The Thanks of a Grateful Nation

When I was younger and living in the Washington, DC area I worked as photographer part time.  I enjoyed the work immensely.  Washington, DC is a unique place to live.  I used to feel so lucky every time I drove from my home in Arlington across the Potomac.  Not many people ever even get the chance to visit our nation's capital, much less the chance to live there.  One of my favorite holidays to work at my photography job was Memorial Day.  There were wreath laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, ceremonies at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Rolling Thunder Rally.  It always made for an interesting weekend.

One of my favorite places to take photographs was at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  There were always poignant moments that spoke volumes about all the emotions that surrounded that time in our history.  Those soldiers were shunned and mistreated for so long, but on Memorial Day it was different.  After a few years of photographing as invisibly as I could I made some friends.  I often times got addresses and took great care to make sure that the subjects of my photographs got a copy with a hand written note.  It was my way of saying thank you.  Thank you for standing up for freedom even though it was unpopular at the time.  To this day I have a soft spot in my heart for those brave men and women.

All these years later I still take the time to remember why we are able to speak freely, worship freely and live where ever we choose.  These days I am responsible to teach these lessons to my daughter.  When I was her age we had a parade in my town.  The WWII veterans gave out paper poppies for a small donation.  Someone from the high school read things like the poem "Flanders Fields" and the Gettysburg Address.  It was a day to be proud of our men and women in uniform and those that didn't make it home.

These days, sadly, I think the meaning of the holiday is lost.  We talk of the "kick off " of the summer season, the incredible sales at Macy's and the local car dealership and what we are throwing on the barbque.  While all those things are great,  I would like to just remind the folks who are running from sale to sale and barbequeing that we still have men and women in uniform far from our shores.  Most will make it home to see their loved ones, some, sadly will not.  They will draw their last breath far from home and all that they hold dear in their hearts.  Memorial Day is a time for reflection of all that we hold dear as a nation.  Let's all take a break and attend a ceremony, fly your flag and remember to thank our service men and women.  It's the least we can do!
Cheers!

Marry Me

Portland is a unique and at the same time adorable place.  We have a "style" like no other place I've ever lived.  Well maybe a little like Baltimore - also a unique and adorable place.  Anyhow,  we do things differently here.  Right down to how we might propose to our future wife.  At the end of this entry you will find a link to what I think is the BEST proposal ever.  It helps that I know the father and mother of the boyfriend.  When you watch the video they are the couple at the beginning of the second verse of the song.  This has totally gone viral and made Yahoo!'s front page as well as the news here in Portland.  THAT makes it a big deal - just like Voodoo Donuts.
This is the kind of thing that makes me glad I live here.  We are clever and unique.  We have our own way of doing things, and we're happy about it.  "Portlandia" makes fun of us, but it's ok - we're good sports.  We wouldn't have it any other way.
Congratulations to Issac and Amy.  I wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness together! Cheers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_v7QrIW0zY&feature=youtu.be

Happy Anniversary - A Toast to the Half Full Glass

Tomorrow, May 25th marks the first Anniversary of my blog.  So with a flute half full of sparkling cider I   raise my glass and say "Cheers"!  (Which is how I ended my blog for the first six months or so.)  It's been a very exciting year.  Through writing my blog I reawakened a desire to write, and write I did.  There were many nights that I sat at my computer and thought "How in the world am I going to put a positive spin on things after the day I've had?" but I did.  It was an exercise in refocusing a negative into a positive and it was good for me.  I think it can be so easy to get so mired down in defeat and negativity, because the world tends to be a little bleak these days.  When I notice that I'm headed down that road now, I think about Anne Frank.  Even in her desperate situation, she always tried to see the good in everyone, even those who were hunting her people down.  Every picture you ever see of her she is smiling.  Amazing.

When I began my blog I was getting ready to leap into the unknown. I was leaving clinical nursing behind for an administrative position.  I loved the operating room, it was, and still is a very big part of who I am.  It satisfied the "gadget girl" in me, and kept my attention deficit disorder in check.  I have new skills for coping with that, but the "gadget girl" remains. A year later new adventures await including a mission trip to Africa to really put some old skills to the test.  I am ready and accept that calling with a willing heart and oh so much excitement!  I never would have thought that just shifting gears in my life would lead to such great things.

I have written about many things and all kinds of people, and have really tried to keep it on the positive side.  There were a couple of blogs that were a little on the sad side, but the subjects just couldn't be spun around.  That's ok.  It can't be all sunshine and roses all the time - ok most of the time, but you have to have a few rainy days to grow a beautiful garden, and the flowers that have sprung from those rainy days not so long ago are just gorgeous.

I have also tried to use my blog as a platform for some of my favorite charities and foundations.  Volunteer work is wonderful for the spirit.  It makes you feel good right down to the core of your being to do something good for other people.  I can't think of a more positive way to make yourself feel better.  I know when I am volunteering and doing things that I know will enrich a child's life or somehow make life better for someone in need, it will put a smile on my face every time.  We are so fortunate in the United States, and we take so much for granted.  It's just good for the soul to do for others every now and then.

Finally, I would like to thank you to the "Fantastic Five."  You know who you are.  My first five followers.  They have been so faithful to me and encouraged me in my little adventure.  I was so excited when I got my first international reader - a very nice lady from Australia.  Your kind words over this year have meant the world to me.  I know I've been a little quiet lately, but that will be changing, because I still have a lot to write about.  Thank you also, to all of my facebook and twitter followers as well.  I love hearing from you.  I'm looking forward to this next year and all that is coming up.  My glass, even after a year, and through many ups and downs, is still half full and I really hope it stays that way!  Cheers!

Happy Mother's Day

     This is one of my favorite weekends of the year - Mother's Day Weekend.  Firstly, let me just shout out to all the mothers out there - Happy Mother's Day!  I honor you and wish you all a very nice Sunday celebration.  We work hard, all of us, keeping body and soul together.  Some of us do double duty (Mom & Dad) for whatever reason, and I know first hand, how hard that can be, but we just march on, uphill most days, until we fall into bed.  That usually happens to me on Sunday.  That is a busy day for me.  Getting everything ready for the coming week.  I try to be done by dinnertime so that I can relax in the evening.  Notice how I said I try.  Usually, there is one more load of laundry to be folded, or lunch to pack, and then there's breakfast to organize so I can get out of the door in a timely manner....before I know it, it's 10:00 and my evening has evaporated.  I know I'm not alone, and you know what? It's ok, because I love being Mom (and Dad).  That's part of the package.
     I have to say that I didn't get to this point in my life without a little help and encouragement.  My grandmother was a single parent after my granddad died.  She was an OR nurse and worked nights.  She got home in time to see my Mom and my aunt off to school.  I think they were high school aged at this point, and able to stay home at night by themselves.  She'd sleep a little while and was there for homework, dinner and bedtime and then off to work again.  My mom was a stay home mom until I was in middle school.  Then she went to nursing school and started working.  When my parents marriage tanked my mom stepped up and did a what a lot of other women in the same situation did...the best they could.  She showed me what it meant to keep swimming, and not to give up.  To deal with the sadness and loss, and just realize that everyday is a new day, a new opportunity to make things right for yourself and your family.
       When I became a mother I had my own set of challenges.  I was new in Portland, my baby's instruction book was written in Chinese with no English translation, 9/11 changed the way we traveled, and I became sick with a life threatening illness.  Whew!  When I was on the "other side" of all of that I was so glad!  The last five years have been amazing.  I don't take anything for granted and I cherish every day with my little family.  A friend of mine always says,  "None of us are promised a tomorrow."  I take that statement to heart every day and make each day count.  I try to live in the present as much as I can. I glance into the immediate future only.  I try to think ahead a little bit, and plan as best I can, but I don't let it get to me if I can help it.  Change is on the horizon for my family.  I know that, and I accept it.  God knows how it's all going to work out, and that's a good thing.  I trust Him completely.  That just leaves me  free to take care of those last few loads of laundry and Sunday dinner - "Mom Work."  I love that.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there.  I hope your weekend is spent doing what ever your heart desires!

Growing Up

     Growing up is a tough business I've decided.  Goodness knows I had my share of ups and downs in that department.  My daughter, however, is doing a great job at it.  Kaysie has struggled with shyness her whole life.  When she was a little tiny girl, she would hide behind my legs when people would try to speak to her, unable to say anything or really even look at them.  Me on the other hand, not so much.  I knew everybody, and would talk to anybody who stood still long enough to listen.  My mom tells stories of sending me to the corner store for a loaf of bread, and I'd come home armed with not only bread but a bag bursting with penny candy that some random person, that I had charmed the socks off of, had purchased for me.  For my mom it was a little bit funny and totally frightening at the same time.  I think she worried I would be wooed away, which even back in those days, was a pretty terrifying reality.  Not Miss Kaysie.  Nope.  Pretty as a picture, and shy as the day is long.  I used to think that she'd be in high school still hiding behind me paralyzed with shyness every time someone spoke to her. But then she went to first grade, and her teacher, Ann Nordstrom took care of that.  My beautiful shy daughter went in to second grade confident,  and sure of herself.  She'd speak when spoken to and the shyness that had gripped her for so long was peeling away little by little.
     As she's grown older,  I have watched Kaysie blossom like the beautiful flower I know she is.  Her martial arts training over the last two years has just about taken care of the remainder of her shyness.  It has given her the confidence to move into her middle school years a totally new person.  Just today she wasn't quite up for the breakfast that was prepared for her, so she called me wanting suggestions.  I told her to take some money and walk over to our neighborhood Starbucks and have a fancy hot chocolate and one of their yummy breakfast sandwiches.  This suggestion came with a tiny little push back that tells me that in certain situations the shyness monster still exists, but her desire for a little independence and a yummy breakfast won out.  There are certain times that I wish I could be a spectator to the unfolding events, and today was one of those days.  She went in and placed her order, ate her breakfast and I'm hoping managed to at least look over her latin stems that she was going to be quizzed on later in the morning.  I got a couple of phone calls with updates, so I could only imagine how things were unfolding.
      As a parent, I try to give her experiences that will benefit her when she is grown and on her own.  This was one of those experiences.  To be able to take charge of nourishing yourself with a meal of your choosing, in an unfamiliar setting, and still managing to make an appointment on time (this time it was getting to school on time) is a priceless lesson.  To my darling Kaysie I would say, "Sis, you did great!" To Mrs. Nordstromm and Master Clark, I say thank you!  Thank you for your encouragement and patience and lessons in speaking up and learning to be confident.  Yes, growing up is a tough business, but when you have people in your corner helping you along the way it doesn't have to be!  Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!

Donate a Day's Salary Day

     At the hospital where I work our Spiritual Care department puts out a monthly calendar of interesting information.  This month there were several interesting entries.  One of them in particular caught my eye.  Next Wednesday, May 9th is "Donate a Day's Salary Day."  What better way to show concern and love for others than giving a day's wages to your favorite charity?  I think you could probably accomplish this another way if you don't think that you could really afford to donate the actual money.  If you have some extra vacation time why not take the day off and donate your time by volunteering for your favorite charity.  God calls us all to do for those who are less fortunate in some way.
     I talk a lot about an organization called Point Hope.  They do incredible things for children that have no voice both in this country and in Ghana, West Africa. (They remind me of The Little Engine that Could - they are a small organization with a big heart and the determination to do good in the world) In the United states their focus is on kids who are in our very broken foster care system.  Events like "Teenista" for teenage girls - a day of pampering and encouragement - to show them that they are not defined by their situation.  A few hours that's all about them.  Helping them to be confident and feel empowered.  I am involved in preparing to host this very event here in Portland.  In Ghana, West Africa the needs are many.  Nutrition services, clean water pumping stations, Point Hope Village - a community of Liberian refugees that have decided to stay in Ghana and begin a new life through farming, small start up businesses, and education.  Sammy's Place - a home being built for orphaned children who are critically or terminally ill.  A place where they can get much needed medical care and be loved. They also assist a Buruli Ulcer clinic with bandages and many other needed medical supplies and equipment.  (Buruli Ulcer disease is a very common tropical disease caused by the same bacteria that causes leprosy - when left untreated it can be devastating).  With any luck, I will be able to write to you first hand from Africa this fall and let you know what all is being accomplished!  I could go on and on about all their good work.
      Two more of my favorite organizations are Feed the Children and World Vision.  Both of these organizations are also focused on assisting children both in the United States and abroad.  I know that Feed the Children in particular, has been working very hard this winter to help American families feed their children during the lean winter months, and spring break.  Hunger in this country is a growing problem.  Kids are particularly vulnerable to this epidemic.   World Vision has long been a voice for kids around the world.  Through their child sponsorship programs they provide, food, education and a chance for a better life for children around the world.  What I know about all three of these very worthy causes is that their administrative costs are low and that your donations are used directly for the programs that they offer.
       I know we all have a choice next Wednesday on Donate a Day's Salary Day.  Won't you consider either a donation of a day's wages or your time for a cause that you believe in?  When you bless others it is returned to you a thousand fold.

All three of the above mentioned organizations are on facebook and can be found at the following web addresses:
www.PointHope.org
www.Feedthechildren.org
www.worldvision.org.