Winter Formal

Molly and Renton!

The men!
Molly and the ladies!
Firestone High School 2.21.09

Last night Molly and her friend Renton, attended the Winter Formal at the high school. They had a great time and so did their great group of friends. I feel so fortunate that Molly has some really great friends. They give me a lot of hope for the future.

Welcome Home, Winn

Well, we finally did what we have not been going to do for at least four months. We got another dog! Yikes, what were we thinking! Actually, he is pretty perfect! We started out looking for a labradoodle. Let me tell you, they are as scarce as hen's teeth and more precious than diamonds. I actually considered buying a puppy, and a very expensive one at that. My very wise elder daughter (actually I have two very wise daughters) said (and I quote...) "Mom, you'll end up rescuing another dog. It's just the kind of people we are." Well, she was right. After tracking down leads on labradoodles, that ended up fruitless, David (my sometimes wise) husband suggested we look at other lab hybrids. There are a myriad to choose from. We decided on a "boxador" or a "blab" because we love the two breeds. We were lucky enough to find one at our city pound. We went and looked and now #31 has a new home....and a new (but old) name.....Winston. Winny is a winner today. Hope all the other numbers find their new homes too.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

One of my favorite pics, Egypt 2007

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, 'A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!'”

Robert Browning

I hope the next twenty are as much fun as the first. I love you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

February Thaw?

We're in the middle of a thaw. We were just in the heart of one of our largest snowfalls ever. In Akron, we missed the January record snowfall by 0.5 inches! I think the grand total for January snow in 2009 was around 41." Today there are patches of green (brown, really) in the neighborhood yards and the roads are clear. Water rushing down the gutters sounds like spring. But, DON'T BE FOOLED! February thaws are not what they appear. Life can be like a winter melt. People you know can be like one too. Unpredictable. Messy. Unsure of their season. Sometimes you feel they live to make your life a misery. You can't change them. No matter how nice you are, they are still their same old baffling, blustery selves. Sort of like a February thaw--just when you think the ice is finally gone...SURPRISE! It's back again just like those boots and gloves you thought you could finally put away for good. Winter will leave when it is darn good and ready. There is nothing we can do to hurry it, rush it, or make it go away. I have discovered that people are like that too. You can't hurry them, rush them, or even make (some of them) go away. You can't blaze them with the truth when their heart is cold. You can't make them change when they prefer to live a rigid, frozen existence. So what do you do? You learn to live with the winter. More importantly, you learn to live with the uncertainty of spring's arrival. You trade snow boots for muck boots, you learn to mop up dirt two or three times a day instead of once a week like you did before the season (and the people) changed. Lastly, I think, you learn to tip your hat to winter's bitter chill. To smile and say, "I see you, I know you're still there, but I'm looking past you and I'm moving on. To spring.

Imago Dei

The sacred Isle of Iona, Scotland

...We are born in the Image of God. Today's prayer is from the service at Fairlawn-West Church. It is too beautiful not to share. It is from the tradition of my roots...a prayer in the style of the Ancient Celts.

A Mid-Winter Prayer

From the rising of the midwinter sun to its setting
Scatter the darkness with the light of your love, O Shining One.
Make me short on mean thoughts, long on offering words of comfort.
Make me short on being driven, long on paying attention.
Make me short on focusing only on my own, long on looking beyond.
Make me short on obsessive lists, long on spontaneous acts of kindness.
Make me short on mindless activity, long on time to reflect.
Make me short on tradition as a habit, long on re-discovery and re-owning.
Make me short on rushing and tiring, long on walking and wondering.
Make me short on false festive jollity, long on stilling and rooted joy.
Make me short on guilt, long on being merciful to myself.
Make me short on being overwhelmed, long on peaceableness
as I set forth this day.
from the Celtic Wheel of the Year by Tess Ward