TBT: Poochie as an only child

This photo was taken and edited by Cara....I believe....it was when Poochie was an only child.  We loved him so much we thought....let's adopt some more.  That is when Poochie showed his true Alpha-male colors.  He is stubborn, pain-in-the-@$$ of a cat.  But we can't help but love him just the same.

“For he will do

As he do do

And there's no doing anything about it!” 

~ T.S. Eliot

Leave them better than you found them....

I have been thinking about some of the people in my life who have taught me what "it" is all about.  I am so thankful for my time with them, their continued presence in my life and for the example they have been to me on  how to live life.  They have truly left me better than they found me.  This is one of my highest aspirations....to 'leave people better than I found them'.

“Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” 

~ Marvin J. Ashton

Comfort

There is nothing on this earth quite as comforting as having all my babies under one roof.

“It was like the way you wanted sunshine on Saturdays, or pancakes for breakfast. They just made you feel good.” 

~ Sarah Addison Allen

Birthday Wishes for a Friend!

We are hoping that someone very dear to us....who used to be such a huge part of life...but who we seldom see these days had a wonderful birthday!!  We all love her and hope to see her someday very soon!!

“Friendship," said Christopher Robin, "is a very comforting thing to have.” 

~ A.A. Milne

Joy

As a runner up to my choice of photo's for National Dance Day, I give you this photo of my two beautiful daughters...just being themselves.  Never a dull moment with these two around and I wouldn't want it any other way!!  At the times in my life when I wanted no part of joy, they were unrelenting in showing me that I needed to open myself to joy, let it in, let it wash over me and carry away the sorrows of the moment.  They have shown me that joy is a necessary ingredient to living!

“Do a loony-goony dance 

'Cross the kitchen floor, 

Put something silly in the world 

That ain't been there before.” 

~ Shel Silverstein

National Dance Day

Apparently today is National Dance Day.  I am blessed to have a beautiful dancer in the family....she has always had dancing in her soul and her dancing has always brought us joy.  I will never tire of watching her dance with grace and beauty.

“She decided to free herself, dance into the wind, create a new language. And birds fluttered around her, writing “yes” in the sky.” 

~ Monique Duval

Oh baby....

Well this photo makes me feel a little better about my current weight, at least...

But sometimes I look back at the woulda, shoulda, coulda's and wonder if I should have made some different choices....if maybe my life would be a tad less of a struggle if I had done some things differently, if I had been more confident, more of a risk taker....but the past is the past....and all I can do is move forward.

“Ah, it's my longing for whom I might have been that distracts and torments me!” 

~ Fernando Pessoa

tbt: 1954

tbt to my parent's wedding, 60 years ago today!!

“No matter how far we come, our parents are always in us.” 

~ Brad Meltzer

Having Faith

“Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don't worry...I'm here. The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you.” 

~ Charles M. Schulz

Keep going...

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” 

~ Maya Angelou

You just might....

“Because if you take a risk, you just might find what you're looking for.” 

~ Susane Colasanti

Faith

“I dont think that we're meant to understand it all the time. I think that sometimes we just have to have faith.” 

~ Nicholas Sparks

Life

We hosted a great group of kids tonight, as Cara had some good friends over to celebrate her birthday.  I was in and out but as I listened to the chatter and laughter and stories, I thought about what an uncertain time it is in their life...definitely the best of times and the worst of times.  They are young with so much of life....so much promise before them....and yet also so much confusion about which path to head down to begin their life. Some of their friends are getting married...and that seems so unreal....and not even a possibility for them yet.

If I had any advice to give it would be this....life is short and there is plenty of time for settling down...now is the time to enjoy yourself, to explore the world, to realize before it's too late that the real joy is in time spent with family and friends such as these.  I want to tell them not to worry about what others their age are doing...not to feel pressured by the decisions that their peers are making.  There is all the time in the world to settle down and spend the rest of your life with someone.  Now is the time to enjoy life and enjoy being young.  I want to tell them not to do anything because they feel they need to keep up with the rest of the world.  I want to tell them to follow their heart.  I want to tell them to be true to themselves and not change themselves for anyone else...and whatever they do...don't settle on what doesn't seem quite right for you.

But many young people don't really listen to the advice of us old folks anyway.....so I just listened...and I will keep them all in my heart and pray that they wind up where they are supposed to be, and with who...and that they are happy and blessed.

“I won't tell you that the world matters nothing, or the world's voice, or the voice of society. They matter a good deal. They matter far too much. But there are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely—or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands. You have that moment now. Choose!” 

~ Oscar Wilde

85!

Happy 85th Birthday to my mom.  It's a darn good thing that she isn't on facebook or doesn't follow blogs etc....because she would most likely not be too pleased with this photo.  We spent the evening with Mom....eating, talking, laughing.  She is really a pretty remarkable woman with all sorts of experiences that she would be most happy to tell you about if you give her half the chance.  She has a generous heart and shares her gift or music freely.  I certainly can not even imagine where I would be right now without her love and support.  

Cara and Mom blew out candles together tonight to share their birthdays just two days apart.  Many people even think they look alike...although I, personally, don't see it.  Happy Birthday Mom.  We celebrate all that you are.

“Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we've ever met.” 

~ Marguerite Duras

Ahhh memories...

It seems like just yesterday that Cara was tiny and sweet and we still had our sweet Tiffany with us.  I hope she is looking down on our new dog and is wagging her tail with approval.

"No symphony orchestra ever played music like a two-year-old girl laughing with a puppy."

~ Bern Williams

23!

Sometimes when I see her....when she first appears on the scene after she's been gone for awhile....she takes my breath away.....this little girl. my first born.  It's been quite a year for her.  I know at this point last year she had no idea where she would be or what she would be doing this past year.  The stars were all aligned and a few angels were watching over her and guiding her and Cara ended up with a full time job and an apartment in Yonkers, going into Manhattan to work on her grad work at the same time. It felt just like moving her into a dorm room at first...but for the first time, she didn't move back home this summer...because she is all grown up and has her own apartment and just comes home to visit now.  Luckily for  me....she is just down the road a piece for now.

She has had to wade through adult things...paying bills, managing money figuring out insurance....trying to balance work and school when schedules don't always mesh.  But she is loving being on her own...making her own rules, experimenting with recipes and indulging her quirky sense of humor and obsessions with music(....this is serious business to Cara....), all things cats, Disney and Broadway....just to name a few.

Being an adult and on your own can be fun....but you also start to realize some of the struggles of adult life.  Even so....I think there is a beauty that comes to a young woman when she begins to feel confident and taking control of her life....and I see it in Cara...this confidence and the process of feeling comfortable in her own skin.  My first born baby girl has never looked more beautiful to me.

I know there will be stresses and struggles this year, that is a part of life....and I hope that we as a family can help her through them.  But more than that...... I know she often feels isolated...she has friends at work, friends at school, friends from college, friends from home...but often, not someone to watch a movie with or just hang out and chat with.  I hope that as she gets more comfortable in her surroundings she is able to find her people there....that make her life there even better.

In the meantime....I am super proud of her and all she has accomplished and all of the ways she has grown and with all my heart I wish that this year is filled with exciting adventures, good friends and dreams come true.

“But kids don't stay with you if you do it right. It's the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won't be needed in the long run.” 

~ Barbara Kingsolver

Where has the time gone?

At 12:56 tomorrow......she will turn 23.....and I am not quite sure how or when that happened.  She took her time in arriving....she wasn't going to let some little matter of a due date tell her what to do...and she is still.....in her own way....very much her own person.

"I stood up for my own head and so did my heart

and we are coming to terms with ourselves.

Shaking hands, saying ”let’s make this work

for we have places to go

and people to see

and we will need each other”

So I have hope

in who I am becoming.

It’s July

and I have hope in who I am becoming.” 

― Charlotte Eriksson

The journey

Sometimes when I look at the kids...it seems as if they are all walking away into their own lives...away from the childhood life we shared....and though I know that is what is supposed to happen....where their journey is supposed to take them...I am not sure I like it....and I am definitely not sure I am ready.

“Every journey starts with the first step and the thousands upon thousands steps before you reach the end. Enjoy every step.” 

~ Pamela Cummins

Rising

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

~  Nelson Mandela

Still moments by the sea

“In still moments by the sea life seems large-drawn and simple. It is there we can see into ourselves.” 

~ Rolf Edberg

Family Fun

“We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything, than when we are at play.” 

~ Charles E. Schaefer

Stumbling

“We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them”

 William Arthur Ward 

The sea

“I am longing to be with you, and by the sea, where we can talk together freely and build our castles in the air.” 

~ Bram Stoker

Soar

“Like hot air balloons, all of us are engineered to soar to great heights. Unfortunately, many of us “sandbag” ourselves. We do things, we think things, and we believe things that hold us down. We get insecure, fearful, and jealous. We judge people, think negatively and make excuses for our unhappiness. We become our biggest obstacle. Imagine what it would be like if we got out of our own way.”

~ Unknown

To Fly

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” 

~ Leonardo da Vinci

Hot Air Balloons

One of my very favorite events of the year...so thankful I was able to go and witness it in all it's glory!!

“From the sky, everything looked fake. The buildings were doll houses. The cars were Matchbox racers. People scuttled about, but they weren’t really people anymore. Their little lives meant absolutely nothing from this altitude.” 

~ P.S. Baber

Of thee I sing

Often as you go through life, you hear people talking about what is wrong with this country.  And I do believe there is plenty that needs fixing. The fact that we are allowed to voice our views in public is testament to one of the many freedoms we enjoy in this nation.  Maybe it's just me and my lack of knowledge of politics and politicians, but I think it is foolish to blame all that is wrong with this world on those in government.  They are just a few and only have as much power as we allow them to have.

When I look at this country, I see a society that has changed over time.  There are practices and customs that have become a part of our society that I just don't understand. Yet, I would fight for everyone's right to freedom of expression and pursuit of happiness wherever and however they may find it.....even if I don't always understand it.

When I look at our country, I still see promise and greatness.  I see it in the people that I work with, live with, shop with, go to church with.  I see it in the ordinary people that are trying their hardest to live life to the fullest and give back to their community.  Our country is built on community....people working together for the common good, giving and helping where they are needed.  I do believe a greater sense of community will save us.  I do believe that reaching out and helping others is the key.  We have allowed ourselves to become isolated.  We have allowed ourselves to believe that self is the center of the universe.  There are people out there, who I have to believe....have self and not others at the center of their universe when I see crimes such as stealing identities and scamming  people.  We have been taught to be wary and untrusting...but I still believe there are plenty of people out there who are worthy of trust.   In small town America there are volunteer firefighters and volunteer EMT's and church groups and civic groups that are trying to make life better for someone in their corner of the world.  These ordinary folks give so much of their time and energy and resources to spread health,wealth and happiness.  That is what makes this country great!! 

And for all the people out there celebrating this great land we live in.....gathering together with a true spirit of patroitism, having barbecues and watching fireworks...Thank you!!  For you are what makes this country great!!  And I do believe that if you lead the way we can make it even greater!!

"My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From ev'ry mountainside

Let freedom ring!"

~Samuel Francis Smith.

My kids are the best!

I have spent the last few days going on "daycations" with my kids.  There is nothing quite like some family time together to bond...in between sibling spats.  I know that as the kids get older and have their own lives, these moments will become few and far between.

In the process of going on these little day trips, I have made a startling discovery! Amidst all the worrying I do about them and all the stuff that we always get stuck in the middle of  to make life work, I sometimes forget this very important fact that I have realized anew....my kids are the best!!  They really are!! I am not saying that your kids aren't ok too...I applaud all the things that they have done and that we share with each other.  I am sure your kids who are at the top of their class, at the top of their sport, the lead in the play, the band, the orchestra are really wonderful people...but I am sorry to tell you....that my kids are the best!!

I have laughed with them and joked with them and explored with them and suffered sunburn with them and driven in torrential downpours with zero visibility with them these past few days....and I have stopped every once in a while to freeze moments in time...to listen to what they say and what they like and who they are....to listen to them laugh with each other...and sometimes fight. I often look at them..... and as they are talking and going through the act of being themselves....time stands still...I look past the moment and what is being said. I look past all the struggles and I see who they are deep down at their core.

They make me so very proud and for so many reasons that I am not able to adequately express to you...you are just going to have to take my word for it....my kids are the best!! They are all truly wonders and I can't even believe that I was blessed enough to get to be their mom!

"Mothers are the people who love us for no good reason. And those of us who are mothers know it’s the most exquisite love of all."

~ Maggie Gallagher

Discovery

Today we took our sunburned selves inside to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT....and had some fun with new discoveries.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” 

~ Marcel Proust

Jump!

We had a wonderful day at the beach....complete with a bit of sunburn....I wish I could spend all summer here!!

“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