a man on the move

My nephew is about to embark on a new life path. He’s packing up and moving to Omaha, Nebraska. One could, and has, asked Why the Hell Omaha? His answer is because he liked it there. That is as good a reason as any to move to Omaha, I suppose.


I am thrilled that he is heading out on this new adventure. He needs it, needs to stretch his wings, get a fresh look at the world. His worldview has been a little grim for a while and he’s finding his feet again. He’s clever enough to know that this is a good first step, no matter where the journey ultimately takes him. I respect that and the effort, the stepping outside himself that he has had to do to make this move. I’m not so sure he appreciates what it took to make this decision, to see it through. There are some that would not have that inner strength, the confidence, the will of dreams, to propel them forward. He does, and this I am grateful for.


It is symbolic that he makes this move in the beginning of a new year, at the cusp of a decade. A decade that has seem his grow from teenage boy to a man. It will not be easy. In most cases this type of move is often filled with self-doubt, concern for how it will play out, the possibilities of great successes and failures vie for dual position in one’s psyche. There are no guarantees, there are no promises, there are only possibilities and how one approaches them and takes ownership of them.


There is baggage with this move and in part a main reason he is making this choice, taking this step. His brother passed away almost 2 years ago from a short and horrible bout with cancer. B put his life on hold to be with his brother and his family. This is a testament to the heart of him. It is deep and wide, with undiscovered depths. He doesn’t fully understand, or know, what he has within him. Those that know and love him see the potential, truly only he can nurture it to fruition.


He has stayed close to his parents, his home, in this post-cataclysm of his brother’s death, to comfort, to be comforted. They were friends, not far apart in age, and I cannot image what that loss feels like inside his soul. No one can. He knows and has been searching for a new path to balance that loss in his life. As are his parents and peripheral family. But this, this is for him.


A smart man seeks answers, searches for the matter of life, angling for the opportunities to fulfill what destiny has in store, especially when waylaid by the most awful challenges. B is a smart man. He left his boyhood somewhere back in 2007, helping his older brother make it to his chemo treatments, spending time at his mother and fathers sides, being strong, putting his own needs aside for theirs. It is now for him to pick up the threads of his life and weave them into a story he can be proud to tell.


There are words and music flowing through his soul, some he shares, some he holds fast. He views life with a cynicism a young man should not have, but a heart that yearns for joy. This I believe. This I see in the brown eyes that look back at me so direct, so firm, as we talk about this plan. His excitement shines through, the wonder of these new possibilities dancing in his words and gestures. This I hear in his infectious laughter as he jokes. It is time for him. And I wish nothing but wonder and happiness for him on this quest he has set for himself.


When he doubts, I hope he remembers the strength he has shown, the capacity for love living within him, the humor that lights his eyes as he witnesses the absurdities of life around him. I hope he reaches for the love that will be coursing his way, carried on the air, from those that will think of him often. These can be his strength and soulforge.


We will all watch him go, love in our hearts, hope in our souls, that he finds the answers that he seeks, the matter of his life and fulfills the destiny that awaits him.

Molten Breath

Some years ago I stumbled across pictures of glass sculptures that were so different than anything I had ever seen, I was mesmerized. Glass blowing has always fascinated me, breathing form into molten glass, using fire and color. The ability to create, in any medium, is an incredible gift as far as I’m concerned. But the art of glassblowing remains mysterious and mystical to me.

Breath, fire, sand, color…Art. How amazingly spectacular.

I spent time researching the art of Dale Chihuly online after that first glimpse. I pulled up images online, devoting quite a bit of time reading up on the artist and the techniques. Not to mention oohing! and aaahhing! over the colors! The forms! The styles! My fandom is encompassing and geeky. I may not idolize, but I will certainly know as much as possible about the new thing that has captured my attention. It’s my own particular brand of obsessive crazy.

Imagine my surprise when this was one of the first things I encountered when we went to Atlantis for the aquarium tour during vacation. (Atlantis, by the way, is massive and pretty and ridiculously overpriced.) ((No, we didn’t stay there, just visited.))We were headed, at a crisp pace, toward the main hotel to get tickets and as I walked into the room, I just stopped and stared. SuperHubby and Giggles had to come back for me because I just stood there, taking pictures, looking and looking. They didn’t even know I stopped.

This is called Crystal Gate. It just shimmers in the light, right there in one of the main hallways. It’s really breathtaking, like an explosion of crystal water surging from the floor, glimmers of rainbow light dancing on each tendril. And huge. I could just hang out right in that room for a few hours, thank you very much. Just bring me food and drink.

Here are the Sun and Moon, standing tall atop monolithic pedestals smack in the middle of a casino. Which disturbed quite a bit actually, as the noise was loud and clanging and I wanted quiet to take in the color and light of these. And to remind my husband and daughter that I NEEDED TO ADMIRE THE ART, THANK YOU VERY MUCH and now stop rushing me!! The aquarium can wait.

The colors and detail, well, they speak for themselves.

I know there’s a chandelier in the hotel, but either I was too clueless to find it or too rapt in what I did encounter to see it. It’s supposed to be very detailed, and elegant, and flowing with sea shapes. Internet, do you know that that means? It means SuperHubby has to take me back there so I can take pictures for you.

Yes? YES!

There’s more about Chihuly's work here

No Time to Hate

In another lifetime ago, during a Grateful Dead show, I picked up a bumper sticker that simply stated"No Time to Hate", blue on white, with peace symbol's in the o's for effect.

I still try to remember that message, the simplicity of it, in this crazy life we live.

Life is short, we can all coexist, and still be unique. Imagine what our world could be if we all just work together, let ourselves be, tolerate others, embrace the diversity.

Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"

Grace in Small Things 21 of 365

1. Homemade Gluten-Free Funnel Cakes on a dreary Sunday afternoon

2. Powdered sugar all over Giggles and Ace as they giggle & munch their way through Funnel Cakes

3. A snoring dog

4. Rain outside the window

5. Burn Notice marathon

GiST 20 of 365

1. The sight of the surgeon coming to tell me that my husband's surgery was complete and all went exactly as planned.

2. SuperHubby's grimacing smile when I leaned in to kiss him hello after 6 1/2 hours of surgery.

3. My soft comfy bed after sleeping in hospital chairs for 2 nights.

4. The comfort of my sister, who distracted me for hours with food, chatter and playing with beads.

5. SuperHubby's Parents, who have kept the kids with them for days, and spelled me at the hospital for several hours, so I could sleep in my soft comfy bed. Their generosity of heart makes me a blessed daughter in-law

GiST 19 of 365

1. an afternoon and evening completely to myself

2. sleeping till 11:00 on a Sunday afternoon

3. homemade pan seared shrimp

4. spending an afternoon with my sister

5. snuggling with SuperHubby, watching movies, knowing the kid's are safe & snug in bed, the dog curled at our feet and the sound of rain outside the windows

Grace in Small Things 18/365

1. not having to get up early Saturday morning

2. the possibility of sunshine

3. planting a peony that a friend dropped off, just because she had extra

4. seeing the baby rabbits that apparently live in my flower garden

5. happy that I didn't plant new flowers in my flower garden this year, which the baby rabbits can't eat

Grace in Small Things 17/365

1. magic power by triumph

2. chipotle salsa with sour cream and blue corn tortilla chips

3. a long overdue & much needed chiropractic adjustment which alleviated the worst of my neckache

4. Saturday

5. going to bed early, just because, and sleeping 12 hours

GiST 16/365

1. wisteria blooming in the backyard

2. holding SuperHubby's hand

3. an unexpected chat with my Uncle Skip, who I don't speak to often enough

4. knowing that email and Facebook allow me to keep in touch with people I love over great distances

5. hearing the laughter of the kids floating through the kitchen window as they jump on the trampoline

GiST 15/365

1. finally completing that project at work that took up much time but is now done and the information will be useful and conveniently available.


2. a rainy sunday afternoon nap

3. a tickle fight with Ace

4. not making dinner

5. not folding laundry

GiST 14/365

1. a quiet morning on the deck, just me, the dog and some birds

2. satisfaction at removing the damn thistle that wants to take over my flower beds

3. cubed leg of lamb, marinated in melted mint jelly, cooking sherry and fresh rosemary, grilled to perfection

4. warm sunny spring days

5. the end of a productive day

GiST 13/365

1. the end of campaigning

2. new people, new friends

3. the discovery that I DO like wearing flip-flops after all, my father always banned them as dangerous footwear that would break my leg if ever I wore them. I've come to realize his dire warnings were more about me being a total klutz as a kid than the flip-flops problematic

4. beads, beads and more beads. Did I mention beads?

5. Ace will still hold my hand sometimes when we're just hanging out watching a movie

GiST 12/365

1. Giggles turned 11!!

2. a sunny hour in the yard with the kids

3. a snuggle with SuperHubby on the sofa

4. seeing the Cardinal hanging out on the bird feeder, he's the one I put it up for, after all

5. a full nights sleep

GiST 11/365

1. Macintosh Apples

2. Late Sunday afternoon, no one home beside me and the dog. I mean really, that never happens.

3. Taming the wisteria tree in the backyard, which blooms fragrantly beautiful, but takes merciless advantage of this lazy gardener by spreading out to strangle everything in its avaricious grasp. The neighbor's fence included.

4. Realizing the one rose bush left standing thrives in spite of, or despite me, and continues to grow. It now wields 1/4 inch long thorns just to keep me at bat, because it knows, knows, that it does not require my ministrations with the pruning shears for it to produce gorgeous ivory blooms each year.

5. Finding that pair of comfy cropped pants I thought I had left in Disney two years ago. And they still fit.

GiST 10/365

1. the sound of rain

2. the satisfaction of a deed well done

3. warm showers and scented soap

4. pork roll & cheese on a roll from Minite Stop. they make them the best. yummmmyyyy

5. memory foam mattresses

GiST 9/365 (or 9 the 2nd because I can't count)

1. listening to a old favorite book on audio for the first time

2. getting complimented on the necklace that I just made and wore for the first time

3. the satisfaction of fixing a relatively new pair of shoes that broke when I tripped and fell in them yesterday

4. Gorilla Glue, compared to this stuff Elmer's is for sissies

5. daffodils because they're so damn perky

GiST 9/365

1. Watching the advance of a thunderstorm while outdoors

2. Purple lightning and the first rumble of thunder. It's so exhilirating

3. Watching people's reaction to the lightning as they exit the store I was standing in front of handing out Board of Ed literature

4. The sound of rain on the ground and the amazing scent of rain and storm

5. Wondering if the advancing storm with the purple lightning, downpour and hail is a sign of campaigning success or the coming apocalypse

GiST 8/365

1. Finding a sofa under the pile of laundry. Who knew?

2. Xanax

3. I am not sitting in the hospital waiting room now

4. Finding a peaceful place inside myself that let me remain calm and confident while speaking

5. The end of speaking

Grace in Small Things 7/365

1. Pop home from the hospital and healing from heart valve replacement surgery

2. Understanding, supportive friends who, while making fun of me for being a lame ass, tolerate me nonetheless

3. Bourbon

4. The weight of the dog resting on my feet while I fret with writing opening and closing statements

5. the end of opening and closing statements

Grace in Small Things 6/365

1. The smell of homemade soup

2. Working together in the kitchen

3. Listening as Giggles describes the antics she read in the last Diary of Wimpy Kid book

4. A sense of gaining further self-confidence as I continue reaching out to the community

5. The possibilities of beginning a new jewelry piece