Sunset over the Eastern Bay

First Day of Fall

... and happy to be me!

Today is the first day of Fall!  Didn't feel like it this morning.  Woke up to misty rain and very hot humid air.  I was tired and anything but happy.  I had a good breakfast and enjoyed getting our house organized after a long trip, and as the day went on the sun came out a breeze came up, the air gradually became dryer and I began to feel better.

By evening clouds returned bringing the distinct coolness of Fall so I pulled on a sweater and rode my bike the short distance down to the bay.   Clouds hung low across the water.  The sky was washed with layers of yellow, orange, blue, purple and grey, and sunlight filtered through soft rain showers on the other side of the bay.

As I sat there at the edge of the water, enjoying the breathtaking glow of sunset, a bald eagle swooped across the trees and dove down into the water.  It's white tail and white head feathers caught the sunlight as it flew off with a fish dangling from it's talons.

Just then I heard the noisy squawk of a flock of geese returning to the Eastern Shore.  The familiar sound announcing Yes indeed.  Fall is here!  And I felt the joy of it!

The other night, at a family dinner, we were playing "table topics".  The question was asked "If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you want to live?"  My immediate answer was Right Here!  

How blest I am to be living in this beautiful place -- so close to nature -- with so many friends -- and the love of family all over the the country.

So on this first day of Fall I just have to say, I'm thankful to be Me!

And I hope all of you reading this will be able to take time to enjoy the beautiful season of Fall!

MOMENTS OF AWE

I read an article on Flipboard recently about how “Moments of Awe" can significantly improve your health, so I thought I'd share just a few of the moments of Awe in my life.       

- Drifting on our lake in my canoe as the early morning mist swirls in little tornados drawn up to the sun.

- Squinting my eyes to see sunlight reflect off the water and sparkle like a thousand little diamonds.

       

- Sitting by the Chesapeake Bay on an early morning when the water is as still as a small salt pond and fog muffles the sounds of the world.

- Eating breakfast on the back porch surrounded by giant loblolly pines with their majestic trunks and crowns of soft green needles against the deep blue sky.

- Looking out my window and watching a bald eagle soar over the trees, swooping down along the green fairway of the golf course.

- Spotting a mocking bird perched high on the peak of a roof mimicking robins, cardinals, blue jays and even an owl in it’s joyous evening song.

- Seeing the sun rise out of the ocean - so vivid you can almost see the flames around the orange fireball - and realizing there is a force more powerful than man.

- Sensing the energy of an ocean wave as it crests and crashes on the beach - washing over the sand then turning back on itself as it rushes back to the sea.

-  Standing on the bow of a classic sailboat feeling the swells of the ocean as we rise and fall in rhythm with nature. 

- Watching the sky turn from blue to a hundred shades of pink, red, orange and purple as the sun sets over the water.

Seeing the Whole Picture  

I sat on our deck last night surrounded by tall pines, maples and oaks, listening to crickets and katydids, appreciating the shapes, shadows, and sounds around me.  

Then someone across the lake turned on a very bright spotlight that shone through the trees into my face, and suddenly that was all I could see, all I could think about.  

“Why would anyone use such a bright light up here?  Why are they disturbing this peace? Whose house is that?  They can’t really be “lake people” like us.  Why don’t they turn it out. Can’t someone talk to them and explain that you don’t need that kind of light up here? If I had a bebe gun maybe I could shoot it out.”  

On and on my thoughts went, forgetting about the peace and beauty of the trees, the shapes and shadows and sounds around me.  My eyes and my thoughts were drawn to that single bright light.  

Then it dawned on me how easily we can be blinded by a single light — or a single issue.  How often does a single issue blind us to the full picture of the world around us.  How often does focusing on one single issue blind us to other equally important issues.  

And how often does the media - newspapers, magazines, TV and even social media - focus so hard on one particular issue, or part of an issue, that we are blinded and unable to see the whole picture?

Last night I discovered that if I moved just a bit to the right or left, the trees covered the direct beam of light allowing me to see the whole of my world again.  The light was still there, but only as part of the whole.  

So now I’m thinking, maybe we should all be careful not to let one single issue, no matter how important it may be, blind us to all the colors, the shapes, the darks and the lights of this world in which we live.

Grateful for my Life!

When we walked into the diner this morning there was a sign:  

“I can do anything 

   with God’s help

  … and coffee!”   

It reminded me of a saying on a note pad I used to have  

“I am Woman!.  

  I am Invincible!   

… I am tired.”

That used to be me! 

At the grocery store the other day I saw a woman rush in with her cart, her purse flying over her shoulder.  She rushed up and down the aisles grabbing boxes of cereal and macaroni & cheese off the shelves and packaged dinners from the freezer, them hurried up to the cashier, tapping her toes impatiently as the clerk rang up each item, then quickly pushed the cart out the door to her car.  And there she stood, leaning up against the car.  Probably trying to catch her breath.  A few moments later she threw the bags in the car and raced off.

Yes, that used to be me — but not now!   Now I sit here enjoying a leisurely breakfast, before going to our little cabin on the lake where I will relax in the hammock or float on a raft in the sunshine on a lazy summer afternoon.   

In 1985 it was very different.  My husband had died and I had 6 kids to feed, clothe and chauffeur to and from school and basketball practices.  We’d had a freelance advertising business which I tried to continue running from the kitchen table in our rental home — and I was $50,000 in debt.

Yes I ran up and down aisles in grocery stores, and served the kids frozen dinners, and paused only momentarily to try to catch my breath.  But now I can look back on those hectic years and smile.  

I guess it’s a feeling of accomplishment — certainly not triumph.  More like survival.  And now, as I recall those days, I am overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for all those who helped me along the way.   So today I am taking a few minutes to thank just a few of those who helped:

Jess Weiner and the Weiner family at Best Plumbing Supply who offered me a regular job with good pay and flexible hours so I could take care of the kids.

The financial advisor who helped me through the money crisis in spite of the fact that my “assets” were only the 6 kids, a dog and 2 broken down cars.

John Sullivan, the counselor who kept me sane through it all.

Special friends like Jan, Kathy, Lanier and others who also helped me stay sane and showed me that I could still have fun.

My Dad and my Sister and the rest of our family who were always there for me.

The Town and Village of Cornwall, including the churches and hospital, for being a real “community” in the best sense of the word.

Very special thanks to Jim Allan who taught me to relax, filled me with a sense of peace — and showed me that I could still feel passion and love again! (We just celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary. 

And thanks to each of my children — 6 kids who were anything but perfect, but who always respected me. Though all of our struggles they helped me and each other physically, emotionally and sometimes even financially, each in their own way, with their own unique personalities, talents and abilities.  And they continue to love and respect me for who I am with all my faults and limitations.

How could I not be grateful, and thank God everyday for each day of my life!

New Beginnings

I like new beginnings, don't you?  It's been a long time since I've written in this blog ... or written anything outside of my personal journal.  However many have encouraged me.  So here I am ... making a new beginning with a promise to myself that I will take time everyday, or as often as possible, to share thoughts, ideas and stories.    

What One Person Can Do

No one of us – no group nor organization nor country even, can “save” the world.  But if we go beyond our frustration and our anger, if we take positive action in our own lives, we can help to change the world in many positive ways.

I can’t create jobs but I can help my neighbor with a resume as he looks for work.

I can’t educate all of the children in the world but I can help a teacher in the classroom so she can do her job more effectively.

I can’t help all of the children who are suffering but I can rock a baby in the hospital when the can’t be there.

I can’t solve the problems of divorce and torn families but I can sit and listen to a friend as she talks out her situation, trying find a resolution.

I can teach my children the importance of caring about, learning about and being involved with the world.

I can teach them, by words and example, to take every opportunity for positive action.

I can work at my craft of writing and share positive thoughts and ideas with those who are interested.

And I can pray!

And so in my prayer today, I remember one of [my late husband] Pat’s favorite quotes from the early American patriot Edward Everett Hale: 

“I am only one … but I am one.  I cannot do everything, but I can still do something.   And what I can do I must do.   And what I must do, by the grace of God, I will do!”