Embrace The Suck

"The art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." Havelock Ellis A note from ME: I am participating in a tele-retreat by Alana Sheeren . One of the exercises for last week was to "pick a book that inspires you, open it to any page, read a passage your eyes fall on until it feels complete. Spend some time journaling about what resonated with you."   In general, unless I'm feeling contrary, I'm a rule follower of the highest order. I don't veer too far from the instructions. This time, however, I didn't have a book close by, so I relied on the computer.  Everywhere I went, the subject seemed to be about "broken-ness."  I shared some of my thoughts about feeling broken and the parts not quite fitting together the same way with the group. Today another topic I'm familiar with came at me from the universe.  Letting go.  I feel like I've been letting go of something all my life. I consider letting go a

"There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming  relationship, communion or company  than a good marriage."  Martin Luther I've had marriage on my mind a lot lately. My daughter tied the knot on the 10th, and I just got home from a wedding held in our church. I think it may be the first wedding I've attended there since I arrived back in Jax 17 years ago. (An aside: SEVENTEEN years ago? How did that happen? It's almost as long as I was gone.) Bit I have attended a lot of funerals. Many were for people who had a long-time spouse standing in the front pew, covered from head to toe in heartache. What I saw in pictures from my Weneki, however, was a tender, sweet willingness to join one life to another and skip down the sidewalk. I've never met, Weneki's Kurt, but let me just say this. In my book, any guy who holds his new bride's hand and skips down a city sidewalk is a keeper.  Seriously folks, a guy who skips is a rare find. I don't t

So there we were, spending a quiet afternoon. And then. Crash. With no warning, in an eerie imitation of the NY towers that fell 11 years ago, our neighbor's rotten tree toppled across our driveway, taking part of the Lincoln, Johnson's truck, electrical wires, a transformer and the flag pole with it. No wind. No rain. One minute is was standing. The next it was down. Guess that's what they call an act of God. It could only have been God's hand that moved the old oak just a few feet to the north of the house. It would have been a very different story without that Grace. The trees in our neighborhood are said to be over 100 years old. Most of them are called "water" oaks. Most of them rot from the inside out. They look pretty on the outside, full and alive. It's the rotten core you can't see that you have to worry about. While I'm filled with gratitude that the damage was so much less than it could have been. I'm also sad at havi

60 flannel sanitary napkins (see post below, 8/27) ... A finished quilt ... homemade chocolate chip cookies ... and one happy couple ... have in common? Well, you see my daughter and her Sweetie tied the knot yesterday. They were in Seattle. I was in Florida, instead of standing next to her.  I'm not sure, but I think NOT attending your daughter's wedding, even if it's a small private affair at the downtown courthouse, breaks some law of nature. It's just not right. Alas, try as I might, I couldn't make it happen.  So, I sewed. All day long. I sewed.  Then about the time Wendy and Kurt were saying "I do" I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and ate so many that my stomach still hurt when I woke up this morning.  I have to say with all honesty, seeing that smile on Wendy's face and knowing she's found love again makes me just about as happy as a mother can be.  Wishing for you the same I wish

Ed. Note: Today I am going back to my blogging roots. Having no idea what I'd have to say on a blog, I decided to just put down thoughts at random, as they came to me. I've been thinking of changing that name to something else, but haven't quite hit on the right something yet. I went to the dentist this morning. One half of my face is still anesthetized. I can feel my tongue waking up. I've only dribbled on myself once. My father and I used to have a running argument over dentists in general, and often our personal dentist in particular. Dad thought dentists were just out to get your money.  Well, duh! But my side of the argument was that as medicine has evolved and become way more technical, requiring lab tests and x-ray procedures of all kinds, so has dentistry. New ways of doing things costs more and dentists have to feed their kids too. Balderdash, he'd respond. (Actually, I don't think  my father ever said balderdash, but I'll leave it at that.)  Dad

Happy Birthday, Gracie Eleyiana Grace Ellington 9/5/2011 Little Miss Sunshine Sept. 2012