Tickled pink: to be happy

Did you know that the color Pink encourages friendliness while discouraging aggression and ill-will? In honor of Love Thursday, I share a little of the pink in my life. Sit back & let the pink wash over you & have a happy Love Thursday, all! :-)

Photos by me. The rose @ the very top was in my mom's yard after a rain storm. See the water still inside? :-)

Got inspiration?

I sure do, as you can clearly see!!! This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of my 'inspirational library.' Just the other day, my mom & I were saying that we could probably have an inspirational book sale with our books combined - IF we were willing to part w/any of 'em.
My love of the inspirations are clearly another trait I picked up from mom. How can you not adore tons of reading that lifts your very soul? And they always make the books so beautifully pleasing, you can't help but peek inside.

Then once you crack the spine, you're in there - and you're not coming out! Not without a full belly of food for the soul.

When I hit thrift shops, or library book sales, the first place I hit is the inspirational section. Can you say 'treasure trove?' Out of the books you see, Daily Strength for Daily Needs' was a gift from my mother (ONLY because in her frenzy, she discovered she had duplicates), and the rest probably costs me $5, all together. SCORE! I always come home feeling good & can't wait until I can hunker down w/my books, a fresh pad of paper (for thoughts) & a pen.

And, what are the odds of finding the book "Random Acts of Kindness"?? I mentioned yesterday the RAK being given by Se'Lah & Anyes on 11/1/10. I take this as one of my usual 'life signs' that everything is all good.

Stay inspired, everyone! :-)

Healing

While I took my walk @ the track today, I thought there are so many prayers I constantly send out. My heart sometimes feels so heavy with wishing I could do more for those I pray for. I'm super excited to find out Necessary Room and Far Away/Sunshine are co-hosting a Random Act of Kindess Project on 11/13/10. It's such a beautiful thing to do to bring a ray of light to all the gray of the world.

In the meanwhile, prayers, always, to Cassie who is on a dark journey, yet is such a ball of super nova! Even going thru chemo & hair loss, she is a powerful force to be reckoned with. Her spirit is strong & she says all she needs are her earrings & lipstick. CaringBridge is such a blessed tool. Cass has posted her picture w/her new look. And as I suspected - she's beautiful.

Unending prayers for Haiti w/the cholera outbreak. Disaster atop of disaster. Everything thing we have, every second is a blessing; we take so much for granted. I am always so aware & grateful.

My bella, Lisa, and her hubby, Tim, who had successful heart surgery this weekend. Lisa is such an angel & friend. She's a rock of strength. I so wanna be like her when I grow up.

And finally, prayers to those whose jobs have been lost, can't find work, are in foreclosure. Prayers to those I see on the streets holding signs for food or work. All of these things keep me always in a state of grace. Amen.

Obituary

Trust
Date of Birth: the beginning
Date of Death: 1995

TRUST passed away early this morning after a long battle with mistrust. Trust was diagnosed with mistrust early on, but went into remission in early 1994. Sadly, mistrust returned with a vengence and ravaged its way through all trust that stood in it's path.

It is believed that on the day Trust died, the boundaries of it's privacy had been violated, which created extreme amounts of anger, bewilderment, hurt and finally, the fatal blow: deep unsurety and mistrust.

Trust is survived by forgiving, letting go, putting-in-the- past, and moving forward.

Mistrust still lives in the town of insecurity, eternally regretful of the day it got curious.







Sunday Scribbling word: "curious"

Love Thursday

Hi, all! I've been a bad girl - haven't been here in a few days, even though I've been jotting notes down on things to write about.

Love Thursday asks that we look at situations from all sides.

I have to agree. Happy Love Thursday, all!









Photos: Cuppa "T" Photography (me) :-)

“Look, if there’s one thing I’ve learned.........”

.... it is that if you sit on your ass and don't make things happen, your life will pass you by. When you step out on your faith, God will certainly catch you because he wants you to get up & get going. He knows how smart, clever, intelligent, talented & amazing we are. I'm sure it makes him sad when we pull out light back instead of letting it bust forward. If you sit and only speak of what you will do 'when'.... the next thing you know, 'when' will have passed.

'carry on tuesday' phrase: “Look, if there’s one thing I’ve learned.........”

Random flow...

“When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't right, we will have peaceful hearts.”

It's a fabulous Fall, Saturday morning. I always wake so overwhelmed with the possibilities of what the day will hold.

There is so much that needs to be done inside, but I have to take advantage of the blue skies & changing leaves. As I struggled out of my sleep to the phone ringing, it was my beautiful bella, Lisa, wanting to do a road trip to catch up, spend time & capture some shots of the season. I can't wait to see her again. What a blessed thing to wake up to, huh?

Aren't the zenias pretty? I love how in the Fall, they weather kisses the very edges of the white ones & leaves a beautiful dusting of purple.

And the leaves are ones I found walking around the parking lot of work.

This time of year inspires me so. Enjoy them and get out there, wherever you may be, and enjoy all that the day brings!











































































Photos by me. :-)

Outside of Self

I'm feeling very reflective this morning. My thoughts dwell on a friend who is battling bone cancer. She is now linked through the hospital website to keep friends & family updated on her daily happenings on her journey as she prepares for the bone marrow transplant. She is very, very near to God, very positive, joyous & powerfully faithful.

I'm going to borrow some excerpts from her journal to show you what I mean:

"I'm now preparing for a stem cell transplant scheduled for Oct 22nd (my new birthdate). I'm my own donor. I will turn 46 years old on Oct 19th and I'm looking forward to another 45 years of life...my prayer is for my life to bring glory to God!"

"I want the unsaved to say: there has to be a God because Cassie could not have gone thru this the way she has on her own without Christ. And I want the saved to be assured without a shadow of a doubt that there truly is a living Christ who is in total and complete control of every aspect of our lives and He loves us so much. He is with us every step of the way and He will NEVER leave or forsake us."

Now, how did I possibly wake this morning, grouchy because it's Tuesday, I'm tired/sleepy, I was out of coffee, no motivation for work when 3,000 mile away, my friend battles the big fight, yet exudes such brightness & faith? I feel like a heel as I step outside of myself & learn a lesson from my friend.

Prayerful for you always, dear Cassie.

Fearless

Two decades in time
have come and gone
still no one knows us
better than us

you piss me off
i piss you off
but other than us
who do we really trust?

I've fought you all the way
down this path
afraid of the unknown
I guard my feelings like a vault
and steadfast, you remain

we're not getting any younger
time is getting shorter
you're no doubt true to me
time to remove the blinds & see

I'm gonna close my eyes, have no fear
and try to be
the Queen that you see

I've discovered another 'brain food thought' site. I'm glad to contribute to "Carry On Tuesday" that prompts your thinker to be creative by providing either a famous quotation or the opening lines of a book, song or poem and invite you to Carry On where words stop. Pretty cool, huh? Try it out, why not? :-)

Essentiality....

In the rush of every day life, I often need to take time for me. To only do the things I take comfort & pleasures in. These can be things done away from home, or right at home. This past weekend was a good example. In forty-eight hours, I managed to:

• complete laundry
• bathe both dogs & brush them
• walk them
• dead-head flowers & watered them (they seem to flourish in this Fall weather)
• detail both cars
• cook a great dinner
• read outside on the porch
• read outside on the patio
• listen to some great, old jazz (Chet Baker rules!)
  
• rest
• relax
• rake leaves
• cook a great Sunday dinner
• bake my 1st apple pie

Even though the son & D were both home, I was present in each moment, finding quiet, peace & blessings in each activity.

I find that the time I spend alone inside my own head, going whichever way the wind blows me is essential.








Sunday Scribbling prompt: essential

small things...

i could definitely sit here and stare at sailboats go by all day,
listening to the waves fold so softly into themselves.



as i walk mindfully upon the shore,
i pause for a moment to rescue stranded shells,
and feel the grains of sand falling gently through my fingers.



enters my daughter, with a treasure she found,
hmmmm, i wonder who lives upon this rock?
must be very small people, and i bet they're pretty shy too.
kindly, we placed the rock back at the water's edge.



i began to think of all the small, innocent children around the world,
who suffer as a result of hunger, poverty, sexual and physical abuse,
and i prayed so deeply for them.  oh Jah Jah, please deliver them.

*speaking of innocent children, i recently learned about the butterfly project and couldn't help but share it with all of you.  my daughter and i will be joining in.  won't you please join us?  one love.

*Dearest Tracey, 

Giving thanks for the gift of your friendship.  It's been an honour to grace your space (hey, that rhymes ;)  I surely enjoyed my visit.  one love.  


Se'lah.

And the 'correct' word is....

S. 2781, the "Rosa's Law," which changes references in many Federal statutes that currently refer to "mental retardation" to refer, instead, to "intellectual disability"

Eunice Shriver put this in the Special Olympic Mission Statement back in 1968 when she created the Olympics (..."individuals eight years of age and older with intellectual disabilities ...")

Mental Retardation is a medical condition and no matter how fancy a word that tries to take the sting off, it is what it is. People will still stare, parents of 'normal' children will still mouth "re-tar-ded" behind your back when they think you're not listening or seeing them, when folks make a mistake, they will still say 'I'm so retarded'. It's the word that was always there whether spoke out loud or in whispers. I work w/a woman so far back in the land of cave that she still calls disabled people 'mongoloid.' What. The. Hell??? There are so many variables: retarded, mentally disabled, mentally challenged, slow, special needs, austic, Aspergers; society will only know it in one way - retarded.

The word 'retarded' is a hurting, cutting word like all other words that are used to infuse hurt. My son's neurologist used that word years ago, in a very professional manner, yet it blew me over. I mean I knew my son was/is 'slow', or 'behind', but seems like there had to a a kinder way of saying it. Then again, I didn't want the mouthful of saying, 'oh, he's Fragile X w/ADHD & borderline autism. I usually never have to bring up anything at all, but when I do, I just say he's autistic. After all, he is. We can get that out of the way & move along.

But, congrats to the "Rosa's Law" family for getting their voices heard. The evening news said older folks who're mentally disabled wept at hearing of the Bill being signed as they had endured so much hurt w/the word 'retarded.'

Here's to the real members of society :-)

I Hope You Dance...

We received the Special Olympics monthly newsletter of happenings for the month of October; lots 'n lots of dances, parties, get-togethers. My son wants nothing to do with any of it.

Socializing isn't real high on the autistic list - at least not on my son's list it isn't. If it were any type of sport function, he would be right in it. When the Special Olymp. has its car wash fundraisers, he's interested in that, but a dance? With the female species??? It's not gonna happen.



My son wears shyness like a hat. It's very hard for him to make eye-contact and he usually puts his head down. As much as he loves being around his teammates, he rarely talks, but instead, wears a huge smile, which means he's having a good time. He likes being a part of the crowd, but not participate with the crowd (unless it's sports). Having grown up with these guys, they know this. So they appreciate his quiet smiles & laughs.

Even though he'll be 23 next month, Son's shyness keeps him from speaking up, reaching out, joining in; I literally put his monies in his hand to make him pay for his purchases, I make him check out his own library books, I make him speak to all family @ gatherings, I make him speak for himself @ doctor visits. One day this may become easy for him, but in the meantime, it almost seems painful .

Back nearly 10 years ago when his neurologist used the word "retarded" and told me to make long term arrangements , it was a slap in the face. I preferred to call him 'slow', but things are what they are. Once I accepted the reality of possibly having my son with me for all of our lives, I didn't think to ask the doctor one question:

"Yes, doctor, but will he ever dance?"

Only time will tell.

Wait Until Dark...

I previously mentioned here about my love of old, classic movies. The other night, this classic came on & immediately took me back to my teenage years. Me & mom used to settle in her bedroom & she would school me on all the old stars.

This movie freaked me out! This beautiful, blind woman living self-sufficiently on her own had drug dealers in her home looking for planted drugs. She had no idea they were there, yet they stood in the shadows. I was terrified! I asked my mother what they wanted & she said heroin that was planted in a teddy bear - I had no idea what heroin was (LOL!), but the whole pretense was erie.

That movie introduced me to Efrim Zimbalist, Audrey, & Richard Crenna. So when it came on the other night, I stopped what I was doing & watched the entire movie.

And pretended like I was sitting in mom's bedroom w/her, fearfully hugging the pillows.

And it was a beautiful flashback. Thanks mom.










Sunday Scribbling word prompt: "flashback"