Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

What a day yesterday was… we kicked into high gear… leaving Edisto around 9 and putting the pedal to the medal to get to Columbia to see our missing Ya Libby! We picked up some ” home” cooking at Lizard’s Thicket … pulling up to Libby’s house!

In the South… if you put four women together with southern cooking around a table… nothing else is needed! The world’s problems are solved!

Libby’s improvement is nothing short of miraculous! With a broken neck and arm she has adapted to everyday normal routines with creativity and iron-grit determination!!! The only problem we had was time ticking away too quickly!

We were so happy to be able to run a much needed errand for Libby before we left… but Libby saved her biggest surprise for us as the finale.

Libby loves playing the piano but with her high neck brace and completely limp broken arm she couldn’t move her fingers. In fact the first thing she did… after weeks of rehab ( finally returning home) was to try to move them on the keys… but to her great disappointment ( after using her good hand to place her other hand on the keyboard) -to try to play some notes… her fingers couldn’t move.

But Libby would not give up… last week she sent the Ya’s a video of her fingers slowly playing a scale. Yesterday for the finale she played loudly, clearly and beautifully ” Oh God… How Great Thou Art”… to a standing ovation , hugs, and tears. Libby is returning! We witnessed nothing short of a miracle!

So until tomorrow… so many good things happened yesterday it is hard to take it all in… Jackson found her mother’s lost ring after two years of thinking it was gone forever ( hidden in a suitcase) Kaitlyn texted me to say United Airlines let her and Tommy travel back home… an Irish bow tie Tommy got for Walsh arrived in time…. and we got to spend time with Libby… the Ya’s reunited… finally!!!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Brooke, as a longtime resident and lover of Edisto, told me that if anybody is in a hurry don’t come to Edisto… it hasn’t been nicknamed ” Ed-i-Slo” for no reason!

So today… Ed-i-slo!!!!

Dear Reader:

What a day yesterday was… we kicked into high gear… leaving Edisto around 9 and putting the pedal to the medal to get to Columbia to see our missing Ya Libby! We picked up some ” home” cooking at Lizard’s Thicket … pulling up to Libby’s house!

In the South… if you put four women together with southern cooking around a table… nothing else is needed! The world’s problems are solved!

Libby’s improvement is nothing short of miraculous! With a broken neck and arm she has adapted to everyday normal routines with creativity and iron-grit determination!!! The only problem we had was time ticking away too quickly!

We were so happy to be able to run a much needed errand for Libby before we left… but Libby saved her biggest surprise for us as the finale.

Libby loves playing the piano but with her high neck brace and completely limp broken arm she couldn’t move her fingers. In fact the first thing she did… after weeks of rehab ( finally returning home) was to try to move them on the keys… but to her great disappointment ( after using her good hand to place her other hand on the keyboard) -to try to play some notes… her fingers couldn’t move.

But Libby would not give up… last week she sent the Ya’s a video of her fingers slowly playing a scale. Yesterday for the finale she played loudly, clearly and beautifully ” Oh God… How Great Thou Art”… to a standing ovation , hugs, and tears. Libby is returning! We witnessed nothing short of a miracle!

So until tomorrow… so many good things happened yesterday it is hard to take it all in… Jackson found her mother’s lost ring after two years of thinking it was gone forever ( hidden in a suitcase) Kaitlyn texted me to say United Airlines let her and Tommy travel back home… an Irish bow tie Tommy got for Walsh arrived in time…. and we got to spend time with Libby… the Ya’s reunited… finally!!!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Brooke, as a longtime resident and lover of Edisto, told me that if anybody is in a hurry don’t come to Edisto… it hasn’t been nicknamed ” Ed-i-Slo” for no reason!

So today… Ed-i-slo!!!!

Dear Reader:

Since today is our trip to Columbia to see the ” one that got left behind” (Libby) this retreat year due …to an unforgettable and unfortunate fall…we decided to take the beach to her… to spend a fun day together picking up lunch and just sharing time together!!!

So then we made another decision to go ahead and have our seafood dinner out last night… trying out a new restaurant… the Edingsville Grocery-Restaurant and Bar!

It was absolutely delicious… we have found a new restaurant that we love! Best deviled crab and shrimp… yummiest hushpuppies that melted in your mouth!!!

The clouds and winds whipped up but by the time we left the restaurant…one more time the late late afternoon sun was breaking through! The owner, Robert Hughes, came over to the table and we had connections from almost every town in the state… a small wonderful world! Especially with Brooke …they knew many of the same people!

On the way home we passed the famous hanging mattress! (Better known as the ” Mattress Tree of Edisto Island.” )

I remembered part of the story but found more information this time around! It is located beside SC-174 ( highway leading into Edisto) named for that particular bend in the road… ” Mattress Point.” It hangs down from a beautiful live oak tree. And for many annual vacation renters over the decades the sighting of the hanging mattress meant … ” We’re almost there!”

The original owner was Frank ” Tish” Gadsden who created the idea when his wife kicked him out of the house after a drinking binge! But soon his hanging mattress drew so much attention he charged 5 bucks a photo and later ten dollars and a pack of smokes!

Some old friends set up a card table nearby to play cards in the chilly off/seasons … keeping warm from the fire burning from an old oil drum.

For awhile after his death in 2009 -it seemed that this nostalgic landmark was gone but later family members reconstructed it and today decorate it for special holidays!

Today the mattress still stands…a sentimental landmark to many!

So until tomorrow…” In the wilderness is the preservation of the world” -Thoreau

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Please keep prayers coming for Harriett and Regina… will continue to update you on their health status! 🙏🏻💗

We also need prayers that both Tommy and Kaitlyn get to leave Shannon Airport tonight… to return home! 🙏🏻💗

The tulips we gave Brooke for her birthday are halfway opened in bloom and we are halfway through our retreat! SLOW DOWN TIME!!!!!!!!

Dear Reader:

Yesterday morning I nostalgically walked over to the beach to take some photos and then run some errands … I met one other young woman out walking early but we were the only ones out… the wind, clouds, and threatening rain kept others away.

We had a nice time chatting and she offered to take a photo of me after I had taken some of her… as the sun started peeking in and out -it was her last day on Edisto Island.

After I grabbed some groceries… and some trinkets… I headed “home.” On the back street ( Jungle Road) nature is at its most beautiful… while turning onto Dawhoo… our favorite street -housing our favorite retreat!

The nicest thing about being with old friends is that the weather plays a very small role in our enjoyment of our annual retreat… ( unless the power goes out! ) Talking, laughing, and reminiscing is the major focal point! We can’t seem to get enough!

And if we do… we are avid murder mysteries crime plots and comedy ( movie) television watchers -we leave time to scream and laugh together out loud. We admitted that watching television by ourselves just isn’t as much fun!

Oops! The other most favorite part of being together… EATING! We keep it simple-one night out to eat seafood and the rest sandwiches( pimento cheese, chicken salad, BLT’s, salads, casseroles, barbecue… you get the picture!

Last night was hot dogs… they never taste better than at the beach!

So until tomorrow…Even though we reminisce a lot … to tell you the truth … we wouldn’t ” turn back time” if we could… we have earned this time to be together at this exact moment in time … so what the Ya Ya’s have put together … let no one put asunder”

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Surprise birthday for Brooke Wednesday night-our trailblazer into the next year!!!

And our “New Jersey Jackson” is here! Hallelujah!!! 👍💗

Dear Reader:

Yesterday as Brooke and I talked about our feelings reflecting on the amazing years we have spent at Edisto Island… Brooke came up with the perfect response and title today…Renewal, Reflection,and Realization.

From our first reunion in 2004…here we are 18 years later. A lot has changed in all our lives over this period of time… happy times… children’s marriages, arrival of grandchildren, sad times… deaths of spouses and parents… serious health ( life-altering) diagnoses but through it all… we have known we had each other.

Now these days…renewal… not just annual physical presence for gathering …but soul presence is needed more than ever! … no pretentiousness because we know each other so well. The one place and the one group where acceptance is unconditional…

We realize, especially recently, how precious and sacred life is… we can never take it for granted… we have all experienced health scares and fortunately pulled through the challenges with an even greater appreciation for all the blessings we have been given!

So until tomorrow… Just pure gratitude for life… for friends… forever!

Today is my favorite day…. Winnie the Pooh

Let me take a moment to thank you for your positive and encouraging comments on Tommy and Kaitlyn’s situation -it has vastly improved from yesterday… Tommy got some doctor prescription medicine from “Walsh’s Pharmacy” 🤣 and a government note allowing them to return this weekend! With that stress off… they were finally able to get outside together… and hopefully can ” seize” the day ( 3 ) left! Time for their fifth anniversary!

Harriett said the meeting with the neurologist went well and she is taking each step as it comes using her trusted HOPE calendar to check off each procedure. She thanks you for all the prayers!

Regina… I had a note from a long-time Chapel of Hope reader who writes a post of her own… a wonderfully talented teacher, spiritual leader, writer and amazing woman of faith-Isaiah46minstries.

Regina is presently in the hospital with an obstruction of the small intestine-doctors hoping they can clear it before Friday or they will have to perform surgery-Regina is praying they won’t find a repeat of colon cancer … she has had previously. Please put Regina in your prayers and God’s care! 🙏🏻 Thank you readers!

*** Jackson was supposed to fly in at 1:00 yesterday but, like what happened to Tommy and Kaitlyn… ( it is now 2:30) and Jackson is still stuck in Philly on the tarmac …another plane with mechanical problems. Must be contagious…Landing time… 4:00. We are so ready to pick her up!

” All I need is room enough to lay a hat and a few friends.”

Dear Reader:

Yesterday morning I was watering my plants for the last time before leaving for Edisto Island…it is that time again! Ya Ya reunion! I spent last night at Rest In Peace with Brooke… so we could drive together to pick up Jackson today at the airport. Libby will not be able to join us this time but we will be communicating throughout the week! Leave no Ya behind!

That beautiful sweet scent of Confederate Jasmine always makes me smile with satisfaction… if they sold it in a bottle… I would purchase one… because the delightful scent reminds me of home, my gardens, and love!

At the beach a whole other array of scents, equally appealing, fill my being… salt air, the marshes and the lovely breezes…

Scents and smells are our greatest memory senses… a particular scent can take us back in time to a particular place… in a fraction of a second. With homes… the scent is usually one of culinary delights.

This sweet story popped up from the year 2015 from my post… and it would have been a great Mothers’ Day story… but then everyday is a good day for a mother’s story!

” The Smell of Home”

A difficult choice had to be made by one family… due to some economic setbacks… one mother and father had to make the hard decision to move to a smaller home in a new location.

The older children would have to share rooms and the cramped conditions were nothing like the beautiful spacious home they left behind. The transition wasn’t going well for the children. They wanted their old friends and schools back.

On the first day of school… after getting the tearful children settled in their classes, the mother sat down and rubbed her aching head. Her face actually hurt from the forced smile she had plastered on it. ” Life is tough” she muttered to herself.

Eventually things would settle down , as the children adjusted, but she wished she could think of an inexpensive way to do something on a tight budget.

Suddenly she had an idea! Chocolate chip cookies! It was a yummy familiar smell to the children on special days. She actually had all the ingredients but when she pulled out her fairly new mixer… a burnt smell filled the kitchen… the cord was severed!

She had no money to replace it but suddenly remembered an old hand mixer her mother used and she had kept it for sentimental reasons-she scurried to the attic and finally… there it was!

When she first turned it on…nothing happened… she was almost in tears.. but then she remembered her mother had to jiggle the cord sometimes… it worked! She squealed with excitement! ” Thanks Mom” she whispered.

When the children arrived home the smiles on their faces said it all… the youngest child cried out ” It smells just like home!” Excitedly the children talked about their new friends as they drank their milk and ate the cookies!

Everything was going to be just fine. God and grandmother would see to that… with a ” wink.”

So until tomorrow… please keep my ” Pink ” sister in breast cancer -Harriett Edwards in your prayers as she takes on cancer once again ( third appearance) this time in the brain. Prayers for her visit with the neurologist! You and God can fight this again Harriett!!! The whole team is cheering you on!!

Update on Kaitlyn and Tommy… not feeling great but not terrible… they are to talk to a doctor today. Kaitlyn shared a thought she wrote down in her journal… a powerful thought… taking on disappointment over this failed vacation.

Kaitlyn’s pen says: perfectly imperfect. Her thought: We don’t get to choose our circumstances, but we can choose our response!”

” Thatta” girl Kaitlyn!!! 💗💪

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Vickie is getting my mail and taking care of the gardens while I am gone-she even made chocolate chip cookies for me to take to the retreat! What a neighbor! What a friend!!

Dear Reader:

George Bernard Shaw made the observation that ” Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

It has taken me a lifetime to understand this comment… because the popular jargon is always about people finding themselves… like perhaps a special place or event will show us the magic mirror that defines us… but now I realize that we have to take God’s creation in us and keep creating… with His continual guidance!

What prompted this neuron of thought was a contest to break a record of sorts putting Mrs Potato Head back together again on a talk show… creating a popular figure.

I then started remembering the benchmarks in my lifetime… sometimes in the form of a person, a mentor, sometimes an event or circumstance that forced me to see myself and the world differently than before…

And now at the age I am … all my prayers for the type of life I wanted to live are still coming true… I finally have the precious time to contemplate life and react accordingly. When I look in the mirror today… I see a contented woman … no longer scurrying through life but instead filled with wonder, curiosity, and gratitude!

One benchmark I remember was funny but accurate. Many years ago…Tommy started feeling bad at school… my school… so I told the school nurse just to send him to my classroom for the last few minutes of the day… when I could then take him home.

Tommy was in sixth grade and I taught eighth so I found him an empty desk and went on with the lesson. On the way home… Tommy declared candidly… you’re nicer as a teacher! I started laughing because he was right.

Poor teachers’ kids get their teacher-moms back at the end of a long day … after maintaining discipline and patience… so by the time I was running my kids to all their afternoon activities…my patience registered zero on the mother-scale. It had all been used up by any unruly students.

Typical scenario… one or more children had forgotten once again to put their baseball shoes and socks in the car or football cleats or t-shirts… I would start into my tirade because now everyone would be late once again for practice.

But I do remember Tommy’s comment showing me that I had created a certain teacher personae that didn’t carry over into other facets of my life. It was just one creation of me but not all of me… that takes a lifetime!!!

So until tomorrow… Thank you God for Your constant revelations …molding us into the original Creation You intended!

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Kaitlyn updated me that both she and Tommy are feeling okay… Tommy always has a harder time if a bug or virus settles in his lungs/ chests but overall doing well… she told me there is a lighthouse path around Dingle Town that she has walked that is just beautiful… I am sending mother’s prayers to both Kaitlyn and Tommy that they improve quickly and can still enjoy the beauty around them.

Dear Reader:

Well my Mother’s Day was a mixture of pleasure , happiness, contentment… and then unexpected news … always expect the unexpected in life… right?

Walsh, Mollie and the kids all came over to Mandy and John’s for Mother’s Day brunch… an annual tradition… we were missing Tommy and Kaitlyn but hoping Tommy was feeling better… had come down with some kind of bug but he and Kaitlyn were certainly having fun…

The weather had turned cool and overcast Sunday but that didn’t stop the kids from wanting to jump in the pool after a fabulous brunch. And they did!!!

On the way home I stopped by Daniel Island to visit brother Ben and leave his Pepsis and cheese crackers… he proudly showed me a picture of him taken earlier acknowledging veterans at Wellmore!

I noticed a text from Kaitlyn but couldn’t read it coming home from Wellmore. When I read it … I was completely caught off guard. They had both tested positive for Covid… as I was trying to digest the message… Tommy called me from Ireland to wish me Happy Mother’s Day! The first thing out of my mouth was… ” What happened to the ” Luck of the Irish” … Covid?

Kaitlyn was asymptomatic but Tommy got hit hard initially… he thought he had gotten the flu… but thank goodness he was feeling much improved yesterday … they were glad they had gotten all the protection they could with vaccinations months ago… now they have to sweat out being clear by Saturday in order to board the plane home!

Tommy said he and Kaitlyn were planning on lots of outdoor activities… long hikes ,etc. I told him to start looking for four leaf clovers each day… along the way.

The up’s and down’s of motherhood… don’t go away just because our children are adults… not until we mothers take our last breath. Mothers are just wired that way!

So until tomorrow… ” But one thing for sure… no matter how organized we are, or how well we plan… we can always expect the unexpected… such is life.”

Today is my favorite day! Winnie the Pooh

Happy Mother’s Day to Everyone! Hope you had a lovely one!

Dear Reader:

On this Mother’s Day in May of 2022, I couldn’t help but think of the young mothers giving birth in Ukraine as this senseless attack on their country’s freedom continues to play out on the news for us.

But for the Ukrainian people their lives and dreams for their futures have been turned upside down… especially their expectant new mothers.

Yesterday as I read article after article on the seemingly impossible conditions women, especially mothers and soon-to -be mothers, are facing by themselves ( husbands fighting) I found myself shuddering at their stark reality.

Yesterday we talked about Robert Frost’s observation, that despite everything… life goes on …one mother’s story concludes with her wish and prayer that her newborn little girl can simply live through this terrible on-slaught on Ukraine.

One woman’s story began by saying that just a few months ago she was dreaming of getting a new red dress to wear after her baby’s delivery to celebrate being a new mother for the first time and happy their country was free with lessening restrictions from Covid and she could take her baby to the park in her new stroller. Little did she know how quickly her simple dreams would be dashed.

Then everything changed in February with the first Russian attack-their apartment and stroller damaged beyond repair and she never wanted to see the color red again… she had already seen too much bloodshed.

In another story Yuliya spent two days traveling on foot, alone, across fields and forests to find the Kyiv’s Regional Prenatal Center. The medical staff was working under intense pressure delivering babies despite the shelling and unstable power supply.

After delivering her little girl Yuliya was staying because she had no home to return to-so she, along with the medical staff, assumed multiple roles… cook, maid, doctor and surgeon assistant.

UNICEF is their one saving salvation-delivering desperately needed supplies.

Yuliya concludes her story with her powerful simple wish… ” I want us to stay alive… I want peace.” Every mother’s wish and prayer… especially in Mother’s Day!

So until tomorrow… Let us take time today to say a prayer for life, for love, for mothers.

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

And for those of us who have lost their mothers remember…

Congratulations to Vikki … graduating from the College of Charleston Masters Program ( Urban Planning and Management) with honors …on Mother’s Day weekend! (Look what your mom did Rhodes… and while expecting a little brother or sister for you!!!)

Dear Reader:

Haven’t most of us experienced that same thought Robert Frost expressed so eloquently? When my younger brother David died… I remember it was early March and daffodils were just popping up-a pretty day for anything … but… my younger brother’s funeral.. two months short of graduation. As crowds of friends and family gathered to express condolences… I remember one expression repeated several times… along the lines of ” It will be alright… ” life goes on.”

Life goes on. How? I thought… mother had lost her husband at 31, then her left hand to bone cancer… then thought she had lost Ben, my older brother, when she got a MIA telegram on Mother’s Day… changed to wounded when they found him (and what was left of his platoon) and now her ” baby” David was gone to a genetic disease (Marfan’s Syndrome). I was so angry ” Why God?” When is enough enough?”

I was so worried about mother… how could she go on… yet I watched this amazing woman pick up the pieces of her heart, one more time, and follow in God’s footsteps.

So you see why I don’t have to wait until Mother’s Day to remember mom… With my mom… every day was and is Mother’s Day in my memory… in my heart ! What a gift God gave me in that courageous mentor of a woman …

So until tomorrow … Life does go on and if we are really lucky we take those who understood this with us in our memories and never stop living life to the fullest!

Mother attending my May Day festival my senior year at Erskine! 💗

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

So happy to see Tommy and Kaitlyn trying out so many new adventures in Dingle.

Life does go on with plants too… the deer left two buds on one hibiscus and they both bloomed ( Take that “deer”!)

And look … finally the Lilies are starting to bloom!