Memoirs

In order to have a good garden, we need a good start.  Often the ground is hard and needs to be broken up, hoed and raked before the seeds can be planted.

How like that is our life!  In order to have a beautiful life, we need to cultivate relationships, whether with others or with ourselves.  We need to break through the hard ground of pride or lack of self-esteem.  Just as over the winter, the ground becomes dry and hard, we go through emotional winters that harden us.  This hard layer prevents the seeds of love, compassion and understanding from ever sprouting.  We need to turn this over, break up the clumps of anger, resentment, and hurt.  We need to rake the rocks of despair, disappointment and hopelessness out of the soil.

We are then ready to prepare for planting the seeds that will bring beauty and wholesomeness into our lives.  When planting flowers or vegetables, we begin by deciding what we want to grow, what we want to reap.  We visualize how we will arrange our garden.  Usually, vegetables are planted in rows, but flowers often are planted in a myriad of patterns and designs.  Gardeners map out how they want the garden to be designed but they must take into consideration that some plants need a lot of sun, while others require more shade. (more…)

It is hard to believe that almost a month has gone by since I arrived in Gainesville!  Tomorrow I fly home!  Each day has had something special even when we did not go anywhere but enjoyed being together and feeling surrounded by love.

Last night, we went to a restaurant called 706 in Gainesville and had a super dinner.  It was Jazz Night and we enjoyed the music while we ate.    Wonderful to be with Wes and Deb – they made a toast to my visit and I made one to them.   Deb chose a truly wonderful wine; I had great salmon dinner.   It was a lovely way to wind down.

Wes started the morning with a meeting.  He and Deb left before I got up but he left a note that he would be back before lunch or call.  Last night as Leila and I had a chance to chat, she mentioned that she would be very happy if I were to have lunch with her at school.  Parents can join their children for lunch any day; just have to check in and wear a visitor badge.   When I called Wes to tell him about the lunch, he said he would come right away; I had to make sandwiches, pack corn chips and tiny raw carrots and put iced tea in carrying cups for us and as soon as he arrived we left.   We arrived just as Leila’s class walked to the lunch area and Leila walked with Wes and me. Malik eats earlier so no way we could join him but his dad did.  Malik passed us on his way back to class and flashed a big smile and I yelled hello to him.   The children are allowed two guests when parents visit so Leila chose to girls  and they giggled and talked as we ate.  I took my camera and got pictures of the three of them.

Leila having lunch with friends

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A very special day this has been for me!   Wes made eggs in hearts and turkey sausage for breakfast and then took me to St. Patrick’s Church for Mass at 8:30. Each mother was given a beautiful rose as we left the church.

Upon returning from church, I had the fun experience of learning how to take pictures with my new Nikkon camera that Wes and Deb bought for me yesterday for Mother’s Day!   There are so many beautiful flowers and many of them do not grow up north.  So pictures of them, of angel adornments, of Wes and of me!  Later when Leila came over I got a couple of really good shots (she is so pretty and so photogenic) of her in the rocker on the front porch.

Leila on the front porch

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A wonderful, wonderful visit is drawing to a close and when I fly home on Wednesday, I will be taking a lot of beautiful memories with me.   I have long looked forward to being with Wes and Deb, and spending time with Claire, Malik, Leila and Shaheed.  Ever since I began spending about a month per visit with them, the experiences have varied.   Basically, though, it is a mix of relaxation and activity.

It would fill a book to recap everything, but the highlight of this vacation was a weekend trip to Savannah, Georgia.  We stayed in a darling bed and breakfast near one of the 22 historical squares which are named but all have trees, walks, shrubs, etc.  Some also have monuments as well.

Savannah Bed and Breakfast Inn

We packed the short time with a lot of different activities, which included a lot of walking  but also a lot of driving to places like the Boneventure Cemetery where Johnny Mercer is buried.   Mass on Sunday at The Cathedral of  St. John the Baptist in Savannah was breathtakingly beautiful and that was followed by a river boat ride (to celebrate Wes and Deb’s seventh wedding anniversary – I was here then as well – on Monday).  The ride included a lovely brunch highlighted with Georgia peach cobbler.

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Thanks to Wes, my blog has been redesigned and he is teaching me how to work with it, so I expect to do a much better job of blogging from now on.

After this blustery snowy winter, I delight in magazines and seed catalogs that herald the approach of spring.

Never the less, I do love the beauty of winter skies and landscapes pure and white.  The skeleton shapes the trees take on remind me of dry times in my life when I was tempted to give up hope.  They also remind me that “this, too, will pass” and that those down times were followed by rebirth.  It is the very stark whiteness that highlights the colors of nature.  How much more beautiful is the scarlet cardinal against a backdrop of pure white.  Even the black of the crows is enhanced by the contrast, much like the black print on white paper that create words that connect us with the world and others.  Perhaps some of the wintery times of our lives can be a backdrop for the beauty we often overlook. (more…)