher of all… a lesson all our graduates will learn… following their life’s path.

Today is my favorite day! Winnie the Pooh

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day… I love flower reminders!

Dear Reader:

Last Thursday as I left Daniel Island after visiting Ben… the roads leading in and off the island were lined with American flags in preparation for Memorial Day. Thanks to the island’s active Exchange Club the displays of history, remembrance, and gratitude line the small community’s streets and its ” Field of Honor ” dedicated to honoring hometown heroes.

Around 650 flags are put out on display… the club raises money by selling flags for residents for $30 as well as offering families a chance to buy ” honor banners” hung from light poles to remember first responders and service members. The money goes as donations to various community causes.

Flag etiquette is also taught and encouraged. The group wants to educate its residents on the protocol and ethics of caring for the Star -Spangled Banner. One rule that is often ignored is to make sure a worn flag is not displayed. It must be disposed of properly.

One member of the Exchange Club came up with an idea to make flag disposal easy on residents. He purchased an old newspaper klosk for people to leave their tattered and worn flags in . He then takes them to be ceremoniously burned at a crematorium.

Personally I love the reason why John Logan , a veteran of the Civil War, chose May 30 to honor fallen comrades for ” Decoration Day” ( original name for Memorial Day-decorating gravesites to honor fallen soldiers.) It was simply because, he said, flowers would be in full bloom during this time.

As a gardener May is the most beautiful month of all for flowering plants of every kind… before long the hot summer sun will do its damage but in May hope is alive and thriving!

So until tomorrow…today on this unofficial start of the summer season… let’s literally take a minute at 3:00 PM to remember a newer tradition -the national moment of silence. Americans are asked to pause for one minute to pay tribute to America’s fallen soldiers. ( This became official after the passage of the National Moment of Remembrance Act in 2000)

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Look at my hibiscus making a comeback from getting nibbled by the deer last month… way to go Hibiscus!

And boy… do I have sweet-smelling gardens walking down the garden path… two scents competing-the Confederate Jasmine and finally my gardenias just started blooming after last Friday’s heavy rains.

Happy Memorial Day! Have fun and celebrate but do pause to remember the true reason behind Memorial Day! Gratitude to honor fallen soldiers for our freedom to gather today!

Dear Reader:

Lately with all the shortages in our lives, baby formula, affordable gas and groceries, construction needs… the list could go on.. the term ” limitless” is more appealing than ever.

Normally we picture ” limitless” with other terms like ” vastness ” … as in space , our solar system, and the oceans. But the best connective term of all is our “limitless love” to all those special people in our lives.

Last Friday GMA 3 decided, after the tragic shooting in Texas, that we needed a full hour of ” Faith Friday” messages of hope and encouragement. Each speaker, author, or theologian sent out many words of comfort but one remained in my head… waiting to be slowly digested … while the others got swallowed whole.

The speaker shared a revelation she had one day while visiting a poor village in Kenya… where she spotted two women, with large water jars on their heads, slowly walking side by side to a well outside the village, to bring back precious water to their families and fellow villagers. What an arduous task the American observed.

But then as the jeep slowed down she heard the light tinkle of laughter and merriment between the two friends. Apparently the opportunity to spend time together each morning brought such joy that it eliminated any resentful feelings of performing this hardship ritual each day.

Now the American started observing the other daily tasks that everyone in the village was doing …connected together in their collective morning duties to hunt or gather or cook or make clothing… they were connected as one entity in order to accomplish what was needed to provide the essentials of life… food, water, clothing and shelter.

And they were happy! …the human need to feel connected to others took precedence over individual wants. Everyone depended on each other and there was no sense of isolation or being left out of society.

Sadly it has been said that this generation in America is the loneliest generation in history. Doesn’t that make you sad… and we wonder why we have so many disturbed young people who seem lost with nothing to guide them.

Our children grow up dependent on material things and technology over human relationships… trying to find happiness in relationships that don’t include other people. Our children’s minds might be stimulated but their hearts are functioning far below a healthy level and awkwardness in social situations increases with age, along with resentment at not feeling they fit in anywhere.

Barbara Streisand sang it best… ” People, People Who love People… are the Happiest People in the World.”

So until tomorrow… Let’s start teaching our children that we are ALL connected under the sun and God loves us all together and wants us to live, work, and love together. We are all spiritual beings in physical form .

And even when we can’t physically be together we are all connected in spirit.

Friday Brooke braved the elements to see her ” Boogie Boy” …her handsome five year-old grandson, Caleb, graduate from five year old kindergarten. And his Award was: for Bravery-he stands up against bullying-does not follow the crowd. He is ” El Valiente!” We are all so proud of you Caleb! ( Hurry up Caleb and run for Congress! Your country needs you! 💪)

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

For those of you who live in the Summerville area … you have already guessed that there was no Maypole Dance at James B Edwards Elementary yesterday. And the outdoor picnic for the graduating fifth graders had to be curtailed too excluding water games( though rain water games would have worked ) but indoor movies, Publix sandwiches ( thanks Mandy) and the ice cream truck came through.

Not exactly as planned in preparation this past month …but then the odds of anything going as planned, as we all know, is well out of our power to control. The kids were disappointed but took it pretty well… so instead of the Maypole Dance dress… it was shorts…for an outdoor turned indoor picnic!

As Eva Cate was getting ready to leave for school she hugged me and said ” Sorry Boo Boo you wasted your time coming over for the Maypole Dance.”

I looked at Eva Cate and exclaimed ” Wasted my time? Wasted my time?” Now if I had stayed home… that might be true … instead I spent it with you…and Jake and your mom and dad… all the people I love spending time with… so how could that possibly be wasting time?”

” I got to paint your fingers and toes to match your dress, giggle through a Hallmark lovey/dovey movie with you, eat Bessimers barbecue and warm chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven and even sleep close together in the den on our adjacent sofas! ”

” I got to see Jake’s first grade end of the year award… Jake the Snake Award for always stretching his mind to learn something new.

” And later Jake told me about a glass lizard that was out in front of the house that looked just like a snake … didn’t have legs but did have slits for his ears and protruding eyes. And I told Jake I thought I would have to live to be a 100 to know as much as he did at 7! Jake then showed me the funny photographs the class took of everyone on the 100th day of school… predicting what each classmate would look like…

I hugged Eva Cate and Jake good-bye and thanked them for all the shared fun and new knowledge I learned in one overnight visit! Nothing wasted… everything gained!

So until tomorrow… ” Good enough is good enough” when we have given something our all only to to come up short due to circumstances beyond our control!

*** We have ONE more shot at being able to see the Maypole Dance… Tuesday! They are adding the school’s decades long Maypole Dance Tradition to the fifth grade formal graduation ceremony! Fingers crossed and mothers and grandmothers’ whispered prayers upward… sunny skies prevail!

One of the graduation gifts for Eva Cate is a Year of Possibilities magnetic Kelly Rae Robert’s angel …Eva can put thoughts and notes on…in her first year of middle school!

Today is my favorite day! Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I headed over to Mt Pleasant with a stop-over on Daniel Island to visit Ben. Everything at school is winding down… next Tuesday is graduation for fifth graders which I will be attending but today is supposed to be the fifth grade Maypole Dance and subsequent picnic… I say ” supposed” because the weather forecast is pretty tricky… we can only hope the rains hold off until after the morning activities.

Watching my grandchildren getting excited about summer vacation… camps of every interest… surfing, church, art, sports… there is something for everyone along with vacations. … brings back wonderful memories!

Still…. children love catching fireflies, playing hide and seek and enjoying summer with its seemingly endless sunlight … far into the night. A most magical aura surrounds these golden days of childhood- innocence and delight. I pray it remains in their memories forever. I pray it remains safe.

Sometimes I , half-kiddingly, believe, part of me, went into teaching so I would never have to give up summers. I remember on the last day of school… telling my students to line up after me to prepare for the final bell. The stampede out always reminded me of an old western movie!

When I was little… many of my summers were spent ( at least partially) in Laurens with Grandmother Wilson. She always had a section of land behind the cotton crop ready each summer to grow corn and tomatoes. To this very day… a juicy tomato sandwich and corn on the cob is my favorite summer meal! I admittedly share a summer love affair with tomatoes and corn.

What children don’t realize when school closes down each summer is that every ending just sets up a new beginning with a new middle… the circle of life. Each cycle is connected to all three components.

So until tomorrow… Our hearts go out to the latest senseless atrocity of violence ( school shooting) recently in the news … There is a message that says ” Nothing is wasted and everything shapes us.” But in this incident I see innocent children’s lives wasted and instead of this repeat horror shaping us into action… we see ” politics as usual” pointing fingers and sidetracking answers out of fear of loss of power and money. A story as old as man himself… will we never learn? “

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

In 1965 The Loving’ Spoonful had a top hit with their number one chart billboard song… ” Do you believe in Magic?” If you can still remember the first refrain … it added ” like in a young girl’s heart…

Young girls do still have romanticized notions of love and magic when it comes to romance and moonlight..but you know what… this old(er) gal ( me) still believes in magic too! For those of you who believe in possibilities…guess what you believe in magic! You are a certified Magician/ -Possibilitarian!

Even though social worker turned artist, Kelly Rae Roberts, actually formed the first ” club” and Possibilitarian Manifesto…the term “possibilitarian ” was coined originally by Norman Vincent Peale. He wrote:

Become a Possibilitarian: No matter how dark things in life might seem to be or even actually are… raise your sights and see possibilities-always look for them for they are always there!

The thing I most seek out being a Possibilitarian is the deep realization and truth that no matter how bad circumstances might get… life remains oh so precious to us all!

As our blog family has been cheering Harriett Edwards and Danny Baker on as they each round the final corner of their last week of treatments, Harriett/radiation and Danny-chemo -the Ya’s have continued fighting quite a range of challenging health situations themselves but as magic would have it… we were all able to text each other yesterday with good news from each of our individual doctor consultations… each text filled with hearts, prayers, and happy faces.

Of course my name for my roaming health challenge nemesis remains the same… ” little c.” Never Capitalize cancer or allude to it as ” Big C” because that shows respect …and for all is us ” cancer thrivers” cancer ain’t gittin’ NO respect from us… it’s just a big bully who likes to keep circling its victims.

So until tomorrow…

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

It made me a little sad BUT…