Mom's Birthday

 

I’ve been attending Trinity Lutheran Church in Sanford for about two years now.

 

At first, I was just going to choir practice with a friend because I missed singing.

 

Through the pandemic, however, I started becoming more involved at Trinity by helping with the pre-recorded services.

 

Now, I attend on a regular basis and have even designated a spot for myself on the second pew from the front, on the right.

 

It seemed only natural, then, for the music minister to ask me to fill-in for her during a much-needed family vacation.

 

I was given two Sundays. I immediately asked my mom to help with one.

 

She chose to help yesterday, and she did an absolutely amazing job, as always.

 

I felt like a proud parent showing off my child as I introduced my church family to the blessing of my mom’s music that I get to hear each day.

 

Today is my mom’s birthday. Join me in celebrating her life today.

A Moment Under The Umbrella

 

It was a simple and sweet vacation.

Shopping, good food, laughter,

The USS Yorktown and Apollo 11 space capsule,

A ghost cruise under a bright summer moon.

 

While we were shopping at The Market,

It began to rain.

Angela and I didn’t have umbrellas or raincoats.

Rachel had a small umbrella.

 

Even though we were inside for most of the rain,

There were moments when we had to walk outside.

One moment in particular,

When it was raining hard and we had to wait to cross the road,

Without thinking and probably not even remembering,

Rachel extended her umbrella to Angela and me,

And the three of us huddled close,

Protected from the rain.

 

Of all the moments from our trip,

This moment,

A fleeting, passing, completely unplanned and selfless moment,

Speaks loudest to me.

 

Hold your people close, friends.

In good times and bad.

Eat together,

Laugh together,

Have those hard conversations together,

Experience life together.

For friends,

In all of their messy glory,

Are truly a gift from God.

Bummed Gratefulness

 

I was supposed to go to Charleston today.

Rachel and Angela and I (college friends) planned the trip a couple of months ago.

We cleared our schedules.

They found child and dog care.

We were in the process of gathering itinerary data when

Bam!

Out of nowhere, I received a jury duty summons.

I report this afternoon at 1:30.

 

I’ve never done jury duty.

The process is new and unknown to me.

I know it’s my civic duty and

I know I shouldn’t complain

But, quite truthfully, I’m bummed about the whole thing—

Especially because I don’t think I’ll be a very good jury member.

I think I may be slightly too compassionate.

 

But.

 

We had a good Father’s Day.

Dad is standing on his tip-toes in this picture

Because he wanted to be taller than Dana and me.

We had a good weekend.

Griffin the Nephew and Amelia the Niece spent a few days with us.

We puzzled and TV’d and went thifting, Hallmarking, and movieing.

Amelia and I even sang our first duet at church yesterday.

Rachel and Angela get to travel to Charleston in

Angela’s new, fully loaded mini-van.

Yes, we are old when we celebrate a new mini-van!

 

So.

 

There are things to grateful for…

Even in the midst of being bummed.

 

Maybe you’re feeling bummed, too.

Or maybe you’re feeling a deeper sadness and grief.

Or maybe you’re in a really good place right now.

Regardless, there is something to be grateful for today.

Will you share your story of gratefulness here?

 

Oh God, even in the midst of minor frustrations or major grief, You are creating good. Thank you. Amen.

Crash at Water's Edge

 

I was sitting at water’s edge

Enjoying the warm sun on my back and

Cool water at my feet.

Amelia My Niece had just come to sit beside me.

We were chatting about various things and then

Whoooooosh!

A large wave crashed over us,

Knocked over my chair, and

Left me on my back in the sand,

Arms and legs in the air like a flailing bug.

The wave got me again on its way back out to sea.

Salty water went in my ears and up my nose,

While gritty sand covered my body from head to toe.

 

I had been caught completely unaware,

Completely unprepared,

And yet I was okay.

 

I am learning that there is a part of me

Who works over-time preparing me for the worst.

It is hyper-vigilant,

Always scanning the horizon,

Constantly planting thoughts in my mind

Of everything that could go wrong,

Simply so that I won’t be

Caught unaware.

 

I am irrationally afraid of the aftermath and/or grief

Or being caught unaware.

 

And yet the wave caught me unaware.

I wasn’t the slightest bit prepared for

A wave at water’s edge

To be strong enough

To dislodge my chair from the sand and

Knock me over.

 

I may have been slightly embarrassed

And completely dirty,

But even still

I

Was

Okay.

 

Oh God: Grant rest to the weary

And peace to the hyper-vigilant,

For I know that I am not the only one.

Amen.

Interview with Gmama

 

Yesterday was my G-mama’s 99^th birthday. As part of the day’s festivities, I interviewed her.

 

Though there was a lot she couldn’t remember—she’s 99 after all—there was a lot that she could.

 

Here is the transcript of part of the interview.

 

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed capturing these precious moments of time.    

 

----

 

What is your favorite color? The Red Family (Pink)

 

What activities did you do when you were young? Music, both popular and religious.

 

What is your favorite hymn? I like all of the hymns, but I especially like The Old Rugged Cross.

 

Did you take piano lessons? I took for one or two years. I don’t know which. I took in high school and I took some from somebody at home. But I don’t remember who or how much. It was hard to get a teacher because not enough people played the piano to give lessons. So that’s why I took in High School. When I went to Warrenton, I took when we had homeroom study.  I’d rather listen to it than play it, though.

 

When did you get married? September 6, 1942

 

Where did you get married? Harris Chapel Baptist Church in Essex. It’s Hollister now.

 

How long were you married? Almost 47 years.

 

What places did you live? I lived in Essex where I was born. And I lived in Buies Creek and I lived in Angier and Raleigh and I lived in Morrow Bay in California and I lived in Savannah and Jacksonville.

 

What is your favorite wedding memory? My favorite wedding memory was Sandra throwing her bouquet when she came out the church door. I don’t know why I remember that, but I do. And I remember Sandra and Danny trying to get in a car with newspaper stuffed in it. 

 

What was your favorite decade? My favorite years were in Savannah when the girls were growing up and we got the TV. [That was the 50s.]

 

If you could have anything in the world to eat right now, then what would you eat? Onion rings. [Notice that she’s eating an onion ring in this picture 😊].

 

Do you remember the first thing you ever made in the microwave? No. But I went to school to learn to use the microwave. There was a store where they sold microwaves and you went and they taught you how to cook. I don’t remember what we cooked. I just remember going to the class.

 

What is something that your mom used to cook that you didn’t like? I don’t remember anything that I didn’t like. But what I liked the most was fried chicken. And she made a good 7-layer chocolate cake once a year.

 

What is the best dream you’ve ever had? I dreamed I went to heaven and there were all kinds of people waiting for me and cheering for me and my sister Margaret Lee looked at me and said, “What took you so long?” That was the best dream! I didn’t want to wake up.

 

What is the biggest change you’ve seen in your 99 years? Computers and all that electrical stuff. Like being able to talk to people. Talking pictures and words. It’s amazing.

 

What advice do you have for young people today? The golden rule will always be the best. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. And trust in the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength.

Black Out Poems

 

It’s official:

My new hobby is real.

I went to Hobby Lobby to buy supplies the other day!

 

Most of you know that I’ve been water-coloring over the past few months. In recent weeks, my water-coloring has expanded from guided weekly lessons into unguided daily creating.

 

I have begun creating blackout poetry in addition to my watercolors. When I’m lucky, the two join together as one (see comments below).

 

In case you don’t know, blackout poetry is when you take a page of text, decide which words you want to keep, and then “blackout” everything else. Sometimes, you do this literally—with a black marker. Other times, you do it figuratively by covering the text with a picture or design.

 

Sometimes, you keep the idea of the original text. Sometimes, you transform it into something completely new.

 

It’s really quite interesting to see what emerges at the intersection of personal experience, creativity, inspiration, and text.

 

Last week, I wrote:

 

“…it’s good to create—to process and channel what’s inside through songs, singing, poems, painting, and word art…

 

So create something today, friend. A poem, a painting, a puzzle, a scribble, a prayer, a dance, a song, anything! Just create and see what comes.”

 

I stand by that thought today.

 

And I add: If you’d like to share your creation, then I’d love to experience it with you.

 

Oh God: You are still creating. Help us to create as well. Amen.

Difficult Parent Says Thanks

 

In October, I wrote:

 

“We have a difficult parent in the car rider line. She's been rude to a few of us a few different times and she's unsafely tried to go around traffic when she hasn't wanted to wait to leave.”

 

I went on to write about extending grace to people and being kind--even when it's hard.

 

And that’s exactly what I did with this parent all year. Every time I saw her, I smiled and waved. I spoke to her kids, I wished her well, and I said a silent prayer for her. On several occasions, we had long-ish conversations, and I actually came to appreciate her smile. 

 

Near the end of the year, this parent handed me a card. I thanked her, put the card in my pocket, and went about my afternoon car-rider duty. I figured she was giving everyone an end-of-year gift and didn’t think anything else of the card until I got back to my room.

 

When I opened the card, I cried.

 

“Ms. Deaton, You were the first person to greet my sons by name when they started at Greenwood. You probably didn’t realize [it] but that meant a lot to me and told me that my kids were at the right school. Thank you. And thanks for being there every day with a smile and wave. You’re appreciated.”

 

Wow.

 

Even now, as I write this, I have tears in my eyes.

 

I was the only person to receive a gift that day.

 

I often wonder if the work that I do makes a difference, and then bam! Out of the blue! A difficult parent lovingly slaps me in the face with a reality check that, yes, what I do, indeed, makes a difference.

 

Friends: It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the things that we cannot do or control. The problems of this world are so big and we are so small, and yet it really is in small acts of kindness that pieces of the foundation for change are laid.

 

So learn people’s names. Speak to them when you see them. Smile. Wave. Make eye contact and really see the people you see. Hold the door. Let someone in traffic. Visit a friend who is in town for the week. Send a text. Write a letter. Mail a card. Say thank you. Have a deep conversation. Wish someone well. Say a prayer. Be a safe place. Be an advocate. Be an ally. Hold out light, love, peace, hope, and everything good.

 

Oh God: Help us always to hold out light, love, peace, hope, and everything good.

 

Amen.

Watercolor Kick

 

In case you’ve missed it, I’ve been on a watercolor kick lately. I blame Shauna the Art Teacher for this hyper-focus. Her Wednesday morning art classes opened a whole new world to me, and I can’t seem to explore that world enough these days.

 

The problem is that I’m limited in what I can paint. If it’s abstract or geometric, then I’m there. If it’s a real, distinct object or image, then I’m not.

 

And so I ended up with a whole bunch of abstract images on my desk last week. Many of them looked like pretty backgrounds for other images, yet I couldn’t see what to put in the foreground.

 

That’s when Barb the Art Teacher made her ground breaking suggestion: Haiku them!

 

And so I did.

 

I ended up writing five haikus to go with my paintings:

 

Rainbow of color

Endless possibility

Bursting into life

 

Cracked, jagged edges

Broken with time, yet stronger

I am beautiful  

 

Ev’ry day is new

A chance to begin again

Possibility

 

This is not the end

It’s only the beginning

There is so much more

 

It seems so simple

From acorn into mighty

The oak tree does grow

 

I made over 60 little rainbow paintings to go with the first haiku and gave them to everyone on my school staff. 

 

And now I have a whole bunch of other little haiku-ed paintings just hanging around. [If you’d like one, let them know. I’m happy to send one to you in the mail.]

 

My therapist says that it’s good to create—to process and channel what’s inside through songs, singing, poems, painting, and word art. I have to agree.

 

So create something today, friend. A poem, a painting, a puzzle, a scribble, a prayer, a dance, a song, anything! Just create and see what comes.

 

I’m learning that the “good” or “bad” of the outcome isn’t what matters. It’s the process. The process changes us…and, in the end, we change the world.  

 

Amen.