On Birthdays Ideas Continue To Bloom*

Birthdays come

& birthdays go

& with it all

we sow

we grow....

Here it is the day when so many years ago, was the original, "first day of the rest of my life". I think I realized some time ago, that I am definitely not a dramatic person, but definitely a dramatic thinker. Coming from the family that originally sowed me, I had no other choice. I was told the grandmother I was named for who passed on before I was born was involved in the Yiddish Theatre, & my mother, the woman who bore me, sat in the audience of that theatre since early childhood, blooming to become the drama queen we all, know & love today.

Me, well we all definitely take bits of our parents with us for the rest of our live. I'm no drama queen by any measure, but the short story, essay writer & poet, that's me. For this Birthday year in response & respect for all who have come before me, & to those who have supported me with love & acceptance-- I dedicate this future play to "yaz all", from the young gal who used to throw notes across the classroom [& who got caught], to the blogger I am now. I pray for determination & discipline to guide me & my muse.

& A Happy & Healthy Birthday, to all the wonderful Geminis in my life, Happy Birthday "Yaz" !

*Amen*

On The Eve Of My Birthday, Chapters Old & New Come To Mind--

Today my new chapter has begun. After enjoying a few cups of java this morning, & allowing Dolly a bit more time to pup around, it was definitely time for me to begin "My Training".

My goals are as they have been these past few years-- to get our childrens book published, with our book series on it's way, to write the play of which will tell a drama, of what I'm meant to express, & in the meantime, to continue my cycling prep program, continuing these personal goals of body, mind & spirit.

Yes, "these times, they are a changing", & in order to cope & stay well, one must keep the commitment to take care, & to honor what has been bestowed.

*Amen*

Some Post Scripted Thoughts; This past weekend we made the long sojourn up to Syracuse N.Y., as our son graduated with two degrees from Syracuse University, one from the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, & the other from the College of Law. For my husband & I, these past three years have zoomed by, & for our son, it probably seemed quite the opposite. Most of the core family was able to attend his Graduation, with celebration festivities happening from the time we arrived, up to a few hours before we all departed. As parents, all I can say is, it is all, quite amazing, nothing more, & nothing less.

On yet another note, yesterday was my final day working as a nurse at Hyde School, in Woodstock, Ct. My life is zooming, as those ten years seem to have happened in a flash. I began my job on the beautiful campus of Hyde, when our son "Z", who just graduated, was beginning his senior year in high school, & our fam* needed the additional income to fund travel activities for his involvement in Model UN, & to also fund extra curricular activities for our son "M". Working, in order to help raise a family has been the best of the best. Nursing & it's nurturing field of health care, has kept me involved medically, these past ten years & intermittently for over forty years. I have been fortunately blessed to have chosen a profession where we not only take care of others, but take care of one another too. Society can never put a price on kindness or compassion, for that comes from a place where nary the faint of heart can go, & only the heart can rule.

For the past ten years I have been most privileged to have worked with the most amazing team of professionals. In a sense we too have become an extended family & have shared with one another & supported one another in many ways, for better & for worse. I have learned so very much, & am certainly a wiser individual because of it, but ultimately in the very core being, of who I am, I know the friends I have made over this past decade will always ring true.

So many chapters are now complete, & new ones written, as we speak....

"Life a circle, love the soul",

It's all a mystery, life unfolds.

*Ahava*

{Ahava is a Hebrew word, it means love.}

A New Chapter, & New Beginnings--

The 27th of this month, I will be leaving a job that I worked at for nearly ten years. I've been working approximately 22 hours a week, at a college preparatory school that specializes in developing character in high risk youth. This job has been very interesting, rewarding & a very important part of my life for nearly a decade, but it is now time, to allow myself the opportunity to complete & develop important projects that have been on the back burner of my life for some time now. Change is never easy, & I will miss seeing my coworker friends I have made, the students & their families, that I have enjoyed helping, & the challenges & problem solving skills that have been necessary to draw upon in order to do a job, that was never, ever touched upon some 40+ years ago when I was in Nursing School, as the families & the youth of today are being faced with challenges that were only touched upon when my generation was growing up:

As the waters & the creatures of the Gulf Coast must adapt & hopefully evolve, we too as human beings, need to be certain to allow our voices, to be heard, no matter the tide, or the rush of the waves, which can become quite loud & murky, & have been known to drown out-- reason, & common sense. To think before we speak, & act, & to care, not only about ourselves, but for the innocents who cannot speak for themselves.

It does take courage, but we've made this mess, drop, by drop, leak by leak, spill by spill. Our poor, belaboured Mother Earth, where she goes, we go....

{The above photo was taken off the cost of Rhode Island, this winged friend of Jonathon Livingston, of whom we each had an eye on one another, so enjoyed the sea, blue skies & all we were fortunate to take in on that beautiful summer's day.}

Time Will Tell...

It's early AM of a new day, we just got in not too long ago from what is now a yearly event for us-- "The Albano Auction", which takes place every spring at the Albano Ballet School. Mr. A is a colorful character, he & my mother go way back, decades now, as she taught drama for one of his classes some forty years ago. It's a rather amusing evening as the real entertainment for the evening is Mr. A himself, the very animated auctioneer, working so hard at raising money for his nonprofit school, which is located in the same building where Katherine Hepburn learned to dance numerous decades ago on Farmington Avenue in Hartford.

Well just a few hours ago I purchased our very first genuine signed & numbered Chagall print. Yes, the arts, my true, true passion of living a life! Now just where to hang it in our small quaint abode? Time will tell.

And speaking of time, it's not like we have all the time in the world like the clocks on a wall, for as living creatures, time on this earth is limited, & no matter the obstacles we hurdle, it is good to remind ourselves that our enjoyments, pleasures & passions are oh so worth it.

Some Decisions Are Slow With Many Facets---

I tend to be a slow & steady turtle of a being, when it comes to making important decisions, as when I do so it is with no regrets. Just a balanced way, but not without the pains & aches along life's road. Time waits for no one, & that includes me, but in each & every way, as I allow my heart to heal, I know I'll get there, & be just fine.

Last night when I was doing my usual stationary bike/treadmill workout, alternating back & forth; fifteen minutes on one, twelve minutes on the other, with a repeat to follow. I usually watch TV when I'm exercising as it's a substantial amount of time that I commit to, & watching TV helps me stay on target, this time I was tuned into PBS's Scientific America. The program topic I was viewing addressed the effects of stress on animals & humans. It was pointed out that in monkeys & humans alike: {dominance=aggression=stress}. From that formula is a high incidence of cardiac illness & other diseases. One would think, the cardiac researcher would say, it is the "Type A Personality" person, but not all so. The other personality types too, the ones that fell into an extended period of being exposed to the dominant one[s], they were even at greater risk, for the stress was at work doing it's destruction in the inner part of the body, such as the arteries that are intended to sustain the heart, due to the invisible emotional havoc that was going on.

All this is certainly something we already know, but what I saw & how it was explained from the scientists point of view, all backed up with very clear cut experiments. The results were quite amazing for all to see.

"By George I think I've got it!"

& yet another way, of which a friend may chuckle if I were to say: "Eureka, there's gold in these here hills!"

Late Night, Early AM Thoughts That Keep Me Up--

I realized tonight, that unless I resolve some very important issues, this sensation of treading water will only make me more & more tired. True thoughts can change moment to moment. One can be driving in their car changing the station on a radio band, going from song to song, searching for just the right tune, the right lyrics, that perfect mode to accompany a ride, lost in one's own mind, the landscape & the sky, & then there it is, that perfect civilized pause, all the cars gently stop, a limo with an escort so late in the morning, and then it hits me. A funeral procession, no hearse mind you, just cars, all traveling together, twenty or more. My eyes become moist, alone in my car, feeling so very sad & connected to these mourners in those brief minutes. What is wrong with me I wonder, why do I get this way? Why do I care? Yet I know at that very moment why I do. That procession is all of us, respectfully, marking time, in remembrance.

There has never been that purely perfect time in my life to take a chance, to make a change, yet I feel very certain that this is what I am intended to do. A time to be decisive regarding what direction to go, as treading water will keep one alive & afloat only for so long. Nights such as these are good for thought, but not very restful, yet useful.

Spacious Skies In Thought & Deed

First view of the day, & the sky's the limit--
Coming home from an inspiring walk..... & being reminded that it all takes balance, like a rock.

Here it is Saturday, & if I were to celebrate it according to the tradition I was raised in I would observe the Sabbath Day, & in my own way I do---

I've just weathered interesting situations that could not be avoided, but after the storm, if one is safe, well, & intact, the thoughts can be sweet, & mine are as well.

Dolly's response to her new training program is coming along, as her pulling on the leash has lessened, & with that my shoulders have received a benefit too! Last night during her mini walk before coming in, we were greeted by the scent of my lilacs out front, on our slope. The magnolias are about to pass, which is always rather sad, but there are always new flowering productions on the horizon at the Peace Garden, which I'll be sure to share as the season evolves.

Unless we live in a bubble, there is no escape from the big or mini problems, personal world or world at large. It is never all good, but it is never all bad, either, it is what it is, though some of it we can prevent, or make better. Coal will always be a dangerous rock to mine, diseases that are borne from the industry, & lives that are lost in it's harvesting, all mind boggling, with a recent tragic reminder of so may lives lost. Oil rigs, both of sea & land, are positioned on the fine line of disastrous possibilities too. Also with jobs that provide limited opportunity for it's workers, as these industries are equivalent to brutal attacks on the Earth, of which outcomes human beings can not always predict or control. Sadly, just the other day in the Gulf of Mexico, a horrid fire, human & marine life lost, with possible contamination to come upon the shore. These are "man made disasters". We also have the naturally occurring ones, for one would think, isn't that enough, why contribute to the mix? Just think of the volcano in Iceland, which is occurring now & has put a total "no go" for human air transportation across Europe. Why should the Earth stop doing, "it's thing", & being who it is, just because we humans say "It's Earth Day!", who do we think we are? The Native Americans, & the other Indigenous Peoples of the World, certainly "got it" way before Western Civilization & it's values came on the scene. I truly wonder, & you probably do too, are human beings, ever going to "get it"?

I know, maybe the Academy Award film maker/Nobel Prize winner, Al Gore living in our collective "pop culture" will pop the popcorn, & make another film too. "Oh Mr. Vice President, Al Gore, are you free?"

Yes, April has been an interesting "Earth Month", as "Everyday is Earth Day, Everyday", "So help us God.", *Please, we love our Mother Earth, & we do the best we can. It's sad to learn that even when it is our best, it's not good enough, as governments, & businesses have been know to present obstacles, that to this day are sweepingly powerful, with just the nod of the head, the shake of the hand, & the stoke of the pen.

**********************************************************************************

& Just An Hour Later:

After returning from a walk to check out these wonderful spring blooms, a thought occurred, both for myself & the other much greater issues of the day. "No more band aid solutions." It was our rallying slogan to keep our quaint country road maintained years ago, & it is basically the cry of "the world" today.

I just replaced a band aid on my lower leg this morning, to protect a minor scrape. Is that what we want to keep doing, using bandaids? Sure we wash it, apply antiseptic & even modern day steristrips or sutures, at times, but some situations require more.

Thoughts too are like the sea,

They will recede

In thought & deed.

*****