Makes Me Smile

And you?

With Fall comes many changes

School starts. The weather cools; a good thing. Schedules change. The sun rises later; not a good thing. Most days my bike stays in the garage.

There is a shifting of exercise gears that happens when school starts. No longer is there an hour window, of free daylight time between 5:30 and 6:30 where children are not eating breakfast, making lunch, packing the backpack and rushing out the door. My exercise is limited to inside routines, and treadmill runs. All the while, breathless, directing the morning affairs.

Remember When

Remember when gas was a dollar or maybe a quarter or less a gallon? Too far back? What about remembering life BC, before children, or LW--last week, before school started.

Like entering a slip stream we are in school mode. One's at college, and on her own again, happily. One leaves for school at 6:30 in the morning, another at 7:30 and I'm still the anchor at 8:30. No more children sleeping in until 10 or later. No more weekday or weeknight TV. The party is over, so last night we played the game Wizardology. Oh yeah, this is the best time of the year.

Can I just mention, that I'm not happy...

The date and time are off. This image was taken yesterday, early morning. Again with an entire yard of grass and weeds, you would think a three foot (plus) fence would stop this lover of zucchini and okra leaves from climbing.

Breathe Patty, it's just a ground hog. Not EEE or West Nile Virus, or even cancer.

They always smile. They never rush.

Food shopping, I noticed the woman behind me was emitting impatience as one of my coupons was rejected and the front manager had to comeover and sort out the situation. (It was me... I miss read the date...) The woman left to find another line, in a very busy store.



I wasn't flustered. But I did feel sorry for the woman. Two seconds was all it took to sort out the coupon incident.



For eight nights on the Disney Magic we never saw one cast member rushing about or not smiling. Sure they were busy, working long hours, taking care of every detail. Even housekeeping, with all those cabins to take care of; always pleasant, always kind, always always.

A lesson. Always. BINGO!

HI HO HI HO

It's off to school we go... (whistling)

Getting A Life

Eight nights at sea, no phone, no internet, no newspaper, no worries, leaves one a bit detached. No news was good news. But now that we are back... We need all the news we can gather regarding school calendars, class schedules and bus stop assignments.

Work With Me Here

The humidity was so high that when I took my camera out to take pictures of the fireworks, not only did the outside lens fog up, but all the optics became waterlogged. The opportunity allowed me to see the light show a little differently.

How often does that happen in life? Things don't go our way. But in the end they go a little better. Who knew?

Our Ship

For the past week we became very fond of the Disney Magic.

Just a picture

First Light

Summer project meet light.
Light meet summer project.

Even in the rain

It's a magical place.Thank you jungle jeff for meeting us for a quick hello and to add your signature to our cast member bag of fame.

I saw 2 hummingbirds

On Castaway Cay I opted to walk rather than ride a bike. To take life snail slow and really look and see all life has to offer. Sometimes even riding a bike is too fast.

Cooling off the Crowds with Firehoses

When the hospitals filled with pilgrims collapsing from the heat, WYD became a military operation. Carrying water and salty snacks became essential for our survival. This was a pilgrimage; not a vacation. And we wouldn't have missed it for the world.

World Youth Day

This is the oldest surviving iconic image of Mary.

Goofin' Around

Sometimes you just gotta. Especially when the smell of school supplies permeates the air.

What You Do Matters

The doorbell rang unexpectedly. Standing there was a mom friend from our old elementary school with a ziploc bag of flip tops. And even though our children are no longer in school together, she is still contributing to our flip top collection efforts for the Ronald McDonald House in Springfield, MA.

Thank you, Jodi. What you do really matters.

Keyword: Sometimes.

But pray always.

Dead Skunk In The Middle of the Road

Thankfully, NOT stinking to high heaven.

On The Cusp

Our vaca starts shortly. I explained to my clients that someone else would be looking in on them. They understood. But did they really understand that I will miss them? We spend every weekday morning together. I know them and they know me.

Religious Ed starts up in a few weeks. It's a two year stint; two years till Confirmation. I've been putting materials together. We are going to focus on Blessed Mother Teresa and St. Josemaría Escrivá.

Both led lives of service. Excellent examples for youth contemplating Confirmation.

As much as I am looking forward to vacationing, I'm looking forward to seeing my clients and religious ed students again.

Like Water and Fire

All saints have a past.
All sinners have a future.
Oscar Wilde

Opposites? Not really.

Last Night

I don't know about where you live, or about your situation, but around here moms are rarely home alone. (On average once every 15 years.) So when we are, when we have the house to ourselves, the email is sent out. "My place, 7 o'clock."

We drink tea. We play scrabble. We laugh. We talk about the differences between insects and spiders. We laugh some more.

Thank you my dear friend.

A Year Ago

A year ago, today, the St George Dragaroos traveled to World Youth Day in Madrid.



A pilgrimage on which our group got separated, due to the crowds, on multiple occasions, experienced rioting on the streets, walked through 100 plus heat, to the point where one of our crew collapsed, and camped out with a wall of  thunder storms accented with wind shear.



We also were blessed with Mass with our Cardinal Sean and Adoration with the Pope.

 

Classes that rocked. Singing, and being with 2 million other Catholics.  A solemn silence in some of the most holiest of places.

World Youth Day -- A game changing experience.  Thank you.

What hatched from these eggs?

These eggs were gathered at Tammy's on the hill. What makes them truly special is two fold.

1. These eggs came from a dear friend. How lucky can we be.

2. Our girls got to go into the hen house and gather the eggs for themselves. What hatched? An excellent opportunity. Everyone knows eggs come from chickens, but to get in on the ground level... Awesome.

Thanks, Tammy.

2012 Walk Now for Autism Speaks

We have family friends touched by this condition and my religious education class does mission work donating stamps to Elizabeth Catlin towards her efforts to send birthday cards to everyone she meets.

If you would like me to take steps on your behalf, I'd be most pleased. Follow this link to make a donation.

Thank you.

It takes a village to make a Goofy.

And all the backstage magic a village can muster. The characters shine, the parks twinkle, and the guests smile because of the cast members who put out 110+%.  Like Dallas, who offered us free games at the Space Mountain Arcade. Thank you Dallas. (The first to sign our Cast bag.) And Auntie Jan, who made us feel right at home at 50's Prime Time and the Manager at Liberty Inn who found our backpack under a table and called my cell phone to let me know where it was. Thank you.

We return to Disney year after year, time after time, to become immersed and embrace the back stage magic.

Is it Goofy to give 110%?

Collecting character autographs is a fun activity. A few years ago we had the famed icons sign our Disney canvas bag. Goofy gave us not only his signature but a self portrait; truly a trip highlight we revisit every time we use the bag.

Thank you Goofy for giving 110%.

It's Kinda Goofy...

But what do you think about hugging and being hugged for a living? Do you bring that much joy into the world; one person at a time? For a million or more times? Each one special; each one just dying to meet you.

It's Not Goofy

It's not goofy to pray for peace on earth. Nor is it goofy to believe it can begin with you.

What you do matters.

Goofy Riddle?

Twelve friends meet up in a bar. (Do you know this one?) Ten friends greet the one with glowing compliments: You look great. Love your hair. Great job. Well done. Good for you. Love you. And then the eleventh chimes in: You know, you are not nice, in shape, or even a good friend. In my opinion, just to let you know.

More often than not we give a smile, a nod and maybe even a thank you lip service to the compliments, and then poof they are gone. But the criticisms, we take those to heart. To be repeated in our waking and night time dreams, in living color and surround sound for an eternity.

Why? Because that one comment resonates with what we have been telling ourselves for years.

It's time to change the record.

Goofy Post #2

Gwarsh! You found me!

Find, no make, the time to do something nice for someone.

Goofy Post #1

Tinmouth Pond at Night

Is it goofy? It certainly is quiet, if you ignore the frogs, owls and other nocturnal animals that go bump in the night.

Make time to be goofy.

Laughter is life's best medicine.

Like bubbles...

You have to open up to grow.

A bird wearing children's shoes?  Is it a baby bird or a baby wearing a bird costume? Art is in the eye and heart of the beholder. So are our perceptions. Regardless of the shoes we wear, we should all learn to fly.

Photograph taken at the Decordova Museum.

Make sense of it

We have five senses. Four of which, hearing, sight, smell, taste are tightly associated with our heads. But the big question is: Do we feel more with our fingers or our heart?





Images from the Decordova Museum.

Reflection

Take time to reflect. Sometimes situations are more clearly perceived with eyes closed. Did you hear me?


Picture taken at the Decordova Museum.