Trust....

Sometimes.....
it is difficult to see where we are going.
Sometimes, we end up on a path that isn't what we signed up for....
It is frightening to find ourselves in a completely different setting,
with strangers, heading toward a goal that seems unclear and strange.....

My experience has been that the less I expect of the journey,
the happier I am.
When I don't know where I am going,
it is better to just trust that God and the universe do know....
and that I am being guided, led and encouraged by the people I meet along the way.

Much like driving in a blizzard....
10 years ago (or more) my mother and I flew to Boston, rented a car and drove up I-95 to
southern Maine to visit her mother. About 10 miles north of Boston it started to snow.
Before we knew it we were crawling along at 20 mph or less, following an eighteen-wheeler.
All I could see was his tail lights, and I knew that if I stopped, we would not move again for quite awhile. He led us slowly through the snow, and left the interstate at our exit. We arrived, late but safe.

There are no accidents.

Be young, Be foolish, But be happy......

Several times a year, for many years the "Chicks" have been getting together, either at the beach, or in the mountains. We have known each other for decades. Some of us went to Junior High school together. Last year, one of us died of Cancer. It was awful. But, we had warning, and spent the last several years making our weekends special. We even managed to all turn 50. We miss Anne like crazy, and always take a photo, or many, of her with us on our weekends. She was the most beautiful of us all, even when the illness took all it could from her.
We are all turning into grandmothers now, and Anne managed to do that too, in fact she is with her grandson now....
Did I say we miss her?
We are creatures of habit. We all throw our sunglasses down in the pile, so we will be able to find them later....and our keys,......and our purses....etc....
We should get Anne's glasses, keys and a purse to take with us.

What's the rush?.....

Heaven knows...
We are all in a rush at one time or another.
Today I do nothing, that is my rule for today.
I am tired of rushing from one activity to another.
I used to get paid to rush and wait. Now I am on my own time.
And today, just for today.....I choose to rush nowhere.
Rushing is for the young, when your thoughts tell you that your time is unlimited. This is not what my thoughts tell me these days....
They tell me to.....
Enjoy my parents as much as possible, most people my age don't have parents to enjoy..
Let my son run his own life, and maybe he will enjoy time with me....
Tresure the time with friends, as you never know how long the friendship will last....
Value your time with your siblings, tey may drive you crazy (or their spouses may) but someday they may be the only family you have....
Cherish your grandparents, I lost my only surviving grandmother this last november, I miss her like a child...
Cherish the cold weather for hot sunny weather is right around the corner....
Enjoy life as it is today, because "the times they are a changing".
Thank God.

OK, I admit it.....

My family is made up of CLOWNS!!!! The young adults (and I use that term loosely) in our family do not like to have holiday photos taken of them, so.......
We improvise.
They will clown for the camera.
They will not pose.
Basically, I provide the costumes, and they will agree to "be there".
Please notice how well-behaved the parents are....
and my husband.
Little do these kids know that some day they will have children of their own.
Did I mention that one child didn't even show up!
Someday they will be listening to my stories for the one hundredth time,
and wiping the drool off my chin, and other "necessary chores".
Their time will come.

What price serenity?

Well, this is the time of the year when most of us think about

the events of the preceding year,

their implications and ramifications.

I have spent so much of my life "worrying".

I have dwelled on the unimportant,

the silly, the unexplained, the misunderstood,

the fear......

I am trying very hard to ignore my impulses to

engage in the melancholy.

I am choosing to let it all go....

I am going to look forward to the New Year with

anticipation, as opposed to trepidation.

I don't need to understand it all.

I don't need to "fix" it all...

and most importantly, I don't need for everyone to like

or respect me....

I need to respect myself.

And this means that I don't need to compromise my ideals, values,

ethics, my life.....

I can take a stand, and if it is lonely, it is alright,

because I believe that there are others who feel the same loneliness,

and will understand.

Gratitude....

On this seemingly most American of holidays, I am grateful for many things....
I am grateful for the friends that picked me up out of the hole of despair I had fallen into during my divorce in 2002. They not only held me up, propped me up, cheered me up and boosted me up, they also encouraged me to save my money for a trip to Italy. Then, after many months of saving and planning, we went the first week of March 2003 (the same week the war in Iraq started).
This photo was taken in a small town on the Amalfi Coast, I could guess which, but I have no real recollection. I it is interesting to me as it is a photo of a father and daughter eating their lunch on the front steps of a building used as a Post Office. It reminds me of my observations that Italy, while a thriving country is still in many ways not quite in the 21st century. It is quieter and more easy-going than America, at least on the surface.
Back to us....
We are so very fortunate.
We have reliable electricity, food, water, and security on a level unknown in other parts of the world.
And, in many ways we are spoiled.
We take these things for granted.
These days we are starting to feel a bit of a pinch.
We are worried about where our 401k's are going.
It seems that we forget how very lucky we are.
I believe that everything will be alright.
God's in charge.

And they call it Fall....

Well, it hardly sounds spectacular enough.....
The trees!
How absolutely incredible that they put on this display just before their long winter nap.
Brilliant is what they ought to call this time of year.
This tree is so much more, in the flesh, so to speak.
So much more yellow, orange and aflame.
Went on a little photo safari with my pop this morning and this was what he wanted to show me.
Perfect.