I'm BAAAAACK! ;)

Hard to believe I haven't posted in nearly TWO months, but so much has happened since the weather cooled off at last (within the past, oh, three days! LOL).

The girls & I each suffered through sinus infections shortly after my last posting. :P Turns out the source of it all seems to have been hubby, who felt crummy for two plus weeks before HE finally went to his doctor. While there, the good physician gave him some grief (deserved) about his weight, as well as his slightly elevated blood pressure, both higher than they ought to be. Thus began a ritual six Mondays ago of the two of us arising at 5:30 am to go to our local YMCA for an hour's workout before taking the kids to school & heading off to our paying jobs. It's been nice, because we've been running into some church members & other friends there; plus it provided a time for the two of us to enjoy some 1:1 time, something we've been seriously lacking between our wonky work schedules & the children & their schooling/social lives. I'd forgotten how pleasant it is to be out with the stars in 40-something degree temperatures after the hellish heat & hazy humidity here this summer* (until, as I've already joked, VERY recently). Also, for both of us, but for me in particular, I'm noticing the stress is a bit less when I start my day with dumbbells (5-8 pound ones), the elliptical trainer, the Nautilus machines, the yoga mat...(you get the idea).

After six weeks, HE has managed to lose about ten pounds. I've lost some too, just not quite that many. I marvel that anyone would envy women for any reason; sometimes being female is SO overrated, especially when I see his scale needle moving left and mine more or less staying put by comparison! Fear not, I have no plans to give it up now that I feel the difference an hour a day makes.

*It seems our miserably hazy, hot, & humid summer was truly an aberration, even for Dixie. Many elderly natives of these parts couldn't recall the last time the sweltering was quite this, well, sweltery! I vaguely recall the second summer hubby was stationed here in the mid-80s, but more often than not the heat indices & actual temperatures were surpassing that time AND a worse time in the late 50s according to our local weather forecasters, NOAA, and The Weather Channel. MW

Laboring (no deliveries, just expectations!)

New month, new season (almost!), new attitude, & new motivation to succeed.

Something desperately needed to give after the sweltering summer that seems to have begun at Easter & only JUST released its humid grip on us in the past day or two. Several things conspired to refocus me privately & professionally. One is, of course, the weather change; so too my little health scare earlier this summer. Another was my recent vacation, spent between the graduation of my eldest with his B.Sci. & a trip back to the familiar turf of the NY metropolitan area during which I reconnected with an old friend.

There are future events I need to work to prepare for NOW...not least of which is avoiding the health issues that are plaguing loved ones past the age of 65, with an eye toward improving on my current health status & preserving myself well into the years beyond retirement. (To say nothing of my being vain enough to want to look FABOO at the eventual graduations & weddings of my children & other family members!)

With that in mind, I begin my revamped schedule tomorrow morning, with me arising at 6:00 am for a half hour romp with my mutts before starting the daily grind of motherhood, wife, & hard working employee. God willing it'll become habit long before mornings get cold enough to watch for stray snowflakes (which, around here, is highly unlikely before late January or early February).

Now is the time to adjust my habits toward better health & hopefully see substantial results by this time next year. What better time than Labor Day to start a labor of love?

Gift suggestion to my spouse of 24+ years...

"All any girl needs, at any time in history, is simple velvet and basic diamonds."

So said the late Eva Gabor. I'm inclined to agree with the lovely Hungarian star of Green Acres (among many other things) unless the humidity is sweltering & it's hot enough outdoors to fry eggs on the sidewalk.

Note to husband: SILVER velvet, dahling, for next Valentine's Day! ;)

Overcoming "blah"

It's been a week plus of that around here, between hubby getting over a rather nasty intestinal flu & the extreme heat & humidity in our little corner of the world. Right now I'm dawdling while awaiting the last of the laundry I need to pack for a weekend out of town. Any suggestions on how to purge this stunning lack of excitement?

I'm confused

To quote The Who, "Talkin' 'bout my generation..." Mine has been one of the most fortunate generations in the history of the United States, if not the entire world. When you think about it, it truly has.

We who are now in our mid forties can recall watching the first lunar landing when we were young children. We learned the preamble to the Constitution and about governmental proceudre because they were serenading us as Schoolhouse Rock "commercials" between our otherwise interminable Saturday morning cartoons. ("I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill, & I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill...")

As pre-teens we helped celebrate the 200th birthday of the USA. As young adults graduating during the Reagan administration, the few of us who volunteered for active duty in the armed forces didn't leave the country to fight a war somewhere (except for those few sent to Grenada). Our defining incidents were such things as we were too young to understand fully (Watergate) or that occurred after we were beyond the age of 30 (9/11).

One other positive our generation had going for us: we were required to be immunized against such scourges to our parents' generation as polio, whooping cough, and rubella (aka German measles) to such an extent that polio is practically non-existent in North America today, & the other two have become rather uncommon in most quarters. So imagine my shock, dismay, & frustration when I read on a website committed to fostering knowledge among new mothers about women who are CHOOSING not to have their babies & toddlers immunized because of an exaggerated claim that vaccines cause autism!

I am the mother of four (ranging in age from two adults in their early 20s down to an 11 year old), all of whom got their MANDATORY (for school enrollment) immunizations on schedule throughout their lives. I am also a social worker with particular responsibility for emotionally disturbed children in the foster care system, & part of my job is to ensure that these youths also get their shots on time. Yes, in a few studies investigating the possible causes of autism, someone came up with the rather remote possibility that the immunizations given to infants & toddlers MIGHT in some cases be implicated as a POSSIBLE cause. I've read it too.

But...when the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is openly, publicly acknowledging that immunization of young children is a positive thing in the vast majority of cases, WHY would you resist having your child vaccinated--again, these are REQUIRED for school enrollment--& risk serious illness & the possible death of your child?!?

I'm sure the late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would be spinning in his grave if he knew parents were WILLINGLY taking such risks with their children, particularly since he himself was a polio victim who was determined NOT to let that ailment slow him down a bit...in the pre-Salk vaccine era when parents had NO CHOICE in the matter. I can't understand why you'd willingly take such a risk with your child's future. It strikes me as a heinous form of Russian roulette.

Bananas are GOOD for you...

I had my first EKG earlier this week. While I was pretty seriously alarmed at the time, it IS a profound relief to know that my heart is well. To that end, I plan to continue my workouts at our local YMCA (more often, in fact) to play on the elliptical trainers, secure in the knowledge that it's doing my body good.

The reason for my hookup to a machine, however, was something I now realize was preventable & I feel a bit foolish for not being more careful to do. That reason was dangerously low potassium levels, which had dropped as a direct result of my not having replaced sufficient electrolytes in my system after being in & out of extreme heat for the past week plus--including having mowed our lawn at "off" hours (evening around sunset & before 9:00 a.m. to AVOID being in those 100+ degree heat indices!). The lovely folks who took care of me in the ER, aware of my family history of type 2 diabetes, were kind enough to recommend a Gatorade substitute with far less sugar (that'd be Propel for those interested).

My brother greeted this news with, "Eat a banana, you banana!" Great advice, except that my potassium was low enough that the ER doc informed me I'd need to eat POUNDS of them to restore it unless he prescribed some (which he has for a week). So to all those who've said the above over the years (especially in our high school cafeteria--you know who you are!!!), you're very right!!!

Fun reading...I hope!

Found a marvelous book at our local library, a New York Times collection of NYC stories from over the years. Just perusing it between the shelves it caught my interest quickly, particularly since it opened immediately to an article about the 1965 New York blackout. Said blackout, which was really a northeastern USA & southeastern Canada phenomenon, occurred when I was a toddler and still living in the city.

If there's one thing I've always enjoyed, it's reading articles about events I at least vaguely recall. History has always drawn my interest, but now that my childhood years are nigh on half a century ago, my own lifetime is rapidly becoming something of historical interest--as weird as THAT is to realize!

I'll have to let you know if the book's worth the read. I'm expecting as much, particularly since it's a "gray lady" tome!

Mother's Day

Hope my readership had a lovely day being spoiled by their children. ;) I had a pleasant day that began with breakfast in bed prepared & delivered upstairs by my youngest, but I ended up doing a bit more than I'd originally planned. It's OK--most of my "doing" involved primping my '04 Mustang GT convertible, which needed TLC in the form of vacuuming, washing, & a coat of Armor All on the interior. Tomorrow, as I'm' off for a state holiday, she'll get a coat of wax, Rain-X on her windshield, & a dose of Armor All on the roof. Just before dark, hubby rushed to replace the faulty EGR valve.

Today's homily dealt with Mother's Day from the viewpoint of a fervently praying woman named Monica, whose son was a bit undisciplined as a youth, including having a child out of wedlock with one of his many lovers before Monica's prayers were answered & he joined the church...in the fourth century. (This raucous individual is best known to history as St. Augustine of Hippo.) I'd first heard the story on a Mothering Sunday in England way back in March of (I think!) 1987. My teenaged daughter had never before heard it & was, I think, surprised to realize St. Augustine was as "imperfect" as so many other of the saints were while on earth.

Our high temperatures today dropped from 90+ to the mid-70s, much more pleasant & less humid to be about in the yard helping to haul shrubbery clippings from the yard to the trailer (before I attended to the car). That made for a fun afternoon spent with the eleven year old, who soaked ME more than she did the car while we were soaping & rinsing her! We pretty much had to wring out our shirts & shorts & leave our shoes on the porch to dry, but it was worth it to have a sparkling clean car again (not to mention a stress-free afternoon with my own offspring!).

Maternal pride

Yay for any accomplishment by any of my children. Today, however, found me attending an honors convocation for the PE department from which my younger son will earn his BSci in Physical Education next year at this time. He had been selected as one of only two junior students in the department to receive awards for professional development, etc. The other awards were primarily snapped up by the seniors who will graduate tomorrow, though a few went to MS level graduates.

So for the second time in several years, one of my offspring is honored on a plaque at an educational institution. I'm probably beaming enough to illuminate a dark room. ;)

Manners Apply in Cyberspace Too

I read a column written by a New York journalist which vented about the crassness & cowardice of rude individuals who post inappropriate comments to articles on line, "hiding behind their user IDs."

It assuredly applies worldwide; I see it almost constantly on the webpage of our local CBS affiliate. "Holier than thou" types make rude comments about the misdeeds, accidents, foibles, & pratfalls of others which happen to make the news, often leading to threads that end up discussing anything BUT the news piece about which the original comments were made & going on a bit (as they say in England) before culminating in somebody's comments being deleted for "violating the terms of use."

My grandmother's advice remains true today: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything," but substitute "post" for "say" for Internet applications.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice & Men...

Laryngitis kept me home from work today, so I'm blogging at an unusual hour for me.

As per usual in the life of a mom, I have much to do. Because of my non-existent voice, I have some extra time to accomplish stuff I'd normally have to cram into a weekend or an evening. So I'm blogging between minor household chores, sewing badges on my daughter's Girl Scout sash, & assembling a lined dress I cut out for myself over four weeks ago (it may actually be nigh on FIVE weeks ago, now!). As much as I'm able, I'll make an effort to accomplish all this stuff today, as I may find myself doing other things over the weekend that I'd originally planned to achieve over the course of today.

On the bad news side, looks like I'll be giving my husband's annual camping trip at the beach a miss, darn it! I usually enjoy going to the Grand Strand with the girls & the dog, but since I'm ailing enough not to be able to communicate, sleeping under the stars in 50 degree nights might not be the wisest choice. Maybe the youngest daughter will be amenable to s'mores made in the backyard to make up for it.

I think I've been whacked between the eyes!

Those who know me VERY well know patience is a virtue that I find quite lacking in myself. Since early February I've been in a small group Bible study entitled, "Experiencing God." It's been educational & a bonding experience with my peers. We're all members of the local Episcopal church, but there's a diverse array of Christian traditions represented, from former Southern Baptists to lapsed Roman Catholics, a former Lutheran, a friend who joined the church after her daughter joined the youth group with one of my sons, & myself (the only native Yankee Episcopalian from the high church tradition).

With that in mind, & with a nod to my constant quip regarding St. Augustine's maxim, "The reward for patience is more patience," is that God needs to hurry up & deliver (!), I present two teachings I received from an Orthodox Christian priest e-friend, which figuratively whacked me in the noggin in the past week or so:

Meekness is the buttress of patience, the door, or rather the mother of love, and the foundation of discernment, for it is said, "The Lord will teach the meek his ways." (Psalm 24:9) It prepares us for the forgiveness of sins,; it is boldness in prayer; an abode of the Holy Spirit. But to whom shall I look? Even to him that is meek and quiet. (Isaiah 66:2)
St. John Climacus (of the Ladder)

Be patient, my child, be patient. It is for us to acquire humility that we are allowed to be tempted. These are medicines which cure our sick souls. Rejoice that God is caring for your wounds. Bless him that he considers you his child and disciplines you in order to teach you wisdom from his law. "Blessed is the one whom you will discipline and teach," and "What son is there that a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline you are illegitimate and not sons." (Hebrews 12:7-8) But our temptations testify that we are children of God, and this is cause of much joy and honor. So take courage, my child. "Wait patiently for the Lord and do good." (Psalm 26:14)
Elder Ephraim of the Holy Mountain (Mt. Athos, Greece)

So much for patience in abundance. More like, "hurry up and wait," huh? *sigh* Better luck in the coming years, I hope!

Mercy--it's Friday!

I'm wisely blogging before I run out of steam, after having worked until 6:30 pm in an attempt to get all my job-related paperwork caught up. (Not QUITE there, but I'm substantially closer than I was at 8:00 this morning!) During my travels to meet with the clientele yesterday, I happened on a poster that fits well with my blog theme. I wish I new who deserves the credit, because that person WASN'T identified on the poster!

(ahem) and I quote:

"The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence; the second, listening; the third, memory; the fourth, practice; the fifth, teaching others."

Guess the blog puts me on steps 4 & 5 jointly?

Happy weekend to all!

Plotting

Literally, that is. I had a great idea occur to me over the weekend that I plan to develop in the coming days into a fairy tale of my own creation. In addition to that, I have some work I wrote while living abroad that may be tweaked a bit for submission to be considered for my application to work on my MFA in Creative Writing.

In short, the fairy tale is based loosely on a real life situation, but should be obscure enough that none of the guilty, the innocent, nor the wildly imaginative can identify themselves!

Remember Stewardship "of all"?

Me too, but I was firmly reminded of it yesterday as I faced a daunting uphill climb...literally! As a seasoned veteran of more than a few hikes up, down, AND around the countryside of both the northeastern USA & merrie olde England (plus a few Alpine meadows in northwestern Italy), the idea of a trek up Stone Mountain in Georgia didn't faze me. "How high could it be?" I thought, not even recalling until we reached the base of it that this is, after all, the southern portion of the Appalachians!

Stone Mountain, on the side opposite the carving of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, & Stonewall Jackson, is quite walkable if you're into pretending you're Heidi of the Swiss Alps & aspire to emulate a mountain goat. On its more climbable side, Stone Mountain is very much like my childhood home in southern New England: steep hunks of granite; however, UNLIKE anything up there, this thing rises tor-like nearly 800 FEET above the surrounding relatively gently rolling countryside. Good thing I didn't know until we reached the top that there's a cable car that takes less hardy souls up & down!

Back to the need for physique stewardship...I have GOT to be far more dedicated to my gym time than I've been of late due to sinus infections, children with walking pneumonia, travels to swim meets, my work schedule, ad infinitum! Yes, at the midpoint of my 40s my physique is now far more maternal than athletic, having birthed four children (& still raising two of them to adulthood!). It's time to remember I'll be no good to anyone if I don't take care of ME FIRST (the cardinal sin to many a mom's mind!).

Back to the Y tomorrow...

Self Investment

It always pays, no matter your age. It's all about outlook. As the granddaughter of a woman who "finally" completed her BA when I was 5 (after starting it at the more "traditional" college age, then married & raised a family before finishing) & earned her MS when I was 12 & she was a relatively new widow, I'm a firm believer that "age is but a number."

I wish I could get that truth--as well as the "good things come to those who wait" idea behind delayed gratification--through to more of the youth I work with on a daily basis. My own seem to understand. Though they can be impatient too, at least my daughters are seeing how a good work ethic pays off now that both of their older brothers are more than halfway through college (the older one graduates this August).

Some of the kids I work with may get it in theory, but the moment things don't go as they want them to, they lose patience, quit, and figure it'd never be theirs anyhow because it's too hard to obtain it (whatever "it" is, usually an education).

Any suggestions on beating it into these youths' heads...WITHOUT literally beating them? ;) (I'd never want to do that--they've had enough hard knocks already!)

A Reassessment of Priorities

The map of my life would, I suspect, be somewhat less than fascinating.

In terms of roads, those around and between NYC and Danbury, CT dominate most of the first years of my existence. For a time after marriage, I'd include a number of motorways and roundabouts, which I mastered navigating while driving on the opposite side of both the road AND the car (mind the fen drainage ditches!) during my tenure as a resident of eastern England. Most of the rest is monopolized by the dirt roads and interstates of the Carolina sandhills, with occasional forays to my native garden spots.

In terms of achievement of life goals, parenthood has trumped all else. Two of my offspring are now nearing completion of their undergraduate degrees, a third is now in high school, and the youngest is moving on to middle school next fall. Our home is securely our own, thank heaven. The careers of myself and my husband revolve around youngsters, which keeps our outlook young, though we're often exhausted at the end of a full day's hard work with other people's children.

I've concluded it's time to explore some new "lifescape" again. A couple of my long-held private goals need to come out of hiding to play before I utterly lose the will to pursue them. One is my MFA in Creative Writing, most likely focusing on creative non-fiction or prose given my career of trying to resolve "hard luck" situations on behalf of children. The other is something I've dreamed of since my early childhood lived out near LaGuardia Airport--to play the harp. The former is easy enough; there are two (2) programs I have my eye on & have requested information on "low residency" options for (one at my alma mater). The other, however, may take some dedicated research & creativity to make occur--harp instructors aren't exactly easy to find in NYC where there are several professional orchestras, let alone where I live now!

Tune in & turn on to how this all turns (not DROPS!) out (hopefully before I attain an age that starts with a different digit!).

Blessed Quiet...but not much peace!

It's going to be a peculiar week for me, in that I'm only working two days & off the other three. My first work day was today & it was frightfully busy. Hoping Thursday is somewhat less hopping so I can get more accomplished before I take Friday off.

Meanwhile, here at home hubby has been engaging in yard work that includes adding to a bonfire in which he destroyed firewood that was starting to rot, mowing the lawn, and just generally cleaning up the back yard. For the first time in living memory, we haven't got a swing set out there anymore; our youngest turned 11 on Easter & is not much interested in outdoor play that doesn't include her bicycle at this point. Right now said youngest child is at a friend's house until close to her normal bedtime, so I'm blogging while the teenager takes a shower & hubby finishes up the back lawn.

Due to spring break, my other "mercy" activity of recent weeks (a Bible study with a small group from church) has been cancelled for this week. So I'll wisely use that time to work out at the local YMCA instead. Heaven knows I need both about equally!

Just wish the floating pollen would float away in puddles...not supposed to rain here again until Thursday.

I've reconsidered some personal priorities for the next twelve months or so.(Easter...renewal...good timing, huh?) I have joined SparkPeople.com with an emphasis on improving my overall health rather than focusing strictly on my perpetually nefarious goal of weight loss in hopes that EVERYTHING will improve including the number on the scale (and a few other numbers, e.g. BP, blood sugar, serum cholesterol, etc.). I'm not getting any younger, but before I start visibly showing my age... ;D I'm optimistic that I'll see some visible change before my eldest struts across the Littlejohn Coliseum stage on 8/7 to receive his degree! ~:o So it is that I'm embarking on a plan of documenting my progress along with just the daily stuff I usually vent about in this space, reminding everyone that we all do our best & NEED to be our own best cheerleaders (GO TEAM--& I DON'T mean "team Jacob" or "team Edward"!).

Hope everyone had lovely Easter/Passover holidays looks forward as eagerly as I to spring springing forth (perhaps with a tad less pollen than the vast dunes of "yellow snow" I'm seeing in my little corner of Carolina!). Hope you're sneezing/sniffling less than we all are around here but seeing just as much green & other festive colors in the yard.

Easter Critters

Easter brought bedlam to my not-exactly-quiet normal routine. I love having all of my children at home, and generally like hosting the family dinners for holidays, but when I'm doing it around the choir obligation we have at our church for not one but TWO church services, I'm pooped before the lamb ever hits the oven, much less the dinner table.

Most of the so-called "bedlam" ensued late in the afternoon of Good Friday. Hubby returned from a shopping trip with our birthday child with her new pet bunny...PLUS three chicks he plans to build a coop for! Mercifully on myself (yes, I CAN be taught!), I had the presence of mind to take vacation Friday, Monday, & two other days this week while hubby & the girls are ALL on spring break from school. (The oldest is already en route back to his apartment & his younger brother plans to depart shortly, as both have classes early tomorrow morning.)

Wonderland

I went to see Alice in Wonderland at last; it was quite entertaining & MUCH more enjoyable than any stuffy Lewis Carroll tome I was ever forced to read during my youth. (Johnny Depp reciting the opening lines of Jabberwocky was fun to hear!) Upon leaving the theater with my youngest, I recalled that the book was originally interpreted as a satire on Victorian society & politics (e.g. "jolly caucus races," a decapitation-crazed female monarch obsessed with red roses vs white ones, interminable tea parties featuring a loopy milliner, a randy rabbit, & a ditzy rodent). I had to explain to her that the queen in question at the time was Victoria, not Elizabeth (who actually DID live in the era of decapitation as punishment, which was carried out on her own mum!).

Glad we are quite far removed from some of the Victorian social conventions that are presented as "fashionable" in the film (to say nothing of the decapitation if you screw up bit!).

Parenthood Pitfalls

Is it rewarding? Yes. It is a pain in the neck? Yes. Is it the most thankless job in the universe? You bet it is; even God would say so. Just recall the e-mail joke in which Adam & Eve compare notes: "No way! We have forbidden fruit? Cool!" (You can almost see the Almighty rolling his eyes at this exchange, plotting to strike the serpent with a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky for letting Eve in on that secret!) This weekend I'll be seeing all of my children, and one of them may be fortunate to survive the encounter unscathed. The youngest is swimming in a regional championship competition; the oldest is returning from his spring break jaunt to NYC, the second oldest is coaching at said swimming contest.

As for child #3...

Right now I'm looking forward (with trepidation) to witnessing the "wailing & gnashing of teeth" my husband is so fond of watching when one of our offspring is doing poorly in school entirely because they haven't done assignments & turned them in on time. Daughter dearest, the social butterfly, has said she "pulled up her grade" in Algebra, which, actually, she did. To her eternal dismay, however, her weekend is going to include a great deal OF Algebra (supervised by the parent who HATES math & struggled with Algebra herself) because this so-called improvement was from a 52 to a 64. STILL an F at her high school, though yes, the score IS higher. While she didn't lie, neither did she give her best effort to the cause, which I intend to resolve this final weekend before report cards are sent home. If all goes as I hope, she'll be kowtowing before her 22 year old brother, the math god Civil Engineering major, who is likely to be a FAR better Algebra instructor than I.

Patron Saint of Engineers?

OK, so there's a title St. Patrick has I didn't know about until earlier today, when minutiae about his various patronages were shared by a friend. I knew he was the patron saint of Boston, but not of Nigeria; this engineer thing was likewise a revelation to me. I managed to celebrate the day quietly without green beer or cabbage, but with corned beef & mashed potatoes for supper after my Bible study gathering at church. I also received early birthday gifts in the form of flowers & Lindt truffles from hubby, who'll be working late tomorrow evening to make up for his being at home tonight to help me out with the children. (I suspect I may be as well, catching up on paperwork for my job!)

Dubious Recognition

While perusing a certain Atlanta-based news website, I happened on an article about the best and worst roads in the USA. Not surprisingly (since I live here!), South Carolina is ranked as the second deadliest state due to DUI, and the third deadliest state due to speeding.

Way to go, Palmetto State. Yet again you've managed to embarrass those among the citizenry who do NOT consider these statistics a good thing to garner headlines for! As if we weren't already the national whipping boy over "You lie!" and our AWOL governor on the Argentine tail trail. :P (Our state bird, the gamecock, often abbreviated only to the second half of that word, sort of sums it all up!)

In the words of the immortal Monty Python, RIGHT.

So, what does our perpetually backlogged state legislature intend to do about this latest boost to the state's ego? Likely nothing, as usual.

But hope springs eternal. I also learned from a radio broadcast I heard this afternoon that the offices of EVERY politico in the state are UP FOR GRABS on November 2, 2010. That means EVERYONE--both US senators, Congressman, the governor, lieutenant governor, & the ENTIRE state legislature--will be bombarding us with rancor as they try to keep the seats in which they've been less than effectual for the Palmetto State.

Time for a bit of fresh air in Columbia's halls of power? Maybe a different crowd could manage things better than the current lot has done...?

Trajectory mapping

Sounds like NASA, doesn't it? Dream on! I pre-date the first launch of the Apollo program, but metaphor is as close to rocket science as I'll ever get. I'm obviously not headed into orbit around another planet with this, tempting as a real life trek to Mars has been to one of my children.

I'm participating in a weekly Bible study with a small group at church. This week's most challenging assignment has been to identify "spiritual markers" in my life to date. I've obviously recalled a few, though I'm sure there are many others I've completely forgotten about because they were an awfully long time ago. While it's been interesting to go through them, I'm not particularly eager to share all of them. A few stand out as markers despite my not having personally determined a course of action (because I was far too young to do so). The goal of the exercise is to discern where God is leading me. I haven't firmly figured it out yet, but I'm grateful he's given me an ideal mate for the journey.

Now to make sure our JOINT trajectory remains in the same general direction for the next four or five decades...

Weather Reports & cancelled flights

Mercy has come our way in the past 24 hours, in that we've been able to give some blessed relief to two weary travelers who ended up NOT traveling thanks to a comedy of errors on the part of their airline due to the poor weather on the ground in New York. I'm grateful for the opportunity to do some good for my nearest & dearest, particularly since I haven't seen my eldest since Christmas break (that is, until about 10:30 last night). While the weather up north shows no sign of abating until Monday night or Tuesday, their travel plans now call for a flight to the city tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, here in beautiful downtown Hot House (where we actually got SNOW on SEVERAL occasions this winter!)...

The annual sprinkling of the pine pollen has begin (usually does so JUST in time for Easter, which is three weeks from today). Looks like I'll be washing my car MORE often for a while just to keep the "yellow snow" from tricking folks into thinking my white car IS yellow! Daffodils & narcissus are blooming, joining the pansies & ornamental kale that have been imbuing gardens with color since the holiday season. One of my camellia bushes started blooming shortly around early February & another looks set to pop into bloom in time for Easter. (That's a sign of how cold our winter has been--usually the early bloomer is festooned with flowers for Christmas & the late bloomer is coming to a stop for the season about now.)

I'll be watching for leprechauns later this week, trying to grab one & his pot of gold. ;) Hope you find one too.

Life has interrupted the flow of words for a while, between children's obligations & my own, but hopefully this has settled down for the foreseeable future.

Been participating in a Bible study group at my church, where my personal definitions of "mercy" & "wisdom" are being expanded. (That never hurts!) Meanwhile, numerous personal goals are close to being realized and others are being set aside for a while longer. I've found the person most in need of some merciful wisdom is myself. ;)

More ponderings to come...

Happy, motivated New Year

My holidays, while not quite as restful as I'd have liked, were refreshing. Now that my two oldest offspring are off to college & unlikely to move back home full time (we hope!), it's a joy to have them home during school breaks. January will not lack for contacts, either; the best part of the month will be this weekend, when all of my children & I will attend a parish retreat in the Smoky Mountains. Everyone's musical talents come out to play, as will our ambitions to ascend to the top of the mountain on which we'll stay. My plan this year is, regardless of what else goes on, to get up there myself for the first time! One group of adults climbed to the top and held a wine & cheese celebration when they reached the summit; that's who I plan to trek with if they repeat this event.

Hope everyone is keeping warm in this colder than usual winter weather!