Dream Big

So, here's the deal.  I've been following this amazing Goddess on Earth for a few years and would like to recommend that you follow her as well.  I won't go into lots of details because the truth is....I've never met her.  She's not my guru, not my friend, but has inspired me quite a bit and at  4:00PM today she is doing her yearly FB pajama party planning session.  Her name is Leonie Dawson and she comes from the land down under. 

I, unfortunately, will not be in my pajamas when this begins.  I'll most likely be at an early dinner with the kiddos at an undisclosed restaurant in Nashville.  Damn.  And, I'll most likely be breaking all of our family rules about media and screens at the dinner table which means I may have to let the kids have screens as well.  Not sure about that yet.

My favorite product from Leonie, other than her weekly emails, is her workbook, which I am using this year.  For many years I have followed Sarah ban Breathnach and though I love her work, I never loved her workbook that accompanied the Simple Abundance book that she is most well known for.  For me, this is sort of like taking some of what is in SA and putting it into really bright dynamic content that helps you break into that next level.

According to many sources, Americans are visual learners and I must say that applies to me as well.  That's probably why I like this book so much.  It.  Is.  Very.  Visual.  

So, take a look at Leonie today.  Hop on the FB pajama party page and get to making this your best year yet!

I'm Not a Size 0 - But You Might Be

There are wars being waged every day. They are being waged not only by people in foreign countries whose leaders' names I cannot pronounce or on conservative talk radio against homosexuals or pro-choice cheerleaders. The wars are being raged by others who hope for peace and tolerance and do not even realize they have gone to war and could possibly be behaving the same way as those they criticize for hatred and intolerance. I've known this for some time and I bet you have, too. But, it hit me tonight as I sat with a glass of red wine, scrolling through my Facebook feed looking for a happy PSA to put on my feed tomorrow morning.

I was smacked in the face by two of the most hate-filled 

posts I have yet seen and they were both from friends 

who are sometimes so far to the left that I wonder if they 

can make a right-hand turn.  

Getting to my point, there were two posts, one I will not speak of here, but the second was by a lovely older friend (I mean that - she is usually filled with light and joy) who shared one of those fantastic ecards that float around through social media. I just happened to have saved it so you could look at it with me.

I read the card a couple of times and then, I sort of got mad. Not really mad. Just a little mad. I wasn't mad at my friend, I promise! But, I was mad at a world who sees everyone on one side of a dividing line as cruel and filled with hate when those on the other side of the line behave in much the same way.

You see, I have two sisters. One sister, much like me, has a little extra meat on her bones. The other got some other gene and does not. Or at least, she did not until she developed a serious thyroid problem after the birth of her second child in her late twenties. Though my recollections could be a little skewed, when growing up I can remember she and I shopping together and both being extremely miserable. By age 10 I had full hips and C-cup breasts while she at age 15 was more like my peers, rail thin and flat-chested. I think there were days we would have happily swapped bodies.  I was outgrowing the "pre-teen" section due to my early puberty and she had not even made it into that section.  During that time size "0" was a rare find. 

You may not be able to tell from my graduation photo, but in 1990, while I (in the middle) was size 13, she (on the right) was a happy 22 year old in a size 5.   Oh, did I mention in this photo she was already a mother? My oldest sister (on the left) was also a mother of two and again, like me, never wondered what it was like to full-figured.   After thinking of my sister I began to think of my cousins, many of which also got the "skinny" gene.   Then, there was my friend growing up who probably never reached beyond 5 feet tall, had a natural gap between her thighs and to this day (age the age of 42) has the body of a 12-year old.

If I can think in five minutes of four women I know well that would possibly be hurt by these messages, how many more are there?  So....what's the point to this rant?  I suppose there are really two points, maybe even three, okay four if you count the last one. 

1.  Right or left.  It does not matter.  You are still capable of being INCORRECT, IGNORANT and HURTFUL.  Believe me, I know.  I have sat on the extreme of both sides and though now I find myself mostly in the middle, 

I have been and I am quite sure will 

once again be all three of these things.

2.  It's OKAY to be a size 0, 1, 2 or 3.  Don't let anyone tell you it's not.

3.  While some women are NATURALLY large, let's all be real.  Most of us who are truly overweight are NOT healthy.  I will NEVER be a size 0.  I am HOPEFUL to be back to a size 12 sometime in the near future.  However, my current size is not okay.  Not with me anyway.  Because it is NOT healthy.  Not because a fashion mag says its not okay.  Not because someone in Kroger or on the beach doesn't like how I look.  But, because I cannot be my best me and feel my best when I am unhealthy.  There.  I said it.  You can be mad at me.  We can normalize it or rationalize it ALL. DAY.  LONG.  But, that does not make it okay.

4.  Enough with the body comparisons.  So you aren't a zero.  It's okay if someone else is.  So you are not a Marilyn Monroe 12.  Guess, what.  Still okay of someone else is.  Are you a 6-foot tall 200 pound Amazon?  Guess what.  That's probably okay, too, though I'll say that I have two very close friends who are right at 6-feet tall and I bet neither of them are close to 200 pounds (see item number 3 above).  And, they have both given birth...naturally....4 times.

5.  If no one can dis on fat folks (I am in that category so I can say that) then we shouldn't dis on the skinny folks either.  Remember all of the craziness around Bethenny Frankel and her Twitter post where she was dressed in her four-year old's clothing?  I know women who can do that.   That's just naturally how they are.  Frankel made a bad joke in a time when tolerance is nil and was nailed for it.  But really, she's a tiny woman.   

So, take my suggestion, find your happy place, 

post only pictures of happy kittens on Facebook 

and  go exercise.  Pass it on.

We Are Not Consumers - Revised

There was a time, not so very long ago, okay, maybe 15 years ago, that Nathan and I decided we would live as simply as we could and take as little as possible from the Earth.  We don't have solar panels, we don't live off the grid (appealing but too much work) and we don't ride walk/bike everywhere.  But, we do live fairly simply.  Our largest expense is our grocery budget because we tend to only buy foods that use sustainable practices and do not not harm our bodies.  Looking around my large den, I can only spot two pieces of furniture that were purchased new.  Bookcases and the parsons chair here at my desk.  Everything else was gifted to us gently used or built for me by my father.  I know, having furniture built counts as "new" but we did not spend hours browsing furniture stores, comparing prices, wondering what our friends would think.....and our entire home is furnished in this fashion.

All of our bedroom suits are heirloom pieces handed down through generations.  All of our dining furniture was gifted or purchased used...same for the kitchen.   It is all recycled, repurposed, refinished!

It's been on my mind - this lifestyle of ours - as I have been thinking of ways to earn extra money - run an at-home business, to sustain our path of homeschooling our children.  For many years, I have tried to make a go of direct-sales and for a while I was even getting somewhat successful, building a down-line and earning about $500 a month.  But, I never could stick with it.  I think it's because so many companies are based around customers purchasing things that do not necessarily enrich their lives. 

What I mean is this:  when I'm selling purses or tote bags or beautiful trinkets for the home, it is purely a consumer mentality.  That's just not me.  I buy a purse when my old one breaks or looks so worn that it is embarrassing.  I buy new tennis shoes when the toes of the old ones find themselves with a hole.  New pants?  We rarely go to the mall, we buy only what we need and when we need it.  There is no room in our lives - for many reasons - to shop for the sake of shopping and some of the companies I have attempted to work with have promoted shopping for the sake of shopping.  Folly on my part to be sure!


Right now, as we have made the move to the path we are on we are looking at our own habits more closely.  How do we have what we need to survive and indeed be happy without taxing the resources around us?  What are our options to bring in extra cash without urging people to shop for the sake of the  moment?  Are there opportunities for me to work with products that truly will enrich my life and the lives of others?  If you have the answer, let me know, meantime, I'll be wandering in the wilderness searching for the answers. 

***Disclaimer:  I am a huge fan of Pampered Chef, Arbonne, Usborne and Barefoot Books.  I do own products from the Utility collection from Thirty-One that I use each and every day.  This is not an attempt to speak ill of direct selling, it is more of a reflection on how to be a healthy consumer and bring additional income into my home. 

I Did It

April 16, 2014

It has been a long time coming.  Whispers in the back of my mind.  Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks at a meeting in December when I realized I was swimming upstream with my job…against a current of apathy and perhaps lack of understanding.  And then, he asked.  The son, our twelve year old, asked to be home schooled.  Again.  He has asked many times before and I could not bring myself there with him.  The idea began to grow in my mind and by the end of January I had made my decision.  Nathan was on board but the loss of income scared us both.  Not a huge loss.

By the time we make our commute, eat out two times per week, pay for private school for one kid and afternoon care for both…what is left?  Not much.  Once I made the decision, got Nathan fully on board, told our little Moon and attended a national home school conference, the signs began to come.  I cannot list them all here but I can tell you my ears perked up and I began to hear the murmurings from so many of my parent peers.

“I work so the kids can go to school here.”  “By the time I pay daycare costs it’s almost as if I should not work.”  “It seems like I am working to pay someone else to raise my kids.”  Is this really where we are as a society?  My mind began to reel.  Yes.  It is.   I wanted to run away these last few weeks.  Throw in the towel.  But, I didn’t.  I made a commitment to myself to go to the end.  The end of the school year.  The end of our giving season.  To meet my goals laid out a year ago with my job.  I hung in there through the biggest charity event of the year for my organization.  And then….on Monday….I said four little words……

“This is my notice.”

The weight of the world  was lifted from my shoulders and I can finish the year with light joy knowing what awaits me at the end.  My family.  My sanity.  The joy of making each day count with those I care most about.  It won’t be perfect every day but each day will be perfect in its own way.

Don't Judge Me

January 1, 2014

Don’t judge me.  You know it has to be bad when that’s how it begins.  Don’t judge me.  Let me start by saying that I made a delicious breakfast for both of the children – a three egg omelet and a bowl of cereal for the growing 12 year old and cereal alone for the seven year old.  I prepared a crock pot full of potato soup that simmered all day to provide a hot nourishing meal for the family.  The kitchen was cleaned – not once, but twice.   Oh!  I almost forgot.  I made a tasty snack for the kids during the afternoon.  So far, so good.  Right?

The Thursday before Christmas I was lying on the couch contemplating the trek upstairs to the bed and feeling like it was much too far to travel.  I thought that it was just the exhaustion of the week and doing too much to prepare for the holidays.  By Friday afternoon I knew I was in trouble and headed over to the walk-in clinic that promptly prescribed me with an antibiotic.  Here is where the first “don’t judge me” comes in (the dreaded use of anti-biotics). 

On Saturday I hosted my entire family for a full holiday meal and the festivities continued from there.  Next came Sunday and a four hour round-trip to Chattanooga for our annual trip to the North Pole via the Polar Express; days of hosting my husband’s family; the Sun’s twelfth birthday, the list goes on.  Yesterday I made returns and exchanges and began the slow packing away of the holiday decorations after church.

It was last night when my body began the protest.  Still fighting an infection, though it is not nearly as bad as it would have been without the antibiotics, I picked up Pei Wei for the family and we spent the evening eating and playing a marathon game of Monopoly.  Today I heard the protests even more.  Exhausted, trying to kick the last remnants of a cough and cold, I took a stand.  I would spend the day at my desk, on the couch or in the bed – or maybe in all three places.  I turned the children loose with the remote control and allowed them unlimited viewing – let’s be real as they are exhausted too!  This is where the second “don’t judge me” comes in.

Living in a home that until this Christmas only had one laptop, one television and one tablet – I can safely say that we typically have healthy boundaries when it comes to media use.  But today, I could no longer fight the good fight and gave in.  If anyone had visited us today they would have found mom and the kids vegged out on the couch watching back to back Disney movies and loving every minute of it.  So, moms (and dads), take a day, just one day, and rest and rejuvenate in whatever way suits you best.  Let the kids have some freedom. Don’t feel the need to entertain them.  Make sure they are safe and fed and diapers changed (if you have young ones) and put your feet up.  Go ahead.  I give you permission.  No judgement.  (written 12-30-13)

“The mark of a successful man (or woman) is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.”  ~Author Unknown

Searching for Peace

November 19, 2013

The day began early today.  Having gone to bed last night at 8PM, I found myself awake at 3:30.  Unable to go back to sleep, I got up, started beans in the crock-pot for tonight’s dinner and sat down with my coffee to find calmness in these early hours.  On my mind is staying in the present, not allowing others to frustrate me and seeing the positive in all I do.  I was able to stay there for about an hour.  Then, I checked my email and staying positive was out the window.  Or, was it?

As a mom, I constantly tell the children the same things that were told to me. “Ignore people when they are mean or rude.”  Should I tell my children to ignore folks or is it better to shed light on the issues and face them directly?  Do I tell the children to always shine the light?  Is illumination best or does it really just make you focus more on the issue?

If you, my sage readers, have an answer, let me know.   Until then, I am striving for peace but have a flashlight handy.

Line in the Sand

October 16, 2013

After two week of free falling into a pile of emotional mush I have drawn my own proverbial line in the  sand.  I have had tears and tantrums, anger and frustration, moments of panic as I realized I had forgotten something crucial….well, you get the idea. What’s worse is that I didn’t free fall alone. I did it along with my husband and two kids. A duel income family, return to school, sick elderly parent, kids activities and volunteer work (not to mention a blog), makes for a very crazy family bound to fall – and fall hard.

After a lovely weekend and an extra day off on Monday, I stand here today to say that I am drawing my line in the sand. We are taking back our lives from the crazy modern day world. We will find peaceful moments and instances of harmony each and every day.

Do you have a line in the sand? Do you know what it is? At what point do you stand (or sit) and say, “my family is worth too much, our relationships too valuable, to go on like this.” My point was another weekend with too many commitments and not enough time. Draw your line in the sand today. Go on. I dare you.

Full Moon Rising

I was driving along today in the glory of spring and saw the moon beginning to rise early on the horizon.  It reminded me of the energy I have had the last few days.  There is nothing like a waxing moon to give me a little extra get up and go.  You see, “I was born under the sign of Cancer….” (Love Will Come to You, Indigo Girls).

It is the moon that gives me such energy and I lay in bed last night I told Nathan that I must get all of the seeds into the ground by Thursday as the moon is waxing full.  Unfortunately, those seeds may never grow into the beautiful plants that I was hoping for.  This morning, the Moon looked out the kitchen and began to scream “CROWS, CROWS DADDY!”  They ran outside to chase them away but Nathan fears they have eaten all of my carefully planted green onion, okra, bush bean and sunflower seeds that filled the upper corner of the garden.  He asked me tonight, “How do you think they knew where those seeds were?”  I don’t know.

But what I do know is that we will have a garden.  I may be forced to plant vegetables that have been started in someone else’s garden, but we will have our fill of vegetables on our table each night.  After all, “I’m [a]….old Southern woman and we’re supposed to wear funny looking hats and ugly clothes and grow vegetables in the dirt. Don’t ask me those questions. I don’t know why, I don’t make the rules!”

I will leave you tonight with one of my favorite Indigo Girls songs from the album Rites of Passage. BTW. The Indigo Girls will be playing on Thursday night, May 15 at the Thistle Stop Café in Nashville to support the women of Magdalene House.

Southern Spirit

November 13, 2013

Last Christmas my sister-in-law asked me what I would like to see with my name on it under the tree.  I had recently stumbled upon the magazine Garden and Gun and asked for a subscription.  My mother-in-law also purchased me a magazine subscription – to Mary Jane’s Farm.  As the year wore on, my time became more limited and I found myself devouring MJF but moving to Garden and Gun a little more slowly.

This week, as I was cleaning out my paper cupboard as part of my holiday prep, I found the April/May edition still in its  wrapper and sat down with a glass of sweet tea and read it cover to cover.  While I delighted in the fact that most that month’s focus was on Nashville, I particularly enjoyed the story about a man and his dog.  Here is a link to the story if you are Southerner looking around for a reminder of life in the South.  You might even enjoy it even if you “ain’t from around here.”  Good Dog:  King of Oxford by Jim Dees.

“That sinuous southern life, that oblique and slow and complicated old beauty, that warm thick air and blood warm sea, that place of mists and languor and fragrant richness…”  Anne Rivers Siddons, Colony

Jumbo Laundry

May 20, 2014

I’m sitting tonight at the jumbo laundry and I haven’t had a better evening in a very long time!  I know.  I shouldn’t be this excited that the washing machine broke.  You know the one…it’s a Cadillac and should last, like, forever.  But, here we are about 8 years in and it’s sitting in pieces in my laundry room while the hubby waits on a new bearing to come it (along with the tool needed to replace said bearing).  Maybe it should have been sold as a Jaguar or Mercedes instead since they are frequently in the shop while Cadillacs  are like tanks and last forever.

But, I digress.  The washing machine is broken, I am frazzled and in desperate need of a night to myself, and we have a pile of dirty laundry and no clean towels.  What’s a girl to do?  I rallied the troops and we loaded all of the laundry onto my magic carpet.  On the way out the door I stealthily grabbed by laptop and here I sit.  No one is coming into my office, I am not staring at the piles of projects and to-do lists in my home and someone else in charge of cleaning the kitchen and getting the kids to bed.  Bonus?  There is Wi-Fi at the Jumbo Laundry which means I can surf the net, check my email and write a new blog posting.

I know.  You’re jealous.  But, don’t be a hater…just sneak away to the nearest laundry mat today.

“Clothes make the man [or woman].  Naked people have little or no influence on society.”  – MarkTwain

I've Arrived...and Now I'm Leaving

April 21, 2014

Have you ever woken up and realized that you have “arrived”?  What happens if you realize your destination is not really where you want to be?  You set things in motion – often times many years prior – and one day you wake up with everything you’ve ever wanted but knowing something about picture is wrong.  Do you stay on the path or do you take the road less traveled?  If you are me you take the road less traveled.

It all began about 20 years ago when I sat in my advisor’s office.  She asked me what career I saw myself in and I said “non-profit fundraising”.  Yep.  True story.  Fast forward to a year a half ago when I remembered that conversation and was reminded that I am capable of manifesting anything in my life (it’s sort of the whole “be careful what you wish for” idea).   When the call came to work for an organization I had volunteered with for several years (that also happened to be my kid’s school), to be honest, I hesitated greatly.  I did not apply for this job- I had applied for another.   It was quite a daunting task to raise money in a Waldorf school.  But, I took the leap.  Something continued to nag at me.

By the end of the school year I relocated my children, one who had been at the school for seven years, to other fine educational establishments.  The organization went through significant growing pains and I made the decision to stick around one more year to help them ease into the next phase.  By Christmas I realized I should have considered other options.  But, had I done that, had I not stayed through the year – this year – we might not have come to the wonderful place we are as a family.

You see, we have decided to take back our family.  I am ending my commute.  The kids are giving up the uniforms.  Though Nathan wills still be making that daily trek, he’ll be much less rushed.  We.  Are.  Home.  Schooling.  There.  I said it! We’ve been sitting on this news for many weeks and now I can shout it to the world.

So, if you see us out and about, no, we are not playing hookie, no one is sick.  We simply have taken down the walls of the classroom and expanded our thoughts on education.
 

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

Happy Anniversary.

12 years in love.

So Long Soda Shop

Wow.  It's like losing a good friend.  That's how I felt today when I heard the news that the Elliston Place Soda Shop is closing on Saturday.  Over the last few years I have not eaten at the Soda Shop very often due to the proximity of my home and how often I get over to Ellison Place.  But there was a time when the Soda Shop saw my face 4 or 5 times per week.  Maybe that's why I feel like I'm losing an old friend.


The Soda Shop is perpendicular to Louise Avenue where I worked as a manager for a small local bookstore named Magical Journey.  MJ as we called it was at the time the most popular and oldest metaphysical bookstore in Nashville.  It stood alone as one of the only independent booksellers left in our fair city and was a beacon to those seeking an off the beaten path to the Divine.  

While working at MJ I got married and soon after (like a couple of hours after) pregnant.  The owner of MJ was a generous man who loved good food as much as I and often sent me after his own lunch when I would go pick up my own.  Even if we did not have lunch at the Soda Shop, many afternoons he would send me on a milkshake run.  I was often seen waddling down Louise and then Elliston to pick up the most delicious handmade milkshakes in town.  (Must be why Noah LOVES milkshakes.)

Those were good times.  Newly married, pregnant for the first time, working in my dream job with an independent bookseller....that's what the Soda Shop signifies to me.  Each day I grow older - a fact that does not escape me - and I move further away from that time of my life.  There are new times now - good times too - but those are days that I cherish as a golden time in my life.
 

My dear friend who gave me the news is as sad I am.  Her father ate at the Soda Shop when it first opened in the 30's while he attended VU and she did the same.  She takes her own son - a third generation milkshake lover - there during the summers.  She and I along with our kiddos are having lunch there on Thursday.  I am hoping that we are going on the right day as I am craving one last meal of Soda Shop turkey and dressing.

It has been several years since I worked at MJ, the owner passed away a couple of years ago and now the Soda Shop is closing.

Oh Soda Shop....I will lament your closing each and every time I drive down Elliston Place.  I guess all that can be said is Thanks for the Memories.  I am grateful that I knew you. 

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110718/NEWS01/307180052/Elliston-Place-Soda-Shop-closing-marks-end-an-era

Avast Ye Matey, It's My Birthday

Well, another year is marked today. I have hit the age of 37. I was not really happy about the approach of this day, but now that it is here, it is fine. Yesterday was delightful. I received 2 gifts of $25.00, one in check form, one as a GC to Panera. Then, after work I went out with my oldest and dearest girlfriends. I cannot express enough the joy of being connected to these women after all of these years. One I have been friends with since the age of 12, one since 13 and one since 15. Due to my work schedule, they met and had dinner and then I met up with them and we scooted over to Dan McGinness - an Irish pub. We stayed for 3 hours just talking and catching up. We had a great time. I do wish we could do it more often, but life happens. Perhaps we will begin to see one another more regularly, that is my birthday wish. One of them anyway!

After a scant 4 hours of sleep I met with the chair of the parent alliance and we discussed the upcoming school year's volunteer duties. I returned home and the rest of the day was so wonderfully relaxing and organic. After a short nap, Nathan, Noah and I snuggled in bed, then left for one of our favorite places, Moe's for lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for mattresses. Once we returned home, it was more of the same, lounging around the house.

The high point of this relaxing day was brownies prepared by my guys and having sandwiches in the living room. Here are some photos of Noah from tonight. Well, the high point may not have been the brownies. Seeing Noah in the mustache he painted on with eyeliner may have been the highlight!

AWOL

I have been SERIOUSLY AWOL the past few weeks. I never knew that getting a house ready to sell, selling it and looking for a new one, not to mention packing was so time consuming. Truly, I think finding our new home was the most intense part of all of this. That coupled with carting Noah back and forth to school, soccer and playdates. Compound that with working and all of my volunteer activities and you have one behind on blogging Mama.

Well, hopefully I'm back!

I was looking for a Lonestar song to add to my blog music and came across this really sad song they did about keeping the kids little. Oh, it was so sad. So, I'm now blogging again in a serious manner in further effort to document EVERY moment of Noah's precious life.

Goddess! The last 7 years have flown by. That's probably why he still sleeps with Nathan or I half of the time. We see the days and moments going by and we want to hold on to him tightly.

So, here are some snapshots from the last few months so as to catch you up.

Abyss and Harvest

It's hard you know. Change. It's hard for me. Hard for Nathan. Hard for Noah. I have felt for a few weeks the way I felt about 11 years ago. A friend told me it was as if I were on the edge of a cliff ready to jump. I think he thought I was jumping into a scary place. The truth is, I jumped into an incredible phase of growth and prosperity. I changed jobs, moved, met Nathan, and began the incredible spiritual journey bringing my closer to the Divine.

The truth is, I was jumping into the abyss. What I knew at that time was that my life was not as it should be and I needed to jump...to be the fool in terms of the tarot....to find peace and contentment and my soul's longing.

Now, here I am again, at the edge of the abyss and about to jump. I'm working up the nerve. I am counting on Spirit to provide the cloud of hope and joy to lift me from the abyss into the light.

Noah has begun school and I find myself splitting my days between seriously cleaning, organizing and painting our home and job hunting. Right now, as things stand, I am waiting to hear if my Father has repurchased our old family business or whether I will be working somewhere else, such as the Mall. (I am guessing whatever job I have will begin in September). I am embarking on a new teaching journey that will begin in September. I am waiting to meet the Ethiopian representative for our adoption agency as we have begun revisiting that program (also the first week of September). And, in September I will begin offering a spiritual cinema movie and discussion group once a month at FUUN.

Amazingly, the last time I was on the edge of the abyss was in late August and the changes came fast and furious in September. It is part of the cycle of life. We are in the harvest time of the year. Llamas was the first harvest. We are quickly approaching the second harvest with the Autumnal Equinox. I know that I am in harvest mode for all of the things I have set into motion the past few months. I am looking forward to a bountiful harvest in my life and wish you one as well.

I'll keep you posted as these changes unfold in mine and my family's life.

The Children

Yesterday I was saddened to learn of the senseless shooting that occured during the worship services of the Tennessee Valley Uniatarion Unviersalist Church in Knoxville, TN. I am saddened by any such tragedy - any such violence - as are most. I cried over Columbine, the shooting of the children in an Amish school, and of course 911. This struck me in a different way, however. This was an attack on a Unitarian Universalist church. So, it really hit home.

Tonight, after returning home from a mournful gathering at my own UU church, I have these thoughts to share.

I prayed today for the congregants of the church. I prayed today for those shot and injured, but who survived the shooting. I prayed today for the friends and family members who lost two beloved souls - one at least who stepped in front of the gunman. I prayed today, yes, for the gunman, whose tortured life drove him to this desperate act. I prayed for each of us, Unitarian Universalist, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and more, who know that these things can occur in place of worship, though we pray they do not.

But, mostly, my thoughts and prayers are on the children. You see, the children were putting on a long awaited production of a musical for the congregation. The children were present. They saw the gunman and the shootings. My heart breaks for them - the children who were in what should be the safest place on Earth outside of their own homes have had that safety forever shattered.

Please pray with me for these people today.

Thank you.

www.uua.org for more info.