Random Thoughts

It's the day before Thanksgiving and all through the house Nary a whiff of pies cooking for me and my spouse. And that my friends is about as poetic as I can be. I think I'm learning something about myself - don't know yet if it's good or bad. In years past I've whined about the stress level of everything that goes into holiday celebrations. The grocery shopping for all the food to cook. The crowds. The decorations. The gifts to buy and mail. All that on top of the regular to do lists. So here I am the day before T'day not doing one of those things. It's past 1 pm, I'm still in my pjs, and, I'm ashamed to admit, I'm still in the sack. I hear lawn mowers and weed whackers outside the window. Neighbors and dogs and birds are all up and about. And here I sit. Not the least bit stressed and not liking it so much. But also not wanting to do anything about it. Is that me complaining of not having stress? What? Doesn't anything make me happy? Do I...

"Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities." Sue Atchley Ebaugh I'm getting a really late start. Not sure where the day went, but it's just about gone. I've told you before about my writing group, how much it means to me. Our meeting yesterday was small but packed full of information. You know writing is so much more than just putting words on a computer screen. There is so much to learn. When we "Chats" get together we laugh as much as we learn, which is like the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. Individually and collectively, this group of writers is pretty talented, and gutsy. I'm learning it takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there. Writing is one thing, you can do it in the wee hours of the morning in your pjs. Or you can do it in a coffee shop or while waiting in the hospital. Ah, but it's the saying "please read this and let me know what you think" and the willingness to hear what needs t...

"God turns you from one feeling to another And teaches you by means of opposites So that you will have two wings to fly, Not one." Rumi Ever felt like you were on a see-saw, sometimes at the top, your feet dangling in the air, and sometimes stuck at the bottom waiting for the person on the other side to come down so you can go up? Ever been on a see-saw when the person on the other side was bigger than you, and could hold you up in the air even when you wanted to get down? Or what about the teeterer who bounces you even when you ask in your nicest voice for her to stop? Moooommmm! She won't let me down..... Hmmm.. Sorry. I got a little carried with memories of the playground! I think my point is, drum roll please, lately I'm feeling a little like I'm on a see saw - either up or down, not spending too much time in the place in the middle. Perhaps this isn't the best of metaphors, because I just realized the middle of the see-saw is where everything is balanced,...

[Note: File this under things that don't make sense but turn out good.] Standing For Those Who Stood For Us Patriot Guard Riders Yesterday, after lying around all day, I got out of bed and went to the screening of a movie about the Patriot Guard Riders . Mainly I went because it was a fund raiser for the Jacksonville Branch of Wreaths Across America . Have you ever seen one of those pictures of a cold wintry day where the ground is covered with snow and all you can see are granite headstones in a National Cemetery decorated with a green wreath sporting a big red bow? Well that's thanks to Wreathes Across America.(Actually it's thanks to Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine who has been making the wreaths since 1992). I called the cemetery here, where my father and mother are buried and asked about it. Like a frog hopping from one lily pad to another to get to the edge of the pond, I made a few more phone calls, and a few emails and found out what I needed to kno...

"Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers. Rainer Maria Rilke How many times can you to be blasted with headlines about Kim Kardashion's life before a) you start a "We are the 99% (who don't really give a damn what's happening to any of the Kardashions, or Justin Bieber for that matter) Movement" or b) stop reading the stories ? How many times can you watch Say Yes to the Dress and ask a) $10,000 for one dress? or b) why would anyone include her mother-in-law-to-be, her father, her 4th cousin once removed and her gay friend in her dress-buying "entourage"? How many times can you try on sweaters in Florida that were made for wearing somewhere north of the Mason-Dixon line without figuring out a) you look like The Pillsbury DoughBoy wrapped in yarn or b)they are just hot flashes/melt downs waiting to happen? How many times does your dog have to tear the newly installed screen...

"they know me in a way no one else ever has. they open me to things i never knew existed. they drive me to insanity and push me to my depths. the are the beat of my heart, the pulse in my veins, and the energy in my soul. they are my kids." terri st. cloud By a series of serendipitous events, Terri St. Cloud crossed my blog path a few years ago. Terri is kind of like a lightening rod. She attracts and invites people into her world on the premise that they are doing something to make her feel better. When really, what's happening is she is all about doing for others. Through bonesigh arts she shares her story of self-discovery, lighting the way for those who feel stuck in their own darkness. If you know Terri, you know what I mean. If you don't, then you just have to hop on over to her blog/site and rest in the branches of her white tree for awhile. Terri has done a lot of inner child work. In fact to know Big Terri is to know Little Ter. Her work in this area encour...

Editor's Note: I've moved off my "People Who Bring Me Joy" theme for the day. "Life goes not backward, nor tarries with yesterday." Kahlil Gibran I'm not even sure what that quote means. I think I'm trying to tell myself not to look to keep dwelling on the past. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of that. I mean I'm not in denial about the past, I am trying to work through some of my "issues" but I'm not dwelling there instead of moving on. The thing is, it doesn't take much of anything to send me right back to a place of sadness, whether I want to be there or not. Like yesterday, for instance. I went to the doctor for a checkup. No big deal. Only a couple questions about my hurting feet and a shingles vaccine. The doc comes in and says how you doing? First of all, if you're sitting in his office on a table covered in tissue paper that crinkles every time you move, the chances are pretty good you're NOT doing so go...