After the rain
everything is fresh
and clean
and new
and glistening
and full of hope.
Dance…
after the rain.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
I am sharing this photo for the WordPress Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Monochromatic.
Writing
Why?
Why do I get a little knot in my stomach
when the days grow a bit shorter,
the air a bit crisper,
the breeze a bit lighter.
It is gentle
and beautiful
and comfortable.
But my heart remembers
summer ending,
school beginning,
Autumn breezes bringing school buses
and schedules and new beginnings.
I recall old endings…
and I am melancholy.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Wishing you…
Wishing you the freshness of morning dew,
the promise of bursting buds,
beauty and goodness in your surroundings and in your soul,
with colors as rich as the purple Rose of Sharon.
Moments to be cherished,
memories to be embraced,
a full life discovered…
at life in between.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Queen Anne’s Lace
Queen Anne’s Lace
in a vase
on the patio by the door.
Sweet memories of summers past
and a Grandma I did so adore.
She could make bouquets from weeds,
bring life to seeds,
make soup from bones,
and homemade ice cream cones.
We played Old Maid
while we drank lemonade
or sipped on root beer
or cream soda floats.
We would sing and laugh on the side porch swing
making up words to our favorite songs.
She would tell me sweet stories of her life and her past
while we dreamed of the future and who would be part of the cast.
We’d watch the morning glories close
while the moon flowers arose.
They were perfectly entwined
in an ornate grate
which bordered the slope
and the colorful splendor
of the portulaca flower bed
I will always remember.
Oh how I hope
that I can someday be
the kind of grandma
she was to me.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
My First Jewish Wedding
On July 4th, Hubby and I went to our First Jewish Wedding.
Thanks to our dear friends, Pam and Glenn, who we met 17 years ago on a plane to Puerto Rico, we have learned and experienced so many wonderful traditions and celebrations in the Jewish culture.
Pam (who we fondly refer to as “Bub” or even more affectionately “the Bubster”), has exposed us to and invited us to join them in bar mitzvahs (both of her sons and her dear hubby), bat mitzvah (their daughter), Passover (with family and friends), Chanukah (gifts and foods and cards), and now, one of the most beautiful wedding ceremonies we have ever attended.
We have watched Kyle grow into an amazing young man, and we have fallen in love with sweet Anna along with Kyle. Theirs is a love that was destined to be despite the difference in religious backgrounds. You see, Kyle is Jewish and Anna was raised Catholic. (Much like Pam and Glenn where Pam was Jewish and Glenn was Catholic). The wedding ceremony for both, however, was a Jewish ceremony. This was a Reformed Jewish Temple and Ceremony as opposed to Orthodox, so I’m sure there may be many differences that I am not educated enough in the religion to discuss.
But I thought I would share what a beautiful ceremony Kyle and Anna celebrated and the deep, beautiful meaning behind the symbolism.
The structure that Kyle and Anna stood under on the altar – along with both sets of parents, Best Man and Maid of Honor – is called a Chuppah. The chuppah symbolizes the first home for the new couple. It is open on all sides to welcome family and friends who will support the couple as they begin their life together. It was beautiful to hear them recite their own, hand-written, very personal and very endearing vows to each other.
The heart of the Jewish wedding ceremony is The Seven Wedding Blessings. Themes of joy and celebration and the power of love are expressed while the number 7 reminds all of the seven days of creation. The first blessing begins with Kiddush and the final blessing culminates with the image of the community singing and celebrating with the bride and groom.
Anna and Kyle created a very special Ketubah in a photo of the two of them with many special words on it. Ketubah means that which is written and was an ancient contract – written in Aramaic (the language of the time) – as a guarantee of monetary compensation in the event of the dissolution of the marriage. In present day, the Ketubah represents emotional love, trust and commitment to one another. The Ketubah is signed by the couple and witnesses prior to the actual wedding ceremony.
The Kiddush is the blessing over the wine. The first cup symbolizes the cup of life to be shared together. This blessing is combined with the ancient betrothal part of the ceremony. Laurel Barr, the Officiant of the Wedding, who was also the cantor for Kyle’s bar mitzvah over a decade ago, performed the ceremony in such a sweet and humorous and personal way that all of us there could not help but share in the joy.
I loved how the whole ceremony involved both families the entire time culminating with hugs and prayers,
and wrapping Kyle and Anna in Kyle’s bar mitzvah prayer shawl. It truly brought tears to my eyes.
And, of course, the ceremony concluded with the ancient tradition of breaking the wine glass. The meaning of this is somewhat controversial. One common explanation is that breaking the glass is a symbol of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Also, the shards of glass are plentiful, and this can represent the hope for abundant happiness in life.
The long-awaited kiss was welcomed with cheers and tears and smiles.
Here is the happy couple.
And our dear, sweet Bubby and Glenn ❤
followed by Kyle’s sister, Ally,
and brother, Bryan. All smiles as they joyfully welcome our beloved Anna into the family.
The reception was so much fun! We were immediately greeted with a SWEET candy bar featuring bowls full of favorites,
and take-out containers for midnight snacks.
Though there was no cookie table as is tradition in our Pittsburgh/Mars region, there were plenty of sweet treats between the candy
and the beautiful cake and pastries.
We had a very special table. The BEST table at the wedding! Table #14.
Table #14 featured a picture of Kyle at 14 years old (as well as one of Anna on the other side at 14). This was the year our families had a Football bet between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns, who were vying in the playoffs for the Super Bowl position. The family bet was that whoever’s team won had to send all their team’s paraphernalia they owned (sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats, towels, etc.) to the other family – and that family had to wear it to work and school one day that week. Well, our dear Griffith family lost – but they sure had fun with it. In fact, they made us a complete album of photos with each of them wearing their Steelers shirt or hat in school, with their class mates, with their work friends, even a family photo of them “mooning” us in their shirts! (You’ll have to visit to see that one!)
This one at Table #14 was Kyle pretending to flush our sacred Steelers Terrible Towel down the toilet!
It was fun to watch them do a traditional Hora chair dance where the groomsmen carried each of them up high and everyone danced around them. Kyle recorded the whole thing with his GoPro.
And we all hooped and hollered! And I danced well beyond 20,000 steps on my FitBit that evening!
The day after, Mother of the Bride and Mother of the Groom just happened to show up at breakfast in coordinating black and white chevron outfits – and matching smiles!
And when I expressed to the family that this was our first Jewish Wedding, Anna, the new bride, said,
“Me too!”
We smiled and hugged.
Thanks for letting us be part of it dear Griffith and Genova family!
We love you!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Family Bookshelf – My Memory Box
Do you have a favorite place or space in your home?
One of my favorite spaces in our home is the family bookshelf.
It’s kind of center stage in the great room commanding half of one wall measuring about 8 feet wide by 9 feet tall.
Hubby custom built this a few years after we built our house.
My “usual” seat on the couch directly faces this “memory box,” and sometimes I just stare at all the memories while hubby is staring at the television or the latest book he is reading in the evening.
It’s filled with so many favorite things…
There are a lot of family photos – some from a long time ago and some more recent…
Like our oldest son at 4 years old playing a toy saxophone and then a framed newspaper clipping of him playing a saxophone solo in the high school band. There’s one of him and his beautiful wife – our beloved daughter-in-law. There’s one of him and his Dad with a cake they made for a Cub Scouts competition and one in his “cap and gown” at his preschool graduation.
There are photos of our youngest son dressed in his favorite Halloween costume that he wore two years in a row when he was Peter Pan at 4 and 5 years old, in his football uniform for midget football, sticking his tongue out with his Dad and brother on a summer trip to Cedar Point Amusement Park, grinning at me at his preschool graduation, with me at a Kindergarten party where I was his homeroom mom, and with his sweet girlfriend now.
There is a photo of my hubby with his sister when they were young children… a sister and aunt who we loved dearly and lost way too early from cancer.
And there is a photo of my father-in-law taken on his last day on this earth when he was blessed with a surprise visit from a favorite niece from far away who he hadn’t seen in years. It is such a sweet memory to see him so happy just hours before he left us. We will never be able to express enough gratitude to this sweet lady for the joy she brought him that special day.
There are photos of friends and fun times, like a trip to Hawaii with our besties and holiday celebrations with all of our kids.
There are a few books, some significant, some not… There are high school yearbooks, photo memory books, bibles, favorite children’s books – like our very favorite bedtime read-aloud story book – “Bob and Jack – A Boy and his Yak.” There are baby books for each of the boys and a special memory book made by my cousin Joyce and given to me at Christmas featuring my first year blogging at LifeinBetween.me. There are books read at book club and business books and bird books and favorite fiction authors. There is a copy of the book I wrote and had bound as a gift to my Dad for our second Christmas together after reuniting. Our wedding photo albums sit on one of the shelves.
Then there are other sweet memorabilia, like our youngest son’s stuffed animal “Curious George” who he loved so dearly as a child and slept with every night.
There is the birthday bear my Dad sent me on my first birthday after we reunited after too many years apart with a sweet note saying, “Happy Birthday Jodi, My Little Girl. Love you, Dad.”
It was my 48th birthday.
And there is the little trinket box he gave me that says, “Daughter – With all the Beauty on the Earth, there is nothing more Beautiful than you.”
There’s a statue of a yellow lab that was my father-in-law’s sweet memory of his beloved “Brandy.”
There’s a cruise ship trophy our oldest son won singing Karaoke on a cruise with his now wife on a family vacation he went on with her family.
There are “Friends” blocks given to me from my BFF.
There is a photo album of our Cleveland friends wearing Pittsburgh Steelers shirts and poses too explicit to share here after they lost a family bet during a rival football playoff season.
There is a gorgeous painting from a faraway friend who suffered from a life-altering traumatic brain injury that completely changed her life and turned a corporate CEO into an artistic genius and a genuinely beautiful creative inspiration. I bought her very first piece of artwork, and I treasure it so dearly.
My heart is smiling as I type and recall these memories.
You see – a home is not brick and mortar. It is not plaster and paint.
It is the memories.
It is the family and friends and people you share it with.
My favorite little plaque hanging on another wall in our home says it all….
“The thing I love most about my home is who I share it with.”
So that is my special home “space.”
What is yours?
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Let it Bee
When you feel that cleaning or laundry or household chores
come before time with family or friends…
Let it bee.
When anxiety or worry steals the joy
of the moment you are in…
Let it bee.
When you think that your parenting
falls short of the “super” mom or dad next door…
Let it bee.
When your dinner is burnt or undercooked or less than gourmet,
but your family is gathered around the table anyway…
Let it bee.
When you look in the mirror and critique what you see,
thinking you are too big or too little or too this or too that,
but you have a loved one that thinks you are the bee’s knees…
Let it bee.
Let it bee, Let it bee, Let it bee, Let it bee…..
Whisper words of wisdom…
Let it be.
Bee Happy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS – The WINNER of the Thanks a Latte Card this week is Paul from My Cluttered Attic! Hubby chose #17, and that’s you buddy! Send me your address to mckinneyjodi@gmail.com, and the card will be on its way. Enjoy writing a funny note to a friend you’d like to thank while sipping a triple shot latte.
PSSSSSS – I know just who I am going to send this watercolor card to- a brand new bee keeper who I think is the bee’s knees!
You Caught My Eye Most of All
West Village, New York City
In a quaint little village
on the west side of the city,
this chipped and rusty railing caught my eye.
Away from the shiny steel skyscrapers,
the honking horns and the bustling crowds,
this brownstone’s ornate railing
tells stories of its duties, its purpose, its history.
The bicycles that were chained
after a trip to the market, a visit to a friend, or an afternoon escapade.
The support of the hands of family members and friends that entered and departed.
You supported, you protected, you guided, you anchored.
Your beauty is far beyond aesthetic.
You have stories.
You have secrets… you have joys… you have tears.
Of all the things in this grandest of grand arenas,
You caught my eye most of all.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
His Love Will Live in our Hearts Forever
In my job as a Director of Corporate Communications for Hospice and Home Health, I know all the right things to write… to say… to do… when explaining the journey at end of life and the experience of loss and grieving.
But when it is your own grief, it is quite different.
Yesterday, which was a day that filled my heart to overflowing with all of your kind words and comments and love on my One-Year Blogiversary, we also experienced a great deal of grief. We lost our best friend, our furry son, our first mate, our floor cleaner-upper, our company greeter, our deer chaser, our lap warmer, our walk companion, our dinner moocher, our tomato caper culprit, my first watercolor portrait inspiration, my sweet guest blogger….
Mikey – you have forever changed our lives. Your spirit will live within us always.
You taught us unconditional love and exuberance over the little things. You brought us humor and warmth and showed us the joy in a simple walk or a brief ride.
Your eyes had been telling me for a little while now, but I didn’t want to admit that though your heart and mind were strong, your body was ravaged by that ugly “C” word and causing you more pain than you deserved to endure.
From the moment your eyes locked with your Dad’s at the animal shelter that rescued you from being destroyed well before your job on this earth was done, to the day your eyes pleaded for relief, you were loved and you gave more than you received.
We are a better family, and I am a better person for having you in my life.
As your big brother Jake said, you are now in the ground giving back again. Your beautiful cells and spirit will nourish the grounds you tromped and protected and frolicked in and create the beauty that was you.
Dad said you can now chase all the chippies and deer and squirrels you want without pain.
And brother Nick finally admits you ARE a GOOD boy… the BEST boy… the BEST Dog we were privileged to have as part of our family. (You always knew he was just teasing you, and you simply loved him back!)
We are so sad, and we miss you so much, but we are happy for your relief.
Thank you, my sweetness, for all that you gave us.
Rest in Peace, Sweet Mikey…
Or run like the wild wind.
Your love will live in our hearts forever.
Love,
One Lucky Momma
Iridescent Ice Bubbles
I was talking with a friend yesterday who asked how I was doing. You know… just the usual small talk.
She commented, “I’ll bet you wish you were back in Florida with your friend in the warmth.”
And yes – I do wish I was back there, especially with my dear friend. And especially because our high temperatures have barely reached double digits for the past two weeks let alone get above freezing….
Yet, as I explained to my friend, if it weren’t for these bone-chilling temps, I’m not sure I would appreciate the warmth of Spring and Summer or trips to Florida as much….
I truly love the beauty of the four distinct seasons we are fortunate to experience in my part of the world – life here in Mars. It always amazes me that our yard can look so differently in the different seasons, and the snow and ice I tromp through in the Winter to get to the mailbox is the same yard I lay in and walk through in bare feet in the Summer and pile leaves on in Autumn and watch life burst through in Spring.
And though the temperature was a mere 9 degrees F yesterday, the sky was a deep azure blue and the sun was shining so brightly and reflecting on the snow that I needed sunglasses.
It was melting the icicles on the back of our house, and they were glistening and sparkling like bright diamond shards against the clear sky. And the crystal droplets created a beautiful sheet of frozen iridescent ice bubbles on the deck beneath.
Through the lens of my camera, there is so much beauty to be found.
Thanks for the reminder, Lori, and your continued support and friendship. 🙂
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS My top photo is another entry for the WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge Rule of Thirds with Bokeh
the creative life in between 