Remembering the sun

After the rain that has fallen today and the rain that is predicted this coming week...we are remembering the sun and our day at the beach!  The memories of this day at the beach will have to sustain us until we see the sun again.

"The sun did not shine.  Tt was too wet to play.  So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day."

~ Dr. Seuss

Dumpster Day

My family has decided to have a dumpster day at my Mom's house every year.  She is elderly and has lived in that house for over 50 years and 3 children.  So there has been a lot of junk that has accumulated.  We have decided to be proactive about the situation and have a dumpster day each year to try and pare down some of the trash (no one's treasure....trust me on this) that has accumulated over time and that Mom no longer has the ability to sort through.

Dumpster Day for my limb of the family started yesterday, with the rental of a Uhaul and the transferring of Mom's freezer and some old furniture for Cara's new life to my house....and then a return trip from my house to the dumpster with a couple large pieces of junk.  We were already tired this morning as we headed out for the main event.  This is the second annual Dumpster Day.  Last year, we were not well organized.  My brothers and I and Alex showed up for half a day...and the dumpster was not close to filled...and then people came and asked if they could have things in it...and by the time it got hauled away there was even less.  But not this year!! This year we got our act together and had quite a few family members and we put a huge dent in the property that we needed to divest ourselves of...and left with a dumpster packed full as well as a sense of accomplishment.

Mary Poppins sang:  "In every job that must be done there is an element of fun.  You find the fun and SNAP the job's a game."  Besides working and sweating and carrying....we did uncover some little treasures...and as is usually the case with my family.....we managed to make our job fun with death defying feats of disposal.  I'd rather spend time with my family in other pursuits...but it was nice to see us all working together for a common goal...and getting the job done!!

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.  It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it."

~ Margaret Thatcher

What a difference a year makes...

"How did it get so late so soon?  It's night before it's afternoon.  December is here before it's June.  My goodness how the time has flewn.  How did it get so late so soon?"

~Dr. Seuss

Blessed!!

Sometimes I get caught up in what is missing in my life....the money I wish I had, the health I wish I had, the car I wish I had....the list can be endless.  But sometimes I am reminded of what I do have and how so very blessed I am.

I admit that sometimes I take my blessings for granted.  I am not always thankful for what I have.  I always wish for more.But them something snaps my head and I see someone who is struggling in an area where I am blessed.

It seems so much easier to look at what you don't have...to be angry or sad and want more.  But we need to take more time looking at all the wonderful things we do have.

My three greatest blessings....jumping on the beach, having the time of their lives....why...just because they are themselves.  They are kooky, they are funny, sometimes difficult, sometimes a little high strung...or way too complacent.  There are struggles with each one of them at times.  But as I watch them grow, watch who they are becoming, watch the things that they are passionate about and the relationships we have....I am so very thankful for my 3 most beautiful blessings and realize how very blessed I am.

"You can add up your blessings or add up your troubles.  Either way, you'll find you have an abundance."

~Richelle E. Goodrich

A day at the zoo

Cara remembers this great zoo we used to go visit in Providence, RI when my brother used to live there....so we went.  We went for the moonbears especially...but it was so stinking hot out today, that they were not in a playful mood.  But we did get to spend time with an adorable giraffe couple and got quite attached to the elephants as well.  Giraffes and Elephants are usually our priority anyway as Cara loves giraffes and Alyssa loves elephants.  As we walked around and looked at all the animals and learned about them....I looked in their eyes...some of them ....and I saw relationships they have with each other and with humans.  I realized anew that all creatures have their place in this world.  I realized anew that the world is made up of so many and we are all connected in a complex web.   We humans have taken control of the world....and  I am not so sure we have done such a great job. I tip my hat to those passionate and selfless people who care for and protect animals of all kinds.  Today gave me a new appreciation for all life's creatures.  Here's hoping I can treat those in my corner with the love and respect they deserve.

"Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem."

~A.A. Milne

Fun at the shore

"My soul is full of longing for the secrets of the sea, and the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Saying goodbye

I am bad at a lot of things...but I am the most miserable at goodbyes.  I don't like them....and I don't do them well.  I will miss these people in my everyday life.  Good Luck and God speed.  We love you!!!

"But the wild things cried, " Oh please don't go - we'll eat you up - we love you so!"

And Max said "No!"

The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye."

~ Maurice Sendak

The Bradley Fan Club

Today we helped Bradley celebrate his graduation from High School.  We are Bradley's biggest fan club!!  We met him through Alyssa, as they became dear friends in high school. Bradley is an extremely talented performer and is headed to college in the fall to pursue his dream of performing.  Not only does he have talent....but he is just a great person and I know that he is going to do big things in the world.  He's got his heart and head in all the right places. We are lucky to document here and now that we knew him before he became world famous!!

We love you Bradley!! Go get 'em!!  And then come home and don't forget to visit us!!

Listen

"The earth has music for those who listen."

~ George Santayana

Summer adventures

Today was the longest day of the year...the most daylight hours...and that was happy news for me...but who knew it was going to be jam packed with activity and really be the LONGEST day of the year... I am not finished yet and not able to lay down my weary head.  Like many days there has been a mixture of bad and good.  But at  the end of the day as I reflect, I try to let go of the bad and focus on the good.  And the good was that we took the first of our summer adventures today... a little day trip to Olana.  Even though we pass it in our travels quite frequently, I hadn't been there since I was a child and I thoroughly enjoyed our little day trip. We were limited on time, but we may go back just to walk the grounds.

"Summertime is always the best of what might be."

~ Charles Bowden

Forward in different directions

Here I am with some wonderful people that I have had the pleasure of sharing my days with.  We have laughed together, cried together, moved together (twice). We have celebrated together, broken bread together, endured together.  I am so honored and fortunate to have had my paths cross theirs.  They are wonderful people, exceptional coworkers, treasured friends.

But today was our last day together.  All that we created together, is now just a memory.  We will go on to new places...new locales, different classrooms.  I like to think that we have all left our mark on one another.  I like to think that as we move forward in different directions, we have all touched each other and affected each other....and therefore carry a piece of one another with us as we go.  I know they have affected me...and I am a better person for having been able to spend time working alongside them.

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked."

~Bernard Meltzer

Longing for a day at the shore

"Ever since I was a child I've felt connected to water, lakes, rivers, streams - I love to jump in and swim around.  But it's the ocean where I go for rejuvenation, revelation, and solace."
~ Susan Rockefeller

Going to miss them!

My dear friend, Christina, who I have grown to love so dearly, is moving away.  She has brightened every day of mine at work...and I am thinking about how very much we are going to miss her and her family!!

"Can miles truly separate you from friends...If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?"

~Richard Bach

My puppy

"All his life he tried to be a good person.  Many times, however, he failed.  After all, he was only human.  He wasn't a dog."

~Charles M. Schulz

Happy Father's Day

"I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us.  We are formed by little scraps of wisdom."

~Umberto Eco

Family

"Family is not an important thing, it's everything."

~Michael J. Fox

Support

My wonderful daughters are trying to come up with song suggestions for a video that I am working on and nothing is quite cutting it...so they are 'crying' out of frustration.  That makes 3 of us.  I am so tired and frustrated right now. Don't know what I would do without them and the support we give each other.  They are always there to help.

"Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter.  The one of us who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other."

~Vera Nazarian 

Rain, Rain Go Away

I am ready for the rain to go away and the sun to shine!  I need to feel the warmth, and spend some time outside.  I am waiting for the return of the sun,

"I will be the gladdest thing under the sun!  I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one."

~Edna St. Vincent Millay

Kiss your kids good night

Kiss your kids goodnight.  Call a friend you are thinking about.  Tell the people in your life how much they mean to you.  Apologize to someone.  Eat something that's not on your diet.  Look at the sky.  Chase rainbows.  Climb Lighthouses.  Look for Silver Linings. Plant Flowers. Speak in foreign accents. Sing. Dance. Be silly.

Life can change in a moment.  Treasure the life you have right now... today!! Appreciate what you have instead of what you don't have.  Because today will never come again and that which you take for granted today may be dearly missed tomorrow.

"Don't lose today by worrying about tomorrow"

~John F.Herbert

My son

I was thrilled when I found out....at the age of 41, that I was pregnant.  I knew pretty early on that it was a boy, as the pregnancy was drastically different from my previous two pregnancies.  Alex has always been a handful.  Emotional and high strung, he has never been easy to raise.  But I look back on some of the sweet memories I have of him....his first word, his obsession as a young toddler with anything that was round or that went in a circular motion.  I remember how we would always look for the "moonah"  I remember his incredible vocabulary at an early age.  I remember how he would be the first one out of bed and come and jump on my bed and in the sweetest way say " Mornin' Mom".  I remember the hugs and cuddles and the songs he loved and the funny things he did.

I look at this young man before me...and I wonder... where oh where did my sweet little boy go?  Gone are those days...and what has arrived in their place is foreign and somewhat disturbing.  There is a young man who has grown taller than all of us girls....that is a techno freak,  loves to ride his bike and is very mechanical.  He can be on the computer, playing video games or doing video stuff...for days without showering, changing his clothes or seeing the light of day.  He hates to get up in the morning and is a sure remedy forstarting your day with an optimistic attitude...because there is always a struggle to get him out of bed and out the door, and you somehow feel like you've done battle before the day is even started.  Before me stands a young man who seems to love to argue.  He will debate any point, any statement just for what seems to be the sheer sport of it.  He has a sense of humor that is quick, and he knows how to use it.  Add to that his penchant and talent for making it up as he goes...or as some would say...slinging the BS...and you have my teenage son.  I see glimpses of the boy I used to know...but then the testosterone takes over and he turns into an alien again.

I wonder each morning as I struggle to get him out the door...how and what to do to shape him in to an actual, social, responsible, compassionate, considerate human being.  The answer is always different...and I am always going back to the drawing board.

And there are times, where he comes and gives me a hug, or we share a laugh or a proud moment...that I see him....the light in him...and I know that together we can accomplish the task together.  Then he hugs me good night...and a monster awakens in his bed the next morning.

They tell me it will get better.  They say that he will turn human once again.  But I fear that he will then be on the threshold of manhood...and I fear that at that point, though I may possibly...hopefully...be able to sit back and be proud of who he is.....the glimpses of my little boy will be gone for good.

"Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable"

~Plato

Late at night when we get tired...

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

The Tony's

It's a family event when the Tony's come on in this house.  We couldn't care less about the Superbowl...but this Musical Theatre loving family think the Tony's are a big deal.  As you can see, we aren't short on drama or the ability to strike a pose for a big finish!!

"Let it be known to the Americanologist of 3000A.D. that we idolized a strange, boomerang shaped, mighty, fiery thoroughfare of broken hearts and blessed events which we called BROADWAY.

That will explain us."

~Gilbert Gabriel

thankful for help

So thankful for Alyssa's help with some of the projects on my to do list...I have been at it all day and there is still so much more to do....

"Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others"

~ Booker T. Washington

My girls

"Accept the fact that girls squeal when they're happy or confused or excited or scared or because they just saw a certain boy in line."

~ Harry H. Harrison, Jr.

Unrevealed until it's season

Hymn of Promise

"In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed an apple tree;

In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!

In the cold and snow of winter there's a spring that waits to be,

Unrevealed until it's season, something God alone can see.

There's a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;

There's a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.

From the past will come the future; what it holds a mystery,

Unrevealed until it's season, something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning; in our time infinity;

In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,

In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,

Unrevealed until it's season, something God alone can see."

~Natalie Sleeth

like a butterfly

I have been a little stressed lately about some changes in life...  Today we released the butterflies our class had raised.  It is always so amazing to see the process unfold...the caterpillars, the chrysalis and then the butterflies.  It made me realize that there are miracles in every day if we look for them, and sometimes we need to look for them....be still  and leave the stress behind for awhile....and let  peace and love and happiness ... like a butterfly... have the chance to gently land upon us.

"Happiness is like a butterfly, which when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Grown up

Just thinking about how Cara has changed over these past 4 years and how she has grown from girl into a young woman... I don't know where the time has gone...But still inside her is quintessential Cara...and I hope she always holds onto the quirkiness that makes her who she is.

"Grown ups are complicated creatures, full of quirks and secrets."

~Roald Dahl

Elizabeth

For as long as I've known her she has been remarkable...and I have known her as long as her forever.  I have watched her grow through the years into the beautiful young woman she is today....my niece Elizabeth.  I love her for all she is.  I love her for all of the pieces of our family I see in her...and I love her for who she has become and is becoming.  

Elizabeth graduated from Le Moyne college in Syracuse two weeks ago...and now she has a job and will be moving to Buffalo at the end of the month.  This is awesome news!! I am so proud of her....and yet it doesn't surprise me in the least.  At the same time though....I can't believe that she is all 'growed up'.  I wish so many things for her....that she always love what she is doing, that she find her people wherever her travels may take her, and that she live, love and enjoy life for all her days.

I wish Elizabeth a beautiful life!!

"For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be.  There's no time limit, stop whenever you want.  You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing.  We
can make the best or worst of it.  I hope you make the best of it.  And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before.  I hope you meet people with a different point of view.  I hope you live a life you're proud of.  If you find that you're not.  I hope you have the courage to start all over again."
~ Eric Roth
 

Can't wait for summer fun

The kids and I have been trying to plan some inexpensive summer adventures and fun.  I can't wait!! I love summer....it's my favorite season.....and I can't think of anyone I would rather spend time with then these three beautiful, kooky kids.  I will treasure having all three of them home and together. I will treasure time spent exploring and making memories to reminisce about when we are no longer all together...and we will have some summer fun until the autumn comes and we must all go back to our real worlds.

"Make voyages. Attempt them. There's nothing else."

~Tennessee Williams

Too short

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see."

~John Burroughs