Nature

This Past Week

/ Jodi / 57 Comments

This past week…

I gasped at the beauty of the early morning sunrise.

I cried about a brother who would never celebrate another birthday.

I shared overwhelming joy with a friend who became a grandma for the first time.

I shared deep grief with a friend whose mom is dying.

I celebrated life with the birthday of my longest, dearest friend.

I worried with a friend whose mother-in-law was in the hospital.

I laughed with a friend I chat with every morning on our way to work.

I discussed deep, important topics about relationships and next stages of life with people I love.

I played on the floor with two little girls who know me as Grandma and cheered first potty successes.

I was devastated to learn that friends got news they are going to lose their second child.

My heart was warmed by gratitude and comforted with love for my forever Valentine of 40 years.

This past week.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

A Beautiful Ending

/ Jodi / 64 Comments
Foggy, Beautiful Ending to the Day – February, 2019 – Mars, PA

A Beautiful Ending.

We may not be able to control or change
ugly things that happened to us –
especially in our childhood.

We can’t choose our beginning.

But we can decide to not be
defined or deflated or diminished by them,
and create our own beautiful life.

We can determine the ending.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Rise and Shine

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

Rise and Shine.

Do you feel it?
Are you excited about all the possibilities the day may hold?

All the opportunites to make it special?
All the reasons to wake up?

Rise and shine
and cherish the moments!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Every time I hear or read or say the words, “Rise and Shine,” I think of Grandma. 

As a teenager, I loved to sleep in late – much like most teenagers – right?  I vividly remember hiding under the covers to keep from seeing the sun streaming in the bedroom and hearing Grandma  cheerfully holler from the bottom of the stairs on a weekend or summer morning, “Rise and Shine!”  She was always so excited and ready to start a new day.  I smile remembering that hope and excitement in her voice.  She didn’t work.  She didn’t even have a license to drive.  Her days were mostly spent at home working hard – inside and out – making it a haven for anyone who visited or lived there.  And yet she woke up so cheerfully each morning excited for what the day might hold. 

I have to admit – I love the early mornings these days – especially on  weekends and days I get to stay home.  I love thinking about having the whole day ahead of me. 

I baked Grandma’s Apricot Nut Bread yesterday.  It is a recipe I have shared here before.  And it truly really begins to feel like Christmas when I smell this bread come out of the oven.  The memories just come flooding back of Christmases past at Grandma’s house and the joy that radiated from her in everything she did.  

So rise and shine and cherish the possibilities this day will hold!

Stopped me in my Tracks

/ Jodi / 38 Comments

Things that have stopped me in my tracks…
lately.

This breathtaking scene along the road as I traveled home from a friend’s on a cold, rainy, otherwise-dreary day.

Watching and listening with deep admiration to Hubby deliver a heartfelt eulogy to his beloved aunt.

The unexpected, far-beyond-her-years empathetic eyes and hugs and words of a special 11-year old girl paying her respects at a funeral visitation.

The sweetest, kindest, most undeserved compliment made by my younger daughter-in-law over dinner.

The smell of my baby granddaughter’s head after annointment with the oil of chrism at her baptism.

The startling reality of what a powerful, important influence I have as a grandma to a precious two-year old.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Golden Beauty

/ Jodi / 42 Comments

Our Neighbor’s Yard – Mars, PA – November 4, 2018

Golden Beauty.

Most all the trees are bare with
their leaves now carpeting the ground.

Except this golden beauty
who decides each Autumn to make a statement.

It’s a standout amidst the others
in their stripped bare dormant state.

It’s like the late bloomer
who was awkward as a child

But is now the greatest beauty
as its come into its own.

It’s like the last crop
of buttery golden sweet corn

that bursts with the most intense flavor
as if it knows it will be the taste that lingers until the next season comes.

It’s like the brightest sunshine
lighting up the Autumn day

that knows the days are growing shorter,
so it must glow brilliantly while it can.

It’s like the golden rings
worn by the elderly couple

that represent the long-lasting commitment
through richer and poorer, sickness and health, good times and bad.

Thank you golden beauty
for reminding me once more

that hanging on or being last
is sometimes worth the wait.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The privilege of a lifetime…

/ Jodi / 66 Comments

“The privilege of a lifetime…
is being who you are.”

– Joseph Campbell

Be YOU!
Even when things
don’t seem clear
and you struggle
to see through the fog…
remember what a privilege
it is
to Be YOU!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Things are a bit “foggy” in my part of the world today…  Yesterday, October 27, 2018,  a mass shooting occurred in a community very near me in Pittsburgh, PA.  The gunman reportedly spewed anti-Semitic threats online shortly before opening fire inside a synagoge during a Sabbath day service killing 11 innocent Jewish people.  Apparently they were killed just because they were being who they were.  This horrifyingly wicked individual felt he could deny these fellow human beings the privilege to be who they were.  I already had this post scheduled ahead to post for today, and I was suprised to realize how relevant and timely it became to talk about what a true privilege it really is to be who we are.  A privilege ALL people deserve.

 

Change

/ Jodi / 45 Comments

October Autumn Leaves, Wexford, PA

Change.

When the fear of change
challenges your thoughts
and stifles your actions,

look to the leaves of Autumn.
Marvel in their bold beauty,
and allow them to ignite your bravery.

Dare to embrace something new.
Confront your experience differently.
Welcome the transformation.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

What’s Stopping You?

/ Jodi / 43 Comments

What’s Stopping You?

The best built,
longest lasting,
chained and locked gate

can’t block
the sun
from shining brightly through.

What’s
stopping
you?

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Tangled

/ Jodi / 40 Comments

Morning Glory and Thistle – Mars, PA – September, 2018

Tangled.

So often
our lives
get tangled.

Tangled up
in the
thistly thorns

That prick
and poke
and jab.

That sting
and hurt
and try to defeat.

But doesn’t
the morning glory’s bloom
outshine the thistle?

You
can
too!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Glow

/ Jodi / 39 Comments

September Sunset, Butler, PA

When the clouds of life
try to block the
badass dazzling
bright light
of your beautiful soul,

Bust on through
and sparkle
and shine
and glow
wherever you can.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi