Don't Forget to Fly

When colors lose their luster

and your well is running dry...

just find a nook, pick up a book,

and let your spirit fly!

©2012 Susan Noyes Anderson

I have indulged myself recently in a highly pleasurable mini-binge of Adriana Trigiani novels. The ones I've liked most of all are Lucia, Lucia and The Shoemaker's Wife...and I must admit to liking them very much. Perhaps you would too, especially if you are drawn to romantic family sagas centered around a strong female, flavored by Italy and New York, and washed in warmth, humor, and pathos. With any luck at all, these culturally rich and carefully textured books will fly you to the moon and back.

Hope you enjoy the trip as much as I did!

=)

One for All, and All for...

A family walk through nature is

a metaphor for living.

Such time, when spent with those we love,

is reason for thanksgiving.

There is no trail too treacherous,

no rock too steep to climb,

no stony path too daunting,

nor high point too sublime.

In fact, the sky's the limit

when the company is right.

It's hard to get discouraged when

the world is bathed in light.

Companionship is everything;

good friends along the way

make all things possible for us

and brighten every day.

Take time for fun and frolic;

turn your grown-up selves down low.

The young have much to teach us

as they live and learn and grow.

Remember who you are. Reach out

for what you want to be.

Together, you will find it...

One for all, and all for three!

=)

photos by tendershootz

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Busy As a Bee, That's Me!

I've been so busy the past few days that I never even put up a Mother's Day post. That's almost heresy for me! (Sorry, Mom.) But life is settling down a bit, thank heaven, so I'll just fill you in on what's had me running faster than I could catch up in this merry and slightly manic month of May...

The first week, grandson Jeremiah visited our son Ryan (and us) for a fantastic weekend that included one of the best seats in the house for the SF Giant's game. He tells us that he is now a lifetime fan, which is probably making his Dodger Blue Dad none too happy. J arrived home sporting an official team hat, which he managed to get signed by his favorite pitcher.

We also had the pleasure of attending the temple marriage of our good friend Leighann, who makes new hubby Josh a very lucky man. Their reception last Saturday was one of the best ever, including amazing (and extremely humorous) entertainment by Ruth, who pretty much rocked our world with her medley of "meaningful" songs ranging from romance to rap. It only got better when the bride got up and busted some crazy moves before pulling her hubby up to alternately embrace and embarrass. Boy, was his face red...and the crowd loved every minute of it!

In the midst of weddings and receptions, I spent three days in Irvine with Todd. (Sorry I didn't call, Karen. I planned to, but the kid ate up all my time.) He will be a groomsman for one of his best friends from U of A this weekend, so we shopped for khaki pants and a blue blazer. We also cleaned and polished his apartment to a high sheen, which I think will make this last month of med school a little less overwhelming. Boy, will I be glad when he's got this first year under his belt. It's been a wild ride, and I had to buy an entire storage cabinet to keep track of all the paperwork he's had to master and memorize in the past 9 months. Frankly, I don't know how any of those guys and girls manage it all. Especially the dissecting of cadavers twice a week. Ugh and double ugh. Good news is that Todd will be coming home for the summer to work with an oncologist in our area. Hurray!

The afternoon of the same day I flew back from Irvine, my sister and some of her family arrived to spend the night and enjoy Mother's Day morning with us before returning to Southern California. We stayed up laughing and chatting until 2:30 am, which may explain why I was a bit of a dullard yesterday. My family treated me like a queen, but I managed to fall asleep in the middle of a conversation with my daughter. I then proceeded to fall out of my chair. (Don't ask.) Despite these shenanigans, I was treated to a terrific breakfast and dinner, receiving enough flowers to keep me smiling all week long. (Even today, when I have to go have four moles cut off at the dermatologist.) I know, TMI, right? But that doesn't stop me from complaining that one of them is behind my ear (ouch).

Hope you all had a terrific Mother's Day. Tomorrow I will be posting some terrific pics of my grandkids and will be participating in Leigh's happiness project for the first time in a couple of weeks. With any luck, things might even return to what passes for normal on this blog o' mine.

=)

PS. Thanks for putting up with my late (and sometimes nonexistent) comments on your blogs recently. I am going to try to catch up today before I go to the slicer and dicer doctor!

You Create Yourself...and So Do I

I find myself fixated upon drawn to a message of empowerment this week, probably motivated by personal need. It seems one of my favorite purposes for this blog is reminding myself of things I already know but haven't been putting into practice (or at least, shoving them from the back to the front of my mind).

I have a nasty habit when I'm busy or preoccupied of going on automatic pilot and running myself right out of gas. What's worse, I never seem to notice the problem until I'm on dead empty...or maybe a little beyond. The signs are always the same: low energy, pesky little health issues, loss of enthusiasm, spiritual lethargy, and a kind of overeating but undernourishing that fails to satisfy. I'm sorry to say that I generally don't slow down and stop for a refill until I literally have no other choice. (Being still has never been my strong suit.) And being stuck is a poor substitute.

For most of us, being stuck is a failure of imagination...and staying stuck is offering that failure a chair. "Come on in and sit a spell," our passive selves beckon...and not because we're feeling hospitable, but because we aren't feeling much of anything at all. Since lack of feeling is death to imagination, the problem winds up holding the cure hostage, with the end result being the very inertia of which I'm speaking.

The good news is that the deadlock is self-imposed, which means we have the power to break it. When our level of dysfunction/disengagement becomes intolerable (or long before, if we have any sense), we can do what I've been doing this week: remember that we have the power to create in ourselves all the joy, fulfillment, and possibility we are willing to embrace. How? By actively engaging with and taking ownership of our lives...mindfully choosing every line, shape, and color therein.

The power is ours, God-given. We create ourselves moment by moment, actively or passively, for good or for ill. In every way imaginable and by divine intent, we are the artists of our own lives, but we must pick up the brush, pen, mallet, or chisel before we can draw, write, pound, or sculpt our way to the happiness we are seeking. It's all on us, and where much is given, much is expected.

Thankfully, art is Art, and God is in it. No matter what materials we are handed...whether our hearts feel like fresh canvas, scrapped paper, or cracked stone...our creative spirits still have what it takes to mark ourselves with beauty and grace.

Of course, we do need to remember from Whom that grace flows.

=)

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Sunset at Santa Cruz

Jim E. Furlong

This guy can sure take a picture, can't he? It's sunset at Santa Cruz, the beach near our home.
=)

A Day of Service

I thought you guys might be interested in seeing this video made by one of the young men in my husband's congregation. It chronicles our activities last Saturday and the Mormon Helping Hands service project that church members young and old across California participated in to help their communities. One of our assignments was to clear brush from the area surrounding our local college. I hope you take a look at it. The guy with the funny look on his face is my hubby!

=)

For Mom, with Love

I'm a little turned around with Jenny's Saturday Centus this week, but better late than never, right? (We were able to add our usual 100 words to the prompt, highlighted in red below.)

∞§∞

For Mom, with Love

(Windy City Style)

©2012 Susan Noyes Anderson

Mother's Day is for you.

Thanks for all that you do.

By your hands, we've been blessed;

now we give you our best.

We will strive all the while

to release your bright smile.

Till the sand leaves the sea,

willing slaves we shall be.

Truly, it is our pleasure

to serve at your leisure.

No matter the need,

count it yours, guaranteed.

We are at your command.

Mom, your wildest demand

must be our do-or-die.

In this, we don't lie.

* From the cubs in your lair,

to our sweet mama bear:

Just don't get in the way

when Da Bears start to play.

∞§∞

If  you want to read a more serious, heartfelt Mother's Day poem, go here. 

It's short, accessible, and uniquely lovely. 

Don't miss it or you will do yourself a disservice.

Life Bends

R.A.D. Stainforth

Life Bends

©2012 Susan Noyes Anderson

A river flows around the bend;

no man can see what lies ahead.

What mysteries does this portend

to fill my heart with hope or dread?

The water shimmers calm and clear,

but I have traveled far and wide.

I am no stranger there or here;

no dreamer, drifting toward the tide.

My eyes have seen the changing stream;

my ears have heard the shocking sound...

the end to mild meandering.

I know the roil, the wave, the pound.

I miss the callow calm of youth,

the untried innocence, the ease.

Yet lifeblood must rush on to truth,

and salty tears spill into seas.


Tranquility, ferocity, 
there is no reciprocity.

The rhythm comes; the rhythm goes.

The river ebbs; the river flows.



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X-hilarating X-it!!!

Something x-citing is happening in our family on June 29th, a really x-hilirating something that has been nearly 40 years in the making.

(It's called retirement, the best x-it strategy ever!)

That's right folks. My more than x-cellent husband has been working with tremendous skill and dedication for approximately 2/3 of his life, and it's all going to end 8 weeks from tomorrow. Yep. You heard me right. In no more than 40 working days that man of mine will be free as a bird...free as the wind...free at last!

Can I get a witness??

=D

PS. Let the good times roll...

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Extra, Extra, Read All About It!

Lots of things going on, and I know that I haven't been posting much of "real life" lately (my apologies to the non-poetry-lovers among us), so I'll just catch you up a bit, in case you're wondering if I still have friends, family, and the young single adult ward in my life! (Answer: yes, I do.)

My daughter Karin and I spent the morning at Kaiser yesterday, where she underwent an exploration of her reproductive system to see why she and her husband are having trouble conceiving a child. She said she is quite comfortable having me share the rather interesting results with you, so I will take a moment to explain that she has two cervixes and two uteri. Other than that fairly remarkable departure from the norm, everything is fine and dandy, so the docs will probably be helping things along a little with IUI (intra-uterine insemination) in the left uterus, which seems to have a better cervix. The issue, for a person with two smaller uteri rather than one large one, is going to be trying to avoid twins (no room at the womb!) and then keep even the one baby from coming too early. Her situation will be sort of like a person with a regular uterus having twins; she will be prone to deliver ahead of time due to limitations on growing space for the fetus. All in all; the doctors are hopeful...and so are we.

On Friday, our cute grandson (Jeremiah) will be flying to San Francisco on his own for a "baseball trip" given to him by his Uncle Ryan for Christmas. Pretty cool gift, right? Apparently, the J-man is really looking forward to spending some quality time with his uncle, and we intend to horn in on it a bit towards the end. (They will come our way to attend church with us and have Sunday dinner before leaving for the airport near our home.) We were supposed to attend a baseball game with them on Friday, but we aren't sure if we will make that because we are trying to attend a funeral out of town if Dave can arrange his work schedule to be out of the office for that day. Sometimes we wish we could clone ourselves and be in three places at the same time, but so far, we haven't figured that out. My sister and her husband will be staying with us Saturday night on their way home from Sacramento, and we can't wait to spend a little time with them, too.

In other news, we'll be attending the temple tonight with the singles ward, then hitting In-N-Out with the whole gang on the way home, as is our custom. Last weekend, our service-oriented crew participated in Mormon Helping Hands, an annual event where approximately 75,000 church members across California and Hawaii volunteered en masse to benefit their communities. Our young people were assigned to clear brush and trim trees in the area surrounding the local community college, and we had a great turn-out of enthusiastic helpers. By all accounts, local leaders in both states are bowled over by the numbers of people who show up, and they thoroughly enjoy finding ways to put the eager beavers to work. It's a wonderful experience for everyone concerned.

Other than that, we are looking forward to visiting my mom this month and attending a nephew's wedding while we're there. Happily, all of our kids will be with us. Nothing better than getting the whole group together, and we will also be celebrating my birthday. I will be turning 60 on the 31st...a whole new decade for me!

Looks like May is shaping up to be another busy one...

=)