I am Safe

                                                                        *sunset over the Pacific, November 14, 2012

I am feeling strangely ensconced within a deep cocoon of security today, as if I am being gently cradled in a place where I am safe and warm and nothing amiss can touch me or the ones that I love.  This is a feeling that I welcome.  I am allowing it to wash over my soul like a soothing stream of warmth.  It emanates from my heart, it radiates outward.  I feel it everywhere as it lavishes from the bottom of my toes to the top of my head.  I am not at all sure what brought this on as today is just an ordinary day but I so badly want to hold onto this feeling.  I want to somehow transmit it to the people that I love.  To you.  And yet, after the past couple of months that I have had, I do know that discourse often bubbles like a thermal geyser just below the grounds surface, ready to erupt without a moments notice.  I am no pollyanna.  I readily acknowledge that even as I sit here bathed in a soothingly soft blanket of comfort that there is trouble in the world and sadness and pain but in this moment, I am feeling shielded from that, and I am grateful, so grateful.  

Happy one week until Thanksgiving.  May you, too,  feel the blessings in your life.

Because Life is Beautiful...

Mark and I know how blessed we are.  We have always known.  We began our life together with very, very little materially.  We had just graduated from college and we had big plans to drive from New Jersey to California, a place that neither of us knew anything about, to settle.  I had been to California once when I was about nine years old with my family, but Mark had never been.  We were going to start our own business...From nothing...With nothing...But we had heart and courage and dreams.  That was enough.  We did not know that we couldn't or shouldn't, so we did.  We were modern pioneers putting everything we owned, including our five cats and our dog, into the back of a Dodge Cube van and my little Dodge Omni to set out across the country.  It took us five days.  Five long, adventurous, scary, frustrating, bleary-eyed days to reach The Golden State and to plant our roots in our first California home.  We were young, in love, a little bit scared and a lot a bit unsure about what our future would bring.  But we had enough.  Even with just a little, we had enough because life was beautiful.
And so we celebrate.  We get a kick out of every step, every crazy, unsure step that life has set before us.  Our oldest angel daughter is only a little bit younger than I was when we began our journey.  She is the oldest daughter of two people who took on the "pioneer spirit" and created a mostly wonderful life from nothing.  
Our youngest Angel knows even less about how her parents adventure began, because by the time we had her, we were settled.  Deeply rooted in our pioneer life, far from where we had traveled.

But California is the land of opportunity and so we grabbed as much of the goodness that we could and made a beautiful life for our family.
(Marley is growing, isn't he?)  Our Angels have been afforded opportunities which Mark and I could only have dreamed of.
They love life.  We love life.  
(This is what happens when our fourteen year old Angel gets a hold of my camera.)  And so, because nobody ever told Mark and I that we couldn't do what we did and create what we have, we did, and we do.  Because life is beautiful.  We know this because regardless of the pain that life sometimes throws our way, it doesn't stop us.
We push back as hard as we can.  We remind ourselves that no matter what, we have enough.  We remind ourselves that life is beautiful.
We aren't at all sure where our oldest California native Angel Daughter will head on her journey, but we know that where ever she goes, she will remember that life is beautiful.  She will know that what ever she has at any given stage of life will be enough.
So dream sweet angel(and your lovely college friend, room-mate and our daughter when she is away from her family).  Because we hope that we taught you, and that we continue to teach you, that life is beautiful...
Even when it isn't.(or when your fourteen year old sister chases you around with Mom's camera!)

A Well-Spent Day Brings Happy Sleep-Leonardo da Vinci

How good are the days which allow us to dwell upon nothing but how rich life truly is.  The two little boys in the background of this picture remind me of how quickly the time passes.  Every stage of life should be savored and cherished.
Angel Daughter Number Two attended her senior prom this past weekend.  A milestone which in many ways, demarcates the life of a high school student into one of a young adult.  Another feather molts from the wings of a child and a more vibrant one grows in its place.  Flight becomes easier.
This is AD2's long-time boyfriend, Joshua.  They met freshman year, and have remained together(mostly) ever since.  In some ways, Mark and I feel like we have participated in raising this young man.  We love him, but he has definitely added to those grey hairs that I referred to in my last post.  I adore the way that he is carrying AD2's shoes in this photo.  If there is one thing that I have taught my angels to do, it's to make sure that any man that they are with, treats them like the beautiful, worthy princesses that they are.  Obviously Joshua understands this and obeys.

Gorgeous corsage.(Notice Joshua is still holding her shoes in the background.  Good boy, Joshua.)
I must admit that I don't really like to be photographed with my daughters when they are all dressed up and I am not.  I would never, however, want to deny them of the memory of what their mom looked like at times when she was prouder than proud of them.  Therefore, I never allow my pride to get in the way of a great moment.(Besides, all of my formal-wear was at the cleaners:)
Ad2 found the fabric and designed this dress herself.  I love that she figured out that this was a possibility and then took the steps in order to make it a reality.  Why not?  If there is something that you have dreamed of, do what is takes to bring that dream into reality.  Focus on why something is possible and not on all the reasons that it's not.  Dwell on what you can do for yourself and others.  Nobody ever figured out how to do something, while living in the negative.

This picture makes me smile.  I love Joshua's comfy, California version of a tuxedo.  Like AD2, he is a free-spirit.(and as he just said to me, "Gosh, I look good.")
AD1 stopped by to see her little sister off to the prom.  We have always encouraged them to support one another in whatever they do.
Our other angels were already out and about, so AD1 made a special point of being there.  Sisterly love, when done properly, runs very, very deep.  There isn't a day that goes by when I am not grateful that my girls have each other.  Having had only one sibling, my brother who recently died, I must admit that I am in awe of people who come from large, loving families.  That is part of the reason that Mark and I have created one for ourselves.
My wonderful husband has always retained the job of pinning the boutonniere on our daughters' dance dates.  Joshua has been his victim many, many times, and he knows how sharp those pins can be.  We have quite a few photos of Mark pinning the boutonniere onto Joshua's jacket.(note AD1's purse hanging off of Joshua's arm.  Good boy, Joshua, good boy.)
And so, as the kids flew off to the prom, Mark and I went home, alone, but together, to share a quiet dinner.  Ultimately, and not too many moons from now, we will need to shake out our own wings so that we can rediscover the things that allow each of us to soar.  And things that allow us to place our heads on our pillows at night and guide us into a happy, restful sleep.  Somehow, I think we will manage, God willing.

May you always be able to find something, even the smallest thing, which will help you to fall into a deep, happy sleep at the end of your day.

Absolutes

Stopping to capture a moment in time is something that we often forget to do.  When I was taken off guard by this magical sunset tonight, it sparked a sudden thought.  I need to take the time to capture more moments like this one.  More ordinary, extraordinary moments that can never be relived.  

A thought crossed my mind today which sparked this set of pictures.  The only absolutes in life are that there are, truly, no absolutes.

When you read this and look at these photos, I want you to know that I could not let another moment pass without letting you know how extraordinary you have been to me.  My heart is fuller because of you.

May you take a moment to notice something that might not have caught your immediate attention today.  May you record it in your memory and share it with someone you care about.