as my son-in-law returns late tonight from a trip working with children in haiti, and his wife, my daughter, prepares to soon leave to do the same in kenya, i am struck by the unending giving spirit and nature of people in this world who understand we are all one. i look to each of them as models, for me and for others, and i plan to follow in their footsteps and do the same.
to eldest daughter, h. remember the time we were in the store and saw the matching socks and bought them because they were so odd and decided to change our plans, and instead wore them to the giant multi-plex theater, and bought a massive tub of popcorn and keg o’ soda and raisinets and paid for the first movie, but snuck into the others and spent the day there, laughing and watching and feeling like happy criminals? just wondered.
our annual classical music concert.
a chance for the kinders to see the big kids, (4th and 5th grades),
perform a musical show for them.
a chance to see the possibilities in their own future.
it is a challenge for some of the littles to sit through this event.
they need to move,
and often.
and for some, it is moving in a very different way.
one such kinder caught up in all the magic of the music,
with wide sparkling eyes,
and a face covered with a rapturous smile,
and arms moving with every note,
whispered the most wonderful reaction,
‘miss k, my ears are dancing!!’
and i thought this to be the perfect description of how music can really move a person.
middle daughter h, brought grandbabies j and b to ann arbor to visit me (peaches), for the day.
and what an adventure it turned out to be.
we began the day with a bit of chocolate for breakfast at our favorite local bakery.
we stopped by for a book reading and a bit of play at our favorite book shop.
after a pizza and pop lunch we strolled right onto the edge of our town’s annual hashbash,
where we met a blue and purple dog and lots of friendly hippies of all ages.
and chased giant magic bubbles all over the diag.
and we saw a drone overhead and it looked like a scary flying spider.
and two of us ran into each other.
and one of us threw up after all the junk food and excitement.
and we went to the park and got wet and sandy.
and then some of us were really, really tired.
but not peaches.
and we were all still smiling.
it was a day.
—-
My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty.
She’s ninety-seven now, and we don’t know where the hell she is. ~ Ellen DeGeneres
met up with some friends for brunch.
waited a long time and caught up on stories.
looked forward to the mimosas and coffee and delicious savory crepes.
as last, they arrived at our table.
but then.
our dessert came.
1 minute later.
ice cream, sweet apple filling oozing, delicately wrapped in brown sugar.
tucked inside of the softest of doughs.
melting onto the plate.
we each had the same reaction at the same time.
threw down the gauntlet.
abandoned our food without a look back.
jumped into dessert.
bliss.
why we are friends.
we understand each other.
even when no words are spoken.
—
Absolutely eat dessert first. The thing that you want to do the most, do that. – Joss Whedon
during my foray into the world of being a travel agent, (one of my early careers), my boss decided that i was ready to take a group out on an adventure, (herself included, and along for the ride,) so if found myself as ‘leader’, taking a group of 250 women on a long weekend cruise to the bahamas.
my job was to oversee the group, see that everyone had everything they needed, handle any ‘crisis’ on board, get them where they were going, and to make sure they all made it back. i figured this was easy duty, as my boss was a ‘church-going’ woman and these were women she knew through her church, and i imagined them to be quite tame, as groups go.
well, imagine my surprise when it ended up being one long, crazy weekend, far beyond what i had envisioned.
the waters near the bahamas had been hit by a hurricane not long before we arrived on the scene, so the sea was very rough on the first night. and i should have taken this as a sign.
we had all dressed up for a formal dinner and one by one, we dropped out, and passed each other on the way back to our rooms, nodding to each other, and looking like a bunch of very drunk sailors. i threw up in a giant planter along the way, just to set give you a feel for how rough it was. and it was everyone for themselves that night. it was all i could do to crawl into my bed and stay there, in the fetal position until morning.
when i awoke in the morning it was a beautiful day, calm waters, blue sky, and new beginning.
and from that moment on, no one slept for 3 days.
this was one of the most ‘free-spritied’ groups of women i’d even encountered. everyone was pretty drunk the entire time, there were ‘interactions’ with the crew, people were all over the place, and i decided the only way to keep track of everyone was to ‘enter the belly of the beast’, make sure no one got arrested, hang out with them, and let the sleep fall by the wayside. we quickly bonded, they were friendly and fun and welcoming, and we went on adventures on the islands together during the days, and when we came back to the ship at night, we always participated in whatever activity was planned.
on this particular evening, it was ‘talent show night,’ and i figured it was a way to try to keep everyone in one place for a while if some of us performed. a little group, my boss included, decided to perform as the ‘dancing california raisins.’ i was the only one who was not african-american in a group of 250 women, so i stood out a bit and they billed me as ‘the golden raisin’. and then it was our moment.
our elaborate costumes were made of stuffed trash bags and tights. and we gave it our all.
and won first place.
they must have quickly seen how talented were were.
here we are receiving our trophy.
and through a lot of good luck , and some sort of intervention from the universe,
and a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell policy,’ we all made home.
including the trophy.
and it still has a place of prominence on my desk at home.
—–
Tranquil as a forest, but a fire within. Once you find your center, you are sure to win.
Mulan
it has served me well. and it was finally time. this massive, warm, full-length, fluffy coat that has seen me through many things, was now meant for someone else. we have been together for two long seasons. one of them very, very long. my polar-voretx partner.
and now, it is time. other people need coats. and without a further thought, i shall pass it on. who knows who will next wear this so proudly and so comfortably?
favorite memories of my coat:
protective floatation device when sliding twice on ice, and into water once, under cars
playground warm up center
child wrap as needed
comforter
dirt collector (forgot why i chose white)
sledding partner
outdoor hockey game protective shield from cold
blizzard survival device
pet bed/sanctuary
accidental car cleaner-offer of road salt
seat cushion at many games
snowball fight shield
concussion-saving wrap when demonstrating what not to do on playground ice in order to stay safe, and then doing it
Do not judge others by appearances, for a rich heart may be under a poor coat! -Scottish Proverb quotes
—
image credits: musingsinmongolia,funtoo.com,
aussie baby m by the sea
—
author unknown
it was building day in kindergarten and all kinds of things were being built.
both those one could easily see and proudly carry home, and those one could carry inside forever.
I personally believe we were put here to build and not to destroy.
Red Skelton
——
image credits: j. kurtz
in what must be one of the most unusual jobs ever, michigan monsignor daniel gallagher, translates pope francis’ spanish tweets into latin, for the more than 230,000 people who follow his twitter feed in that classic language. he is the only american among seven specialists in ‘the office of latin letters at the vatican secretary of state.’
gallagher attended the university of michigan, (my alma mater, where we did not cross paths), and studied the sciences, graduating with a microbiology degree. while here, he also took a few latin classes and considered going into medicine, but after graduation, he went in another direction completely and entered the seminary. this led him to rome, (‘all roads lead to rome?’), where he went to study latin and eventually began working in the vatican offices translating latin documents into english.
with the recent onset of the papal step into social media, his new job was created, and it’s clear he loves it. he averages about 4 papal tweets/translations a week and says, ‘it’s a language that transcends cultures and nations, and so many people, especially young people, still crave latin, because it is so much fun. the popularity of the pope’s latin twitter account shows that latin is far from dead.’ (now, how many people can say that?)
gallagher says the learning curve is quite long, with no turnover, and therefore expects it to be a lifelong thing, though he serves at the will of the pope. pope francis stops by his office and invites him to mass occasionally, and he finds him to be quite humble and pleasant.
the pope now has almost 12 million twitter followers.
his latin twitter handle is: @Pontifex_In
all of this has me wondering. i wonder if his mother is disappointed that he didn’t become a doctor? i wonder if he has any connections, and can help our UM wolverines pull off a big win in march madness? i wonder how he sees latin as ‘fun’?’ why are a quarter of a million people choosing to read twitter in latin?’ as a former childhood catholic, am i going to be hit by lightning for wondering these things? just some of the deep questions i now have. and if i spoke latin, could i tweet him to ask for answers?.
Quidquid latine dictum, altum videtur.
Translation: “Whatever is said in Latin seems profound.”
—-
credits: detroitfreepress.com, npr.org,
latin quote credit: Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European proverbs Routledge. p. 965. ISBN 0415096243.
title/faux latin translation credit: me
I didn't have my glasses on.... 