ode to spring

Happy Spring!

spring: rise up or issue forth suddenly; cause to leap or rise; the beginning or freshest time of anything ~ happy days indeed!  To celebrate, I share a poem by Donna Bamford with some of my springtime favorites.

Ode to Spring

The snowdrops came first,
then the crocuses
and daffodils
and finally the cascade
of harlequin tulips

and the light brighter

and so welcome after the pall of winter,

the April light shy and weak,

but May, everything one could have wished for

the ducks in the pond, sanguine

he so solicitous of her

following her around then on the lawn

protectively

we named them Horatio and Emma

after Nelson

my father's hero

such a beautiful garden this year

it did the heart so much good

and the sparrows playing

such a gentle bird

and the cardinals and the robins

It has a soul, the garden,

its own soul,

and the soul was happy. xo

genius

This is my grand doggie, Ozis, a.k.a Gogo, Nuf Nuf, Mr. Galoo, tornado dog...because he is always on the go.  I like to keep him at our place during the day so he can enjoy the fresh air and entertain us.  One thing he likes to do is bark whenever someone comes upstairs, not naming names, but I decided to train him otherwise.  I used an old faithful method they teach in dog obedience schools and it only took a few attempts and he nailed it.  Genius. 

Just take an empty soda can and fill it with about a dozen pennies.  Tape the opening securely and insert can in an old sock and make a tie to secure the can.  Hide this contraption so doggie doesn't see you holding it.  Whenever Ozis barks at someone I throw the sock in front of him so he associates the bad behavior with the sound to distract his barking.  He must think he caused it by his barking and not me throwing it which is why it must be hidden.  When he stops barking I praise him.  This is important -  he gets positive reinforcement.  It only took a couple of times and he got the message. I tell him anyone living in the house is friendly and no barking allowed at them.  May I say it again?  Genius.

Ozis will have a baby brother in three months as Margarita winds down the second trimester and soon begins the final stretch (no pun intended.) As Darcy and I took all three doggies for a walk to enjoy the gorgeous weather, we met a new neighbor with a three-month old newborn named Brady.  Adorable.  Now Dillon will have a playmate. 

At 25 weeks, his hands are fully developed and he spends most of his awake time groping around in the darkness of the uterus.  Exploring the structures inside the uterus has become baby's prime entertainment.  Fascinated by the amount of tactile stimulation a fetus gives itself, baby touches a hand to the face, one hand to the other hand, clasps his feet, touches his foot to his leg, his hand to his umbilical cord.  Brain and nerve endings are developed enough now so that baby can feel the sensation of touch.  That doesn't mean he can feel it when his daddy pokes the stomach, so knock it off. LOL. 

Baby's arms and legs have grown to almost the proportions they will be at birth.  His nostrils, which have been clogged up until now, clear out, and he can practice breathing through the nose.  The structures of his spine are now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings and some 1,000 ligaments.  The capillaries, the teeniest blood vessels, are now forming, giving his formerly translucent skin a pink glow.  The blood vessels in the lungs also develop this week.  We'll know this to be true when he gives those lungs a workout in a few months!  The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now.  His swallowing reflexes are developing and baby can hear sounds outside the womb.  The inner ear bones have hardened so hearing is more acute.  Baby may hear his daddy's voice more easily than the mama's, as baby is sensitive to a deeper pitch.  Baby weighs about a pound and a half and is 13 1/2 inches long.  Bones are becoming solid and the brain is growing rapidly; the brain cells are starting to mature.  The sexual organs are fully developed. 

Happy days as we anticipate the arrival of our bundle of joy.  It took my breath away when I saw the little neighbor baby in person and realized that we will hold our little Dillon sooner than later. 

The joys of new beginnings.  Springtime, sunshine and grandsons.  Thank you, God. xo



happy st. patrick's day

A pot of gold can be as close as the twinkle in your child's eye.  Look for it and count your blessings. 

Happy anniversary Dan and Darcy!

Thanks to all who are praying for our Uncle Bill - God is surely listening as he is recovering slowly, but surely.  He is a true testament of strength, courage and determination to live life to its fullest and an inspiration to us all.

Now we continue to pray for Japan.  xo



it's a naked room!

Now that the "other house" is completely ready to go, I begin my renovating projects at our beloved sanctuary.  Just like Terry Bradshaw in the movie Failure to Launch, we joke about having our own space to do whatever we like; however, unlike him, our house is still full. This is as close as I can get to having a naked room;  not so I can run around naked, but all the heavy clutter is removed.  I can feel the burst of good feng shui energy flowing all over.  I like having an echo in the house without all the "stuff."

Mikey begins the huge task of repairing walls, priming and painting this much needed restoration.  He is a perfectionist and did a beautiful job on his own place, so I know it will be gorgeous when he is finished.  I have some great ideas about window treatments from a consultant which will be the icing on the cake.  Today I will browse for some pretty light fixtures and meet with a contractor to refinish the hardwood floors and plan the bathroom renovations.  Instead of painting the outside of the house, we decided to have it all aluminum sided to give it a fresh, clean look with long-term low maintenance.  We are not spring chickens and the less we have to do, the better. 

This is Robert, my massage therapist.  Thanks to him I am able to accomplish all these mighty tasks.  His healing hands brought back some much needed circulation after the horrendous ordeal at the other place.   It's funny how life's circles continually surround me.  Robert heals at the very same place I began my journey at The Goddess Touch when I had my wellness spa.  It is now called Celestine and owners Jen and Debbie have the joys of managing the place.  I still frequent my old stomping grounds for their services and feel right at home when I do so. 

Our spring is just around the corner and the sun inspires me to get out and about.  We just began the season of Lent, time of renewal.  Perfect. xo



show me the light

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Light

Dear God,

Show me the light at the center of my brothers.

Show me the light at the center of myself.

Show me the light at the center of the world.

Where I see guilt, show me innocence.

Where I focus on mistakes, show me how to focus on efforts at good.

Help me have faith in goodness of others.

Help me have faith in Your spirit within me.

Thus may darkness be cast out.

May I cleave to the light that is my heart.

This is my prayer.

May I see the light in everyone.

Praying for someone is a gracious act.  It gives blessing to the one who prays, as well to the person who is prayed for.  Imagine life to be a camera:  the amount of light in the picture is determined by the size of the aperture at the time the picture is taken.  For most of us, most of the time, our experience of life and its potential for joy is severely limited by the constriction of our own hearts.  It is as though an aperture is shut, at least partially, that could be completely open.  The joy we seek lies less in something new happening and more in our opening our hearts more fully to the love in our lives already.  Only love can make us happy, and only we ourselves can determine its presence or absence inside our hearts.  To acknowledge love is to increase its capacity to heal us; to ignore love is to let it slip away.

Look around you while you are in public somewhere or gathered with loved ones.  Look into the faces of the people you see, and silently say:  The light of God in me salutes the light of God in you.  Do it for five minutes minimum, each day, and happiness will be yours. 

Wherever we picked up judgmental attitudes, they do not serve us now.  They do not serve God or the creation of a new world, and serving God is our only goal.  To serve God is to think with love.  Let us search our minds for the judgments we still hold, for the unforgivenesses, the places where we do not love.  The ego is sly and insidious.  It takes discipline and vigilance to do the mental work necessary to purify our hearts.  Honesty with ourselves and God, and the willingness to be healed by Him, form the crux of our journey.

Dear God,

I surrender to You my thoughts of judgment.

Please heal me of my temptation to blame Your children whom You adore.

Teach me to love as You do.

Teach me to see the reality behind the superficial masks, the truth in the hearts of all Your children.

May I see the innocence in all humanity, that I may see the world of Your creation, the world anew, the world that shall be.

I relinquish my miscreations.

I surrender my belief in guilt.

Bring me home to the truth at last.

May all God's children be innocent in my eyes for they are all my brothers.

May I see this that the world might heal.

Dear God, give me new eyes, Your eyes.  Amen.

Thank you Marianne Williamson, for Illuminata.

Hold them in the light with love and bless them to their highest good. xo

couple cases of corona

Jason~Asad~Bobbie~Anthony~Wayne-o~Mikey

My heroes!  These bulldogs took the bull by the horn as they loaded and stored the plethora of items from our house in the city.  Some of the furniture was unbelievably heavy but the guys are like Hercules and handled it with ease.  It didn't hurt that Mike brought a couple cases of Corona to motivate them, either.  They probably ascended and descended all 50 stairs at least 100 times throughout the day with the treasures to be stored from the attic to the basement and onto the truck.  No one ever complained how difficult or tedious the task was.  Who needs a stairmaster?  Not only did they spend the day with us, but afterward Jason went on to work all night, and I suspect the others continued their own missions as well.  Thanks so much, guys.  Love you all.

cousins (brothers of the heart) Ed (Bonyok) and Wayne-o

These guys are like brothers and spent their childhood running (literally) through the house and attending the numerous gatherings with their families.  They browsed through each room remembering the times they played and bonded, then more recently, painted and repaired the place and I could see the twinkle in their eyes reminding them of days gone by.  Afterwards they looked at each other and said "It's time," and chuckled at the notion of ending a long, long sojourn.  They held on to pieces of the old days with simple souvenirs of their ancestors, like the old cane their Grandpa used, or the old hat Uncle Steve wore when dabbling in house repairs.  Old being the operative word here. 

brothers of the heart~anthony and mikey

These guys are like miniatures of the aforementioned dudes.  They, too, had their share of repairing ceilings and painting and sanding walls at this abode.  Notice the reinforcement Mike is holding!   It doesn't take much to motivate them and they got down and dirty without a hitch.  Anthony and Mike work well together and there is nothing they can't handle.  It's a good feeling to know the next generation has the gumption to get 'er done, regardless of the challenge.  Their strength and tenacity makes us proud.

 the mighty truck

So long, Sawyer!  Once the loaded-to-the-hilt trailer truck was packed, it didn't take long to unload and store.  We celebrated the accomplished mission by dining at Home Run Inn for delicious pizza and chicken strips.  This was the hardest day ever and I must mention there was a moment when it could have been my last.  After I dropped Jason off so he could go to work, there was a long train on 63rd.  I waited patiently, even though every inch of me screamed home, home, home and just as I was heading on Harlem to get on I-55, I noticed an SUV with its hind on top of a grid rail, facing the other direction.  It staggered my mind how it got there and a few feet ahead of me were two cars stalled.  All of a sudden the car in front of me slid and jammed into a stone rail but kept driving away and then my Jeep started sliding and just as it was about to ram into or even over the guardrail into a huge drop, it stopped, as if my angels caught it.  I waited to see if another car would hit me from behind, but it did not, so I continued driving away from the black ice and got home safely.  My whole body was shaking uncontrollably and I heard the news mention enormous amounts of accidents and roads being closed because of the black ice.  I was saved last night, no doubt.  It was too close for comfort and today I will thank my Lord for His blessings. 

Once again, thanks to everyone who took part in this huge endeavor:  Wayne-O, Bonyok, Bobbie, Asad, Anthony, Jason, Billy, Danny, Mikey and most of all Jesus. 
You are the best! xo

dear mom helen

Helen and George

It has been three years on this day that you were reunited with the love of your life.  The time passed quickly, yet it seems like a long, long time since you took your last three breaths (one for each of your sons, and grandsons.)  We cherish the time you were with us in this life and hold tons of gratitude for the love you gave to our sons.  This priceless treasure of your time is instilled in them forever and they will continue your legacy with their own children.  I know you and Dad are playing with baby Dillan and in a few months we will know that joy.  I found some cute baby items, pictures of you with the boys and your beloved cruise trips, as well as some cute little notes from Wayne and Bobby.  I even found all your tax returns dating back to 1954 and a book of war stamps.  I placed them on the pink blanket that kept you warm while you were here.

nostalgia

As we prepared to exchange ownership on your beloved home, I discovered an immense amount of relics from your past.  I boast being an organized person, but you put me to shame with how you kept every single item in its place.   Your love for your home and family is evident in all the memories you contained in every box of your life, and Mom, you had a ton of boxes!  We will keep many of the family historical items, especially the lone trunk your Dad brought with him from Poland; it's priceless.  Mike went through all Dad's tools and will make him proud to carry on his mechanical expertise.  The new owner came by and the first thing he said was it was a lucky house - he felt it, too.  He was very impressed when Wayne mentioned all the generations that lived there for 70 years.

As we lovingly store your treasures until the boys settle in their own homes, know they will be cherished and your efforts to maintain them will have not been in vain.  Steve plans to decorate his place with most of your furniture - he loves that stuff!  Bobby is still grounded in your neighborhood and is doing beautifully thanks to Thresholds.  Now you have another cliffhanger with you, for Uncle Frank left this earth yesterday morning - he was 96! 

Keep smiling down on us and hold us in your hearts, as we do you and Bombhead. I know Wayne made you proud as he handled everything just as you requested.

  Give Dillan a smooch from me and when he is with us, I'll do the same for you.  xo