November 29

November 29, 2011 - My sweet mama went to be with Jesus today. She is the woman who cared for me in ways too numerous to list. She taught me The Lord's Prayer when I was 3, my multiplication tables through 10 when I was 3, and how to create in the kitchen with abandon and no fear at an age too early for me to remember. She was a gourmet cook and could have written so many cookbooks. She grew up on a farm in eastern North Carolina, left to complete business school in Miami, started nursing school in Richmond - never lost her love of learning about medicine, and worked for the US Department of the Treasury before marrying my dad and creating a home and family. She was a fashion maven - ahead of her time and addicted to shoes. She had been an athlete, sent in her picture to play Scarlet O'Hara, and learned Spanish living in the culture. She had me rather late as those things go - already 41 when I was born. She had lost her first born, a son, and I was the last attempt at another boy. Born to a family with two older sisters, they chose to name me after the brother who had passed and after my mother. Though I was never fond of the version of my mother's name bestowed upon me, I carry that name now with great pride. My mother was the quintessential charming lady, a young heart and an old soul, and she had the softest hands I have ever touched in my entire life. I will miss you, Mama; dance with Jesus until I see you again. I love you!

A Great Christmas Read

Something we all should read -

B-L-E-S-S-E-D

Because he
Loves me with a ferocity
Every woman deserves but
So many never feel
So many couples desire but never
Ever work to give each other
Daftly believing it just happens

In the Shadow

When in the vines of love
the tangle of emotions leading
over the railing and hanging
there is found a mystery of the weaving of lives and hearts

And there in the midst
of the rain and shadows
of the love that is hiding
in the garden where the roots in the soil
hide and toil
seeking only the nourishment of folly
and the peace of the rain falling softly

When the sun finally sets and
and the sky is filled with the hues
of your broken heart
remember...
the wind blows again