"Z" is for Zero, Zip, Zilch...

A to Z Challenge:

ABC's of My Life~

Picture taken from the internet of tornado in Tuscaloosa, AL

...this is what a great many families have to their name who live in the tornado raveged areas such as North Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama; certainly not all but too many.

Last night we watched the broadcast of Dateline NBC on television and the damage and destruction was just horrifying, but do you know what made it even more frightening? While viewing those pictures, it became apparent that this was no longer a mere photo in my head. But because our own community experienced ruin and continues to move through the grieving process, the photos are more clear, more real than ‘just’ viewing the annihilation on the news.

Yesterday, a sorority sister, Fran lives in Alabama posted on Facebook. She has been posting updates and pictures of the obliteration of families she is familiar with, places she frequents and can relate details in the first person.

She shared this video (please click on word 'video' to go to the site to view) made by a friend of hers. I asked her if it was okay that I share it with all of you since a great number of us have been praying, shedding tears and remembering those who have lost so much.

After watching this, I realized I had a ‘Z’ post because my friends, many of these individuals are left with exactly that-nothing!  Yes, they have their lives which I have no doubt they are eternally grateful but when all is said and done, their mourning has only begun.

“There are moments when you have to just walk away and cry.”

By Lou Angeli

"Y" is for Youth...

A to Z Challenge:

ABC's of My Life...

Facts of Five….and youth~


If you are a new follower let me give details of Facts of Five. It was a model I used when I taught students with special needs in a self contained classroom. I presented a category such as ‘Five Cartoons’ or ‘Five flavors of Kool-aid’ and the students had to consider an idea that fit the group. It was fun and thought generating yet in the meantime, I was able to get to know what was important to my students.

So our category for today is youth; more specifically, memories from youth. Okay, class, I will begin~

1.) My spiritual upbringing besides being present at church each Sunday sitting in the 6th or 7th pew back on the left side of the sanctuary took place at Camp Mowana; a church camp affiliated with the Lutheran Church outside of Mansfield, Ohio. I attended one week each summer from first grade until I graduated from high school.

2.) Speaking of which, I began Kindergarten and graduated from the same school; Hopewell-Loudon School in Bascom, Ohio. It was and still is a K-12 grade building surrounded by cow pastures and corn fields. We graduated with 63 in our class. I really am a country girl at heart!

3.) I was in 4-H but got kicked out for teasing a girl in our troop. I also got kicked out of Sunday school by our Pastor’s wife who was the teacher. I think I was just a goody-two-shoes kid who wanted to ‘try-out’ what it was like to be a Bad-A--! I didn’t tell my mom I had gotten kicked out until I graduated from college…and obviously, I didn’t like it!

4.) My most embarrassing moment in life occurred when I was a freshman cheerleader. During a time-out we had to ascend a set of six or so stairs to step onto the stage. We were all putting our hands in the air clapping, trying to get the crowd into the game when CRASH! I tripped and fell on my hands and knees. Being stunned, I didn’t know whether to lay there and feign injury or get up and laugh! I did the latter!

5.) Inner qualities I’ve carried with me from my youth is I’m practical, sensitive to criticism, creative and an observer. Traits I’ve outgrown are clinging to people in my life, negative thoughts about me and my strong need to stay angry.

“In youth we learn; in age we understand.”

Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach

'W' is for Wishes...

A to Z Challenge:

ABC's of My Life...



If you are similar to me, I catch myself wishing my life away; ‘I wish it were Friday!” or ‘I wish it was time for vacation!’


What I realized of late while I’m ‘wishing ‘for alternatives, I’m not actively seeking or doing much at all rather hoping for life to be different, to be something it is not. It’s at these particular times; a great deal of energy is being expended toward a negative counter-productive direction as well as being optimistic in my mind that life will change on its own accord. This desire catches me at a time when I'm not fully present or engaged in a life I've been given.


Within the past couple months I’ve connected with a wonderful little boy named Jack who for 5 years, 4 months, 8 days of his eight years of life has struggled with Stage IV, High Risk Neuroblastoma. Debra of http://fourangelsmomma.blogspot.com/ spoke of him on her blog and of course, I lost my heart to his family. I am an unknown to them but I follow their plight at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/campjack and the heartbreaking story of Jack and his family as his health declines day by day, moment by moment.


It is upon reading and understanding of Jack’s arduous days and of hearing how his mother clings to each moment, each minute, each second that remains with Jack that offered me the deep realization that our days are numbered. Just the idea of a mother whispering farewell to her young child is unfathomable-the jolt immeasurable.


Therefore, it is with this thought that admittedly has accompanied me before- that I hope to enjoy THIS day, THIS Wednesday, two days from Friday and not hope for time not yet promised.


I WISH for you the same; good, bad or indifferent moments, they are periods of time we have accessible to us on this given day!

“Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.”

By Epicitus

"V" is for Vacation...

A to Z Challenge...

ABC's of My Life~

For our family, vacation is a time to re-group, re-wind and de-stress. We’ve taken vacations to Put-in-Bay, Geneva on the Lake, Maumee Bay and Shawnee State Park. We’ve made our get-away to Washington DC, Pawley’s Island and the mountains of North Carolina. However, our preferred primo spot to travel for a retreat and to depart from our daily lives is Emerald Isle, North Carolina.

It is there-- summer, fall, perhaps spring or even winter that we truly draw upon our resources and each other to rest, relax and rejuvenate our souls.

From sunrise...



...to sunset...



 

we play...

we build...

we watch...



we ponder the questions as to how we'll leave our mark on the world...

We marvel at the workings of God and....



 stand in awe of nature's splendor....



We look past our frailities...



We congregate with others for new adventures and experiences...



yet stand alone to test our inner makings...

we walk side by side solidifying our family unit...

                                                          as the world comes crashing upon us from time to time...

we explore paths less traveled...



We take our thoughts to new heights and dream big...

Finally, as our holiday closes, we take with us

a sense of wonder and renewal within....

 “Nature often holds up a mirror so we can see more clearly the ongoing processes of growth, renewal, and transformation in our lives.”

"U" is for Untitled...

A to Z Challenge:

ABC's of My Life...

Isolation within a crowd,

A non-entity,

one amongst herself.

Brown eyes overflowing with loneliness,

Unvoiced sadness elbows for attention.

Enduring melancholy with

sorrow and grief--her only companions.

The sound of her own voice

grasps for understanding,

indulgent in prayer.

Happy Easter~

 Angels, roll the rock away;

Death, yield up thy mighty prey:

See, He rises from the tomb,

Glowing with immortal bloom.

 ~Thomas Scott, "Easter Angels"

Have a blessed day counting your many blessings!

"T" is for Tornado clean-up...

A to Z Challenge:

ABC's of My Life...

The tornadoes that devastated parts of North Carolina have touched home; a family that attends my school, Holly Grove Elementary School has lost their residence to the grip of destruction of the storm.

I know KA, a fifth grader who is quick with a smile as she stops by my room frequently to bid good morning or to offer a swift, ‘Have a good evening! ‘ as she passes through. Her fourth grade sister KE is quieter with watchful eyes and a joyous spirit.

As my son and I were driving to the house for an organized clean up he said it best when he announced, ‘It’s Good Friday and we are doing something good!’ Indeed we are, Nicholas, yes we are- as I knew he struggled within his twelve year old mind to make sense of the annihilation of a family’s sense of security and safety within this vast world; a planet that doesn’t at all times offer its finest and on occasion appears vastly unfair.

Upon arrival, cleaning was already in motion as chainsaws reverberated in the air, and community members from our school as well as their church and many more whom I didn’t know their affiliation, although it didn’t matter. I gazed for my place to commence as we fell in line hauling; we carried and carted downed limbs to the roadside; strength and determination my ally by thoughts of selfishness such as thank God this wasn’t my house!

KA wanted me to view the small closet her family hovered to ride out the tornado as a different task was to remove salvageable items to a POD for storage as the family stays with a teacher, her husband and two sons who have opened their home for these displaced individuals. Carolyn is gracious, loving and reacted to a calling.

An occasional conversation with a friend, neighbor or co-worker that shared information or a story; one being that the horses from the field next door sensed the storm and went to the back of the pasture and lay down with their back to the fierce winds; God truly embedded a protection instinct within. There are three horses that are still missing. We spoke of close calls (from a previous post) and shared experiences of that memorable day last Saturday when the storms prevailed --embedded in our minds and hearts. We made and deepened connections as we spoke of God’s love and work in motion on that Good Friday.

Three hours later our work terminated as the rains poured. Driving home, once again my son spoke prolific thoughts; those drops were tears of God but joyous that we appeared together as a community to lend a hand in time of need.

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.”

by George Bernard Shaw

"S" is for Sorority Sisters....

A to Z Challenge:

ABC's of My Life...

our unity is shared by t-shirts designed by our faithful leader and former president, Leslie.

 . . . as the plane turns and begins its descent I’m filled with questions and wonderings galore; will I recognize everyone? What if they don’t like me? … and, I wonder if anyone has changed drastically, or if through our mid-years the young version of each of us remains within.

...the early arrivals...

 I bounce from the aircraft and race to the luggage locale where screams of delight rip through the Tucson airport announcing to the world, the ADPi sisters of Bowling Green State University; late 70’s-early 80’s have reunited. What a joy to behold!

For a moment, I stand back and gaze at the dance of coming together; our eyes skipping from person to person as we catch familiar gestures, voice dialects and music of laughter that reigns memorable. We chatter and listen intently determining to freeze indelible images to our mind that which would combine old and new recollections.


As each individual reaches the destination at the hotel, nicknames are spewed into the air announcing their arrival with shouts of glee and merriment. “Joan-baby’, ‘Cook’ and ‘Fitch’ to name a few…

 The extended weekend is crammed with events as well as careful considerate thoughts of those not there-- Stephanie who has since passed away and the plethora of sisters unable to join us in our festivities such as:

...helping the brave firemen capture a rattlesnake...

...a cook-out complete with video of our 'younger' years and a conference call to a small group that emerged together in Ohio...

...congregating at the hot tub...

...attending a local street fair...

...hiking the canyon...



...tearing up the links at LaPaloma Golf Club...

 

..dancing the night away as the DJ played ALL our favorite songs including, 'We are Family- I got all my sisters with me!'...

...Littles and Bigs were reunited....

...best of friends were together once again...

We all became professional photographers...

as we attempted to solidify and commit each activity, each encounter, each going-on to memory.

Regardless of the direction our departing flights took us to our place in the world, be it Florida, Ohio, Texas, we will remain attached by the emotional encounter of our days together…not only those days in March, 2010 but the college days we shared; good, bad and indifferent we remain sisters.

“We are sisters. We will always be sisters.

Our differences may never go away, but neither, for me, will our song.”

by Elizabeth Fishel