Good morning... Yesterday, our Thursday class met for our first monthly gathering of the summer. We celebrated a special seventieth birthday, with a homemade cake and candles, balloons and flowers, cards and gifts. We caught up on our stories. Stories of babies born and concerns for our aging parents. Stories of painful health issues and the frustration of [...]
Good morning... Thirty-nine years ago, on Memorial Day weekend, Steve and I were married in my hometown of Berea, Ohio. This anniversary morning, we wake in Athens, Georgia, new grandparents to Charlie, who is a week and two days old. Our youngest daughter could not come to meet Charlie at the hospital, since she woke that day with [...]
Good morning... A quirky comment lingers from a conversation this week. I don't remember where I was, why it was said, or who spoke this odd truth. "You know, the invention of the elevator created the penthouse," she said. "Before then, the top floor was despised because of all the exhausting steps." What meaning does this statement give [...]
Good morning... Yesterday, my dad rang the bell, indicating the end of radiation treatment for his prostate cancer. Driving himself to nine weeks of five days per week was a huge, important commitment. What joy to celebrate the end of this life-giving accomplishment. Today, my dad turns 89 years old. For his birthday [...]
Good morning... I very rarely sleep all night long, but this week's Spirit-sparked "birthday cake box" adventure required a huge output of my energy - mentally, physically, and spiritually. I did not blog yesterday, since I slept until 7:45 am when our puppy Cami made her first peep. On Monday, I dropped off our 60 happy treasures to [...]
Good morning... Just one week ago today, our blog post on my 63rd birthday invited everyone to join us in creating "birthday cake boxes" for thirty senior citizens who live in the Grove Park neighborhood of our city. We were hoping for 30 boxes, 30 boxes filled with a cake mix, frosting, oil and birthday candles. What we [...]
Good morning... I am experiencing my once-in-a-lifetime "golden" birthday. I was born in 1963, and I turn 63 today! A longtime friend came up with a fabulous way to celebrate. Jeannine Rollins, a beloved Northside Church member, wrote me after recent a blog post, Kindness Is A Ripple. At the end of our post, we watched a short [...]
Good morning... This is a week to celebrate Baby Allen, our first grandchild now developing in a cozy womb, as we anticipate his May 15th due date. On Thursday morning, our class celebrated my birthday a few days early by showering me with children's books. These favorite treasures will stay at "Sue Sue's" [...]
Good morning... After reading our blog post entitled Journeying With Cancer, a friend pulled out the words above. "This paragraph especially 'spoke' to me today," she wrote, "when I'm feeling frustrated with not being able to 'keep up' with my own expectations." Within the hour, another friend texted me the image below. [...]
Good morning... Over this wild winter weekend, my husband and I flew to Ohio for a brief visit with family. As we gathered with my parents and my siblings, their spouses and a few of my sister's kids, I spent some quiet quality time with my mom privately. At age 87, slowly recovering from four years of various [...]
