mackinac island, michigan
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Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein
Nov19
Monthly Archives: November 2013
Nov18
water fills up empty spaces
and as the unseasonable heavy rains and storms continue today, i am reminded of a wonderful event a few summers back. i was with my family at a large amusement park. it was beautiful out, without a cloud in the sky and we walked around, like most other people that day, staying within our group, enjoying the park and enjoying the day. suddenly, without much warning, the sky grew very dark and raindrops began to fall. as the rain became heavier, people began to take shelter under whatever they could find, planning to wait it out.
within minutes, the rain became quite out of control, with an onslaught of hard, sideways, piercing water. it was relentless. and it quickly became obvious that it was useless to even attempt to stay dry. little by little, everyone began to come out from under their makeshift ‘shelters’, take off wet shirts, and shoes and whatnot, and just fully immerse themselves in the rain, some literally laid in it, as the ground fiooded so quickly, like a warm and wild jacuzzi. there was really no choice but to surrender to it all, and people began to openly laugh and jump and play and dance and embrace the rain. strangers bonded together in full laughter and in this the sudden unexpected experience they had absolutely no control over. all ages, all sizes, all genders, all colors, all human.
after a few more minutes of this, the clouds and the rain moved on, as suddenly as they had arrived, and the sun came back out, bright and yellow, signaling a return to calm. the only clues that it was all real, were the water on the ground, people’s soaked clothing and hair, and the smiles on their faces. soon, people stopped playing, wrung out their clothes, got back in their groups, and walked on. as if it had never happened. it was the highlight of my day.
The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Nov17
warm the children
If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it. – Lucy Larcom
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she came flying in, like a whirlwind, hurricane esmerelda, her 5 small children in tow. the weather had taken a sudden turn for the worse, putting forth a tremendous downpour and winds and thunder and lightning. we were meeting at a store to buy winter clothing for her family. as part of a local program, warm the children, members of my community meet others who are in more challenging circumstances, and through donations, we are able to get together to purchase what is needed for their children.
when we had tried to speak on the phone, it was clear esmerelda only spoke spanish, and i enlisted the help of our school spanish teacher to set up the meeting. i brought a friend who had visited nicaragua and had a bit of spanish in her pocket, along with her daughter, who was at my very basic level of speaking spanish. i imagined that we all would figure it out and somehow accomplish our mission.
she had somehow gone to the wrong store and was late and worried, and rushed over when we figured out what happened. the children were all quite young, one still small enough to sit in the seat of the cart. only one of the children spoke a bit of english and as we made our way through boots, hats, mittens, snow pants, coats and jammies, my friend somehow was able to call up her ’emergency spanish’ and helped when we had a question. her daughter was able to help some of the children to make choices and find sizes and luckily, i could remember colors and numbers in spanish. (even though i slipped into french at times)
somehow we were able to find all that we needed for each of them, filling two carts, and the children happily picked out clothes in the colors they liked. the only boy in the family, lit up with a smile when shown spiderman mittens, and the girls helped each other try on and make final choices. they were very well behaved through it all, and it was easy to see that each of them had taken on a role of responsibility for themselves and each other at an age way before most children would ever have to.
we kept everyone moving, making sure we didn’t lose anyone along the way, and before we knew it, we were checked out and headed outside. a tornado watch had been issued and it somehow seemed appropriate with all of the energy we had whipped up on this shopping trip. we helped the family back to their van, keeping an eye on the gaggle of young children, and as we left, we hugged and said adios, all with tears in our eyes and smiles on our faces. it was a wonderful morning.
A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. William Arthur Ward
Nov16
sometimes two halves do not equal a whole
from the time i was born, my older middle sister and i grew up sharing a room. this led to a love/less than love, on and off again, room sharing, relationship. on one of those ‘less than love’ days, she came up with what i thought was a brilliant idea.
we would get the roll of duck/duct tape from the garage and make a line right down the middle of our room, dividing it in half. we’d then each have our own ‘private’ half, and the other would not be allowed to cross over the border unless invited in and given special permission from the one on the the other side. we worked hard to make it perfectly divided in half, each including the area with our own beds and near our own sides of our closet.
when the job was done, we each sat on our beds, contained within our halves, and i thought smugly, ‘ha! i got the extra window on my side, what does she know, being the older one? she may be a year older, but i must be the one who is smarter, much more clever!’
my private ego party was however, very short-lived, as she soon stood up and announced with a smile that she was going out to play. she promptly exited through the door to our room which was now only on her side.
It’s easy to focus on the things that divide us. Sometimes too easy – Dan Miller
Nov15
in beauty, there is truth
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Nov12
perspective
i followed two 4-year olds at the back of the line, as my class made their way down the school hallway. one was crying. the other reached over, took his hand, and walked with him silently for a minute. the crying continued. the hand-holder decided to take a different approach and share his own tale of woe to make his friend feel better. “hey, when i was a baby, my mom never even played with me. she just wanted to stay in her room with the door closed and watch t.v.,” he told him. (how does he know this? how sad, and it really explains a lot, i thought to myself.) the other little guy stopped crying and they continued on in silence once again, hands swinging.
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If you think you have it tough, read history books. – Bill Maher |
Nov11
answer: ” this could mean trouble but i think the numbers will be really big, so relax, sit back, and enjoy.”
question: ‘how am i supposed to win at drag queen bingo if i forgot my glasses?!’
gotta love sunday at bingo with the church ladies. lots of love and fun in that room. didn’t win. had a ball.
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Sunday school don’t make you cool forever. – Sly Stone
Nov10
when your window of opportunity suddenly slams shut
i read the following text, sent to me at work by one of my loved ones: ‘it was the perfect storm, everything that could have happened has happened at once.’ through a series of quick back and forth, i found out what went on and was very relieved to see that somehow everything had turned out okay in the end. here is her story –
as a wife and mother of two young children, having time for yourself is a rare occasion, and if there is a chance moment where it looks like this might happen, it is important to seize every second of it. her day had begun like many others – husband at work, toddler at pre-school, dog taking a nap, and baby, not feeling well, (and having been up all night), had finally fallen asleep just wearing her diaper. it seemed that the kids had taken out every toy and item not nailed down the night before, but she had other things to do rather than clean it all up. she was on a mission. this was mama’s moment at last. she quickly undressed and was ready to step into the shower when she heard the boom.
she quickly ran out naked and saw the backyard filled with white smoke. grabbing the first clothes she saw, she dressed herself and the baby, who was now crying again, found the leash and collar for the dog, (a gentle giant), who was now alerting to danger and barking up a storm, grabbed the lovebirds, the fish, the cat, the frog, and her cell phone. ran outside, called 911, called her husband.
told him it was coming from the area of the generator outside. they had had a power surge the day before and he told her to hit the ‘kill switch’ to shut it off. somehow, in calling 911, the first time, it began automatically redialing 911 with every new phone call or text. she heard many sirens coming, but going on by. they live in the country, down a long dirt driveway, and the trucks seemed not to be able to find the house. she put the baby down on the grass, near the bunny hutch, and the rest of the menagerie, and went to hit the switch. even then, it turned off for just a moment and started up again, with even more smoke pouring out.
she ran back and picked up the baby, took the dog by the leash, and ran the 1/4 mile down the driveway to lead the firemen in. she met them at the road, and ran back to the house. her driveway is surrounded by trees on both sides and after a minute she realized the big truck stopped following her. as she looked back she saw it stuck in her yard as it had headed off the driveway. the grass was somewhat soft due to recent rain and the truck was too heavy for it. the firemen bail out of the truck and along with the firefighters from 2 neighboring areas, and 7 sheriffs, now on the scene, they all run to the house, disconnect the generator and gas line, work their magic, and then survey the perimeter.
as she ran into one fireman coming around the corner of the house, he said ‘hey, aren’t you __’s mom, (her daughter at pre-school), ‘i’m ___’s dad?!’ (his son is in her class at preschool). ‘how ya doin’?’ ‘good to see you, i’m going to have to do a walk-through now, to make sure everything is safe.’ she welcomes the security and safety of this gesture but remembers how the house looks and what she is wearing/not wearing. not much she could do about it at that point, and really the least of the issues.
after his walkthrough he emerged to say, ‘hey, i know a lot more about you now, it’s almost like we’re related.’ she smiled and he tells her the truck may be there for a while, (3 hours), while they wait to be towed out, as they tried emptying their water into her pond and still are stuck in place.
one of the sheriffs tells her that the driveway is in violation of the township ordinance, and needs to be upgraded to be safe for emergency personnel. after their afternoon spent together, many thanks given all around, and a visit from a tow truck, all emergency responders, (looking like a crew from a calendar), head back to their stations. her husband came home and redid the driveway, adding stone and filling it in, and made iit safe for emergency personnel. she took her shower.
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When things go right it’s hard to figure out why, but when things go wrong it’s really easy. – Steven Soderbergh |
Nov9
knock knock.
who’s there?
giant stick.
giant stick who?
giant stick mantis knocking at your door. can you come out to play with me?
aussie grandson m welcomes a friend who came knocking at his door one fine morning
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One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.
Nov3
with six under six you get (maybe a bite if you’re lucky) egg roll
family math: take my 3 daughters, all close in age. now grown and each with their own 2 children, also close in age, all under age 6. mix it all together and it equals 6 grand babies and lots of love and life and joy. they all call me ‘peaches,’ a childhood nickname i’ve reclaimed. here is the cast of characters you may meet in past and future stories.
aussie grandsons – m and f
granddaughter v
granddaughter r
granddaughter b
grandson j
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Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.
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I didn't have my glasses on.... 