Hmmm...

I haven't written in a while, and I've just spent about four minutes thinking of a title... and this one seems to fit best. September has flown by, and we're already a third of the way through October. The past two days have been gloriously beautiful... both for sunshine and the fabulous shades of autumn. I think we're at the peek of leaves this week. My birthday was yesterday... which I describe as the day that the last of summer's roses bloom, and the first flakes of winter may fall... so this was definitely a beautiful day to enjoy, because we got one last warm taste of summer rather than a nip of winter's chill.
Right now, I feel like it's a waiting day. The next season's adventures will soon be upon us, and things will be filled with zillions of projects. But it's not now...and not yet! So I'm just enjoying the wait!

The end of Summer Bliss

I love summertime! This summer is a wonderful example of why I enjoy it so very much. During the past three months and a half months, I have had the opportunity to see most of my family and many of my friends. I love having the opportunity to travel, and this summer is going to go down in my family history books as a great year to travel! I have celebrated graduations and weddings, flown across the pond to see the beautiful land of Eire, sank my toes into the sand, and visited the birthplace of the King of Rock-n-Roll. If you haven't figured it out yet... I had fun!
It hasn't been all sunshine and roses... (There has definitely been a little laundry...) But my summer has been a delightful experience. A friend of mine posted on his blog the concept of where do you go to recharge yourself? This summer has charged my need for celebrating life. So I'm wondering what do you do to celebrate life?
I'm a little sad to see the carefree days of summer go, but I'm looking forward to celebrating the joys of Autumn.

Forever Young...at least in our minds

Last night, I celebrated a reunion of dear friends. It was my friends' 20th high school reunion. I was a party crasher in the sense that it was the class just a year ahead of mine, but in reality, I was an invited guest, so it was a special evening with cherished classmates! In the afternoon, I pulled my yearbook off the shelf to look at their senior year. The yearbook's theme was "Forever Young", after the classic song. But it caused me to reflect on the idea that in our minds in some sense each of us will always be forever young in the hearts and minds of our classmates. When I was in high school, the show Designing Women was a hit, and in one of the episodes, the Delta Burke character Suzanne Sugarbaker goes to a class reunion. I don't remember if I paid attention to that particular episode at the time... other than thinking that class reunions are for adults. But rather recently, I came across that show, and Suzanne's comments on seeing the people there...how no matter if people before her have gone grey, hairless, or whatever... in her mind... They will always be the same "sweet boys who carried her books." I think I agree. I hope I left a sweet impression in high school, and I'm so glad to be blessed with sweet dear friends who left such an impression with me.

By the Sea, By the Sea,By the Beautiful Blue Green Sea

I don't think that I've mentioned that I love the beach! Well, I do! I love the feeling of sand between my toes, the sound of the waves crashing on the shoreline, the distinctly good smell of the sea, the taste of fresh seafood, and the wonderful sights seen only at the beach... of waves, water, shells, shore, and friends who live so far away, but are delightfully close by only when we vacation together at the beach. It makes me as "happy as a sea gull with a french fry!" A quote that made me giggle at the thought... because I know how much the gulls love fries! I've been going to the beach for most of my life, and I always find myself refreshed and renewed from a journey to the seashore. From the enormousness of the ocean itself to the finest grain of salt, I see the beauty of God's creation. How beautiful it all is to see and discover, and know that it was created for us to enjoy. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to see and experience this part of the world. If you haven't been to the shore, you should give it a try! If you've experienced a blissful day at the beach, feel blessed because you are!

God bless America... Land that I love...

This is a belated celebratory note about Independence Day! I love our annual summer celebrations! Hot dogs, Hamburgers, potato chips, and ice cold pop make the celebration yummy. Family and friends from near and far make it fun! I'm glad that America is the great melting pot! Hope you had a fun celebration!

When Irish Eyes are Smiling!

My family went on holiday to Ireland in June. It was a wonderful adventure to explore a new land together! We saw beautiful fields, shorelines, cliffs, islands, and lovely little towns. It was fun to see a place that you have imagined for always... and to discover that it is more than you ever imagined. My ancestors came from the Emerald Isle centuries ago, and yet our family has never forgotten that we are Irish as well as American. I arrived at the Irish customs desk to hear the words... "Welcome Home!" The places we visited were amazing, and it's hard to imagine that my family chose to leave the beautiful isle to go on a long hard journey across the sea to America. We went with a more recent Irish imigrant who shared that "No one ever wants to leave his homeland." It's an interesting comment made even more memorable when you know that he can come and go back and forth easily across the sea in an airplane, but the reality is that my ancestors left that beautiful land to never return. Their descendants have only recently been able to see the land that they left, but have always remembered the love that they had for their homeland. I'm glad that I went across the sea, and even more glad that I could return home again so easily!

Memories are made of this...

Tonight is Prom night. It's a night to make memories that will last a lifetime. It's the first time that you get to wear a ballgown not because you are playing dress-up or wearing a costume, but because this is the night that you are allowed to look like the princess you truly are! This evening, I took photos of my lovely Godchild looking every bit the princess that I know she is... for she is a lovely child of God!
Then while walking downtown tonight, I walked passed other prom goers and thought about the memories made at my own prom. My school had a Junior/Senior prom, and so I went two years! On those nights of not so very long ago, the princess wore ballgowns of pink satin and white lace! I remember dining elegantly at "The Club" with dear friends wearing equally elegant attire, and chatting at dinner like the "grown-ups" we were suddenly becoming. My junior prom memories are filled with friends a year older who were once my neighborhood playmates. Our hairstyles coiffed in that post eighties/early ninties pouf. My senior year prom memories recall the heat of the evening... which was probably 100 degrees in the high school gym, and the decorations of course. But the memories that truely linger sweetest are the memories of my Grammy coming to attend the pre-prom festivities, my mom helping pick my dress, my collegiate friends coming to video the night, and the fun and laughter of friends who made a difference in my life!
Girlhood memories of longing for the day you finally get to wear a prom gown remind me that my expectations were probably far more romantic than the evening really was... but it will always be a night of memories! The memories are not of what I expected... but they are better sweeter more wonderful than I could have imagined! I hope tonight is a night of memories for my sweet Godchild! I hope she knows how much she is cherished and prized, and that the memories that she comes to cherish in her heart are just as precious as mine are!