goodbye beach.....

Sharing happiness with Leigh Vs. Laundry

without a shadow of a doubt

Here I am again, sitting in the dark before the sun comes up. The house quiet with the anticipation of the day to come in the air. I am thinking about my grandparents this morning. I am thinking about all the gifts they left with me to pass on to my children. I am even thinking about what type of grandparent I will be. It seems such a strange thing to be contemplating at this stage in my life, but to me it doesn't seem such a far stretch. It is a reality of my life to come and feels like such an important phase in a lifetime. When I think of the generosity my grandparents showed to me, of spirit and of earthly things, I wonder how that impacted my life. As I type, the glow of the computer is shining on my grandmothers wedding ring that she gave me before she died. It is the only piece of jewelry I wear (besides the gold necklace she also gave me) because it makes me think of her. Yes, it represents my marriage to John too, and when I wear it I feel the strength that my grandmother had as a mother and the wisdom she shared with me gives me strength and clarity. When I open that top draw of the dresser that once was my grandfathers,  I sometimes think of  all the shinny tie pins and new and old corn cob pipes that used to be laid out neatly in it and remember my grandmother yelling "Dear!" because my grandfather had left his socks on the floor in front of it, like he did every day, and my grandfather yelling back "I didn't do it!" with a twinkle in his eye. I have so many memories stored in my mind of the two of them that I now share with my own children. I love that every night at dinner they all want to make sure they are eating with a Great Grandma Gwendolyn fork and always want to hear another story about Grandpa U.E. while they get their teeth brushed. I think of how my grandparents shaped my life. From teaching me to drive, playing gin rummy, taking me to my tennis lessons, swimming in the Mississippi River with me, never forgetting to write me a letter with a kiss in it each week, and making me feel like they really had no where else to be but with me. My grandparents showed me what matters in life. Family. Love. People. Although my children didn't know my grandparents, I will always make sure our lives are full with their memories. I hope one day that my own grandchildren will be asking for the Gwendolyn spoon and will go to sleep at night knowing without a shadow of a doubt that there are at least 2 angels watching over them in heaven.

"Jetta's Song" :: singing together

Jetta and I decided to learn to play "Jetta's Song" which was originally written and performed by The Fruity Ukuladies for Jetta. They were inspired  by the songs she sang on "The Thumbs Up Show - Episode 2." Now we were inspired by them and are looking forward to sharing more songs with you each weekend. We had a lot of fun doing this together. Hope you enjoy!

This Moment: riding the waves

This is a special moment from the past week that I want to stop, savor and enjoy.  If you are so inspired, please leave a comment for me with your own special moment and check out other moments this morning at soulemama. 

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Photo Friday

away from the farm

It has been a while since I wrote much. We have been traveling down the east coast and enjoying the sun, the waves, and the warm sand. While we have been away, our wonderful family and friends have been taking care of our little urban farm for us. We hear that the chickens have been loving their daily treat of dandelion greens from grandma and I hope someone has been enjoying the abundance supply of peppers that are growing in the garden. I wonder if we ever got a red tomato? Oh, I so hope that we are not too late to eat a few figs. There was just one ripe one before we left. Remind me to never take a trip during fig season again. We are looking forward to seeing how big the chickens are and if we are getting any eggs yet. I am planing my winter garden now. Not sure what I will plant this year,. The collards did well last year under the hoop houses.

As wonderful as traveling is, we feel our little house and farm calling to us. This year more then ever I am feeling that call back to my life at home. We have truly loved visiting family and exploring new places these last few weeks, but I guess there really is no place like home. In my past I always felt the need for an escape from life, time to regroup and de-stress. now I see that we really have created the life we dreamed of in each day on our little piece of earth we call home. We are not needing a vacation from the daily grind. Though vacations are always fun, it is the 'need' that is no longer there. It feels so good to be free from that. It feels good to be happy just where we are and  be able to see the wonder and joy in each ordinary day right at home.

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This Moment: reflecting

This is a special moment from the past week that I want to stop, savor and enjoy.  If you are so inspired, please leave a comment for me with your own special moment and check out other moments this morning at soulemama.  

this moment: waves of joy

This is a special moment from the past week that I want to stop, savor and enjoy.  If you are so inspired, please leave a comment for me with your own special moment and check out other moments this morning at soulemama.