Day 59: Baptism

I always felt lighter and more complete after each of my children were baptised in the Catholic Church. It was a feeling that now my new baby was part of a bigger community, and they would never be alone. This picture was taken in the summer of 2001- Ryan's baptism in Chicago Illinois.

Day 58: The Savannah Pens

Tonight is one of our bi-monthly evening meetings of the Savannah PENS- which is acronymic for Published and Emerging Novelist Society. The PENS formed about three years ago, after a group of us had taken a creative writing course together at the local University. We liked each other and of course writing and therefore wanted to continue meeting. I love the camaraderie and support this group gives all of the members. It is truly a blessing to know all of them.

Say 57: Books

Immersing myself in a book, to me is like taking a vacation. I am wrapped in the world of the author- their characters, their settings, I am transported to whatever world they have created. It is one of my true vices- and if I had time I would read a book or more a day.

Day 56: Sushi

California rolls, shrimp tempura, edamame beans, miso soup- I am grateful for all of these.

Day 55: My Flower Child

Tiffany (In this photo taken in 2001- age three years old) is my flower child. Anywhere we go- she can sniff out a flower within a mile of where she is. She loves to pick them, smell them- and display them in vases. At any given time, I have an flower arrangement of hers in a vase by my kitchen sink. For Tiffany and her flowers- I am grateful.

Day 54: Freedom

Freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Freedom to create your own life- whatever your dreams, desires and passion may be. Freedom to know you can have a rags to riches story- you make it yourself.

Freedom to travel. Freedom to speak, write, assemble and so much more.

Freedom is granted to all of us, freedom is a privilege for all of us who live in the United States of America. Freedom- I never want to take for granted.

"God Bless America."

Day 53: Positivity

Look on the bright side of things, There is always a rainbow after a storm, Look for the silver lining, Chin up, Smile, Cheer up, Think happy thoughts- the list can go on. Be positive- it sure beats the alternative!

Day 52: Amendment 1

"Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Speech.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." US Constitution. As a writer, this amendment is dear to my heart.

Day 51: Friends

"Friends are the family you chose," that in and of itself says it all. I cherish all of my many and varied friendships- and am forever grateful for them all.

Day 50: Joy

Running in the sand with the sun on your face, the waves licking at your bare feet- the seagulls circling above cawing to each other, the salty smell of the air. The love of family, the bond of friendship, the softness of silk. The smell of fresh baked bread and pies, the taste of creamy sweet ice cream.

The helping hand given unselfishly, the sympathetic ear bent when you need to vent, the shared laughter and pride when you rejoice in each other's happiness. There are so many ways to have joy, give joy, feel joy, smell joy- touch joy.

Day 49: Rain

Softly dripping from the sky, covering all in a shiny wet blanket. There is something refreshing and soothing about rain. Like the earth getting a shower. The ground getting fed precious water to sprout new life. Rain is nourishing. Rain is good.

Oh - and as you can see- rain can be inspiration for a new fashion statement too (Melanie age 5, Sean age 6 years old: July 1998)

Day 48: God loves all voices

My youngest and I were attending five pm mass last night. During all of the singing portions he would nudge the song booklet my way and point to the words. I nodded, but still didn't sing. Then finally he whispered in my ear "Mom why don't you ever sing?" I replied "Because I can't sing very well at all." "Don't' worry mom- God loves all voices that sing to him," my seven year old replied.

Day 47: Lent

A time of renewal. A time of prayer. A time to fast along a spiritual journey. Forgiveness, sacrifice, meditation. A way to refresh our lives- to refocus- to remember what is important.

Day 46: Jim & Kim

Perhaps the day my youngest brother was born- Jim showed up in our lives. He lived down the street from us- and seemed to be a part of our family as long as I can remember.

So- growing up I had three annoying little brothers- lucky me.

Now decades later- all of us married, in our mid forties, with children- our roles have changed. He is way more endearing now than annoying. His wonderful high school sweetheart (and his girl next door ) wife Kim- are family to me. Our lives are forever wrapped around each other.

A child of his now attends the University I received my Masters and Bachelors degrees from- and one child of his is best friends with my eldest daughter. Our children have continued the link that ties our lives to theirs. For Jim and Kim- I am grateful.

Day 45: Hearts

Wear your heart on your sleeve, Broken heart, I heart you, Oh my heart, From the heart, Heartfelt thanks, Get to the heart of the matter, Listen to your heart- Happy Valentines (heart themed) day. This is one of my favorite days- filled to the brim with happy colors of pink & red- chocolate & flowers- what's not to love about that?

Day 44: Hairstylists

Nora Ephron mentioned in her latest book "I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman," that she was just a few products away from looking like a homeless woman. I too am just a few products away from looking like a bum.

Let's assume we all have soap, shampoo, conditioner and a razor - so my products would be hair gel (without it I would have horribly frizzy hair) , eye cream (I am 46 years old you know) , and makeup (I just feel finished with it- more polished too.) Without these- and my quarterly visit to my hair stylist (for a great color & cut) I too would have the homeless look. So for beauty products I am grateful.

Day 43: 70 years

Seventy years ago today- my mother was born.

That by itself- is more than enough to be grateful for.

Here is a picture of her, with my two sons, taken summer 2007.

Day 42: Walks

A small round lake, an over abundance of ducks and birds, a mile and a half paved path around the perimeter, tall green trees, blue skies- taking this all in is a part of my daily routine (well- almost daily) walking around a lake. Two mornings a week- other friends join me- the walk goes quicker as the talking makes the time fly by.

The other mornings I get inside my head- pondering characters, plot lines, settings and so forth for my next manuscript. These walks refresh me- no matter how tired I had felt at the start. They have become a way for me to reconnect, exercise and energize- for this I am grateful.

Day 40: Good Nature

My husband Tom gets up at 4:45 am- showers, heads off to work a fourteen plus hour day. On his way home- he either attends an after school meeting, picks up a child from an activity- coaches one of our children's sports team, participates as a leader in a scout function, stops at a grocery store- or anything that may need to be done when I am running in a different direction. He does this all on less than four or five hours of sleep per night.

Yes. He does this with a smile on his face- a calm heart, and a gentle spirit. I, on the other hand, am the crabbiest crabola if I go more than three nights with less than seven hours of sleep. Trust me- me and sleep deprivation are not a pretty sight.

My husband's long days with little sleep but a happy heart is just a testament to his good nature. For this I am very blessed and grateful.

Day 41: Kites

It was a crisp sunny 72 degrees today. Melanie was on a trip to Disney World with her Dance team, Sean was at a friends. Tiffany, Ryan, Tom and I headed off to the Tybee Island Beach.

The strong wind was ideal condition for kite flying. We got two kites up pretty quick- and I enjoyed seeing the bright red, yellow and blue plane kite against the clear blue sky. It made me feel free- as though I could release myself on the wings of the kite and soar with the birds. It made me feel wonderful.

Day 39: Sleep overs

My children think that it's a law to have sleepovers. At any one given weekend- we have a dozen and a half kids (including our four) over. My eldest daughter Melanie has a pack of three girls she travels in- one weekend they are all here, then they rotate. Which means that I see her about every third weekend- along with her friends in tow.

By the way -I still think that sleepovers are not properly named- for they are anything but that. More like "stay awake overs." Because who really sleeps anyway?? Regardless- my children have such fun having them, and attending sleepovers that I am grateful for the joy it brings them.

Day 38: Hey Good Looking

I am grateful for silly things that my children say, which by the way is all the time. One story in particular comes to mind. We try to have a sit down dinner as a family a few times a week. With the logistics of after school activities, Tom's long work days and my evening meetings - this is often difficult. But we try.

Anyway, when we are able to sit down as a family for dinner- we take turns and go around the table (sometimes youngest to oldest- or visa versa) and tell about our day. One time when it was then six year old Ryan's turn, he said "In the morning, I got up, looked in the mirror and said 'Hey good looking how you doing?'"

Day 37: Basketball

For the last several weeks I have been sitting on the bleachers watching Ryan and his fellow second graders play basketball. To watch him run around, make passes, dribble and have so much fun- makes me grateful that he is so happy playing basketball.

Day 36: Dream montages

One Saturday -very early in the morning- a few friends met for the purpose of creating a dream or vision montage. We had stacks of magazines- scissors, glue, and markers. The idea was to create a vision of our goals and dreams- unique to our heart's secret desires.


Though this picture ( to the right) has a glare in the middle- if you look - you can see I filled in every space and then some. Words that inspired me, phrases that made my heart sing- a picture that put a smile on my face- anything that lifted my inner most dreams and set my soul on fire.


It was an uplifting journey. I have it framed (though I can easily add more to the montage if the muse strikes) and it hangs in my writing space- so the visual of my goals and dreams are never far from my sight.

Day 35: Tulips

This gorgeous original painting was created by one of my dearest friends, artist and angel magnet- Ariane. She moved away from Savannah a couple of years ago. Right before she moved she painted this large piece of artwork for me. The image is from a favorite note card of mine. This painting hangs above a sofa in our living room, and fills my heart with gratitude for my friend and her incredible talent.

Day 34: Sunhats

There are many things I love about lazy carefree relaxed days of summer- the warm sun on my skin, walking on the sandy beach, playing in the ocean's waves, making sandcastles, collecting seashells- to name few.

But there is one memory that comes first to my mind today. When my children were babies- I always put little baby sunhats on them. It was so adorable to see their little faces poking out underneath the hat. It still makes me smile. Here is a photo of Ryan, (in 2001- at one year old) in his little beach sunhat.

Day 33: Girl Power

This past Thursday evening, my downtown diva group and I descended upon a friend's house. It wasn't for a dinner, or party- or any social event at all. We all got together to scrub, dust, polish, mop, unpack, and vacuum.

You see our friend had been living under construction and it's dust and dirt for over six weeks. She was having her 1890 (give or take) outdated kitchen completely gutted and updated to modern sleek chrome and granite newness.

Construction had ended January 31st. And on top of that - she had two guests arriving the next day. What was our dear friend- who works full time - to do? She was stressed out and in a panic. So our group of friends decided to make her house spotless with Girl Power- before her guests arrived.

We- the five or six or of us (even my husband and son stopped by for while between evening sports practices- to help) It was amazing how much can get done too. We all did our magic- what was once a house full of boxes, dust, and chaos - became five hours later- an organized spotless clean "new" old house.

It always feels good to help- and this time it felt even better because it meant so much to her. Our friend was so relieved to have her house clean and back in order too. That felt good to make her feel good.

Day 32: Cake

Today was one of those days that involved lots of cake- which we all can agree on- is a good thing. It was an unusual day for me. First it started off with a morning breakfast get together for a friend's birthday. A few hours later I joined my Diva group for a another friend's birthday lunch. Not all of my days are non stop parties- but today was.

It's the getting together to celebrate- taking time out in our busy day to remember each other and each other's special events. It's being there for friends when they need us. It's sharing their happiness- and an occasional piece of cake.