To quote The Moody Blues, "Isn't Life Strange?"

Well, Hallelujah! A beautiful day follows a rested night. Never underestimate the value of sleep. It is when the body heals itself. And being rested plays a big role in our outlook on life.

Flossie and I watched The Oprah Show, and her guest was Michael J Fox.

He has written a book, "Always Looking Up," [Tales of an Incurable Optimist] and he has a TV Special coming up in May. Michael has been dealing with Parkinson's for a long time, and had to arrange his interview in sync with his medications. Also, a woman was a guest who woke up with a stiff neck, and it progressively got worse and now her head is permanently resting on her right shoulder. So her perspective on life is certainly from a different angle than most of us. Dr Oz was a guest to help explain how the brain works or doesn't work and the resulting symptoms. I am absolutely fascinated with the brain and its capabilities. There's so much that we don't know yet. And then there was some stem cell research discussion. Whew! The possibilites are immense. And yet the medical discussions also related to attitude, resolve, and the effects of these unexpected illnesses. Quite often these unexpected circumstances lead us in a direction that is different than we had planned. But it is also true that there are silver linings that would never have been seen were it not for chance placing us on a different path. What do you think about that?

And now let me end with a smiler or two . Cause smiling is good therapy.

My subject and verb have agreed to disagree.

Well, no way I could've seen this one coming!

My mom, Flo, has been reinventing the time frame of when to have your 'eyes wide open' and when to impersonate 'Rip Van Winkle' and it is by no means conventional. As the antibiotic fights the current infection that she has, it's a toss up on a nightly basis for how much sleeping will be on the agenda.

So, last night, I'm hoping for the best, and trying to do everything I can to help the sleep process. The lights are out, the TV is off, and Mr. Sandman has been paged as a backup...ready and willing to lend a hand...I mean 'some sand!'

Fifteen minutes go by, and I'm thinking, "Whew!" when out of the darkness comes this voice that says:

"Mare, can I ask you just one question?"

"Sure" I answer thinking...Just when I thought it was safe to come out of the woods!!

Flo says:

"I am 97 years old; soon to be 98. Do you think that it's fair that I should be expected to wash and cut all of these vegetables? I don't think that it's right, and all I want to do is sit down. Someone else should be cutting up all of these...there's so much!!"

Huh?

To which I answered that she was already in bed lying down, and "Forget about that huge pile of vegetables! All's well. G'night Mom!"

And this is why I sing!

I sing because...I sing. It is an involuntary thing [like your heart beating] and all I need to hear is a word of a song that I know, and I want to burst into song. My soul smiles while in song. My talent would not sell out Madison Square Garden, but it is fun for me! And I could no more stop singing than stop breathing.
For years in my classroom, I tried to get kids to try things that they were not good at...even if they were not as successful as the person sitting next to them. At some point in time, it became more important to be the best at something, or else forget about it. I will admit that if you have someone sitting right next to you telling you how easy something is when you are having major trouble getting it going...it is very annoying. I signed up for an in -service computer class on 'drawing' and the person to my right was from another district talking how easy this was going to be!. As the directions were given, I listened intently and watched the room's monitor. By the time I was able to get smoke coming out of the chimney on my house, she had gone ahead and put a welcome mat before her front door with words and flowers! It certainly was disheartening and to those bragging type of killjoys, I say, Boo! Hiss! And your boasting stinks!....

I understand that sometimes it is necessary to cast people in roles based upon their talent[ Broadway musicals, surgeons, architects, etc.] but for the most part, people are missing out on many things.

It's kind of sad that our 'society' seems to have the power to dictate what is good, right, pretty, fashionable, valuable, important, etc. and as a result, many passionate and talented people are overlooked and unknown.
So, the moral of the story is...'Be true to yourself' and if yodeling makes you happy...yodel on!

Altered states!!

Well, my mom is kind of in 'altered states', and for whatever reason it causes her to be awake for long periods of time. [like all night!!] Which means that no one else had much shut eye, either! She is seeing the doctor right now, and I hope that something shows up so that it can be treated. That being said, I have seen this quote many times before and didn't truly relate its significance.
I know someone with little/no health insurance, someone whose dog was diagnosed with a chronic ailment, someone who had a very difficult decision to make, someone whose business is struggling, etc.
Many times you can look at someone's face and have absolutely no idea what they are worried about.
So, let's be kind to each other, and even do something to bring on a smile for a specific person.

A monarch and a matriarch tie for 'natural beauty.'

My brother, Paul, is visiting for a couple of days, and often times when the three remaining members of our original family unit get together, there's some reminiscing about times and places and people. Our pilgrimage to Ireland in 2001 was one of my recent posts. And our last trip to 'Niagara Falls' is also a classic tale.

My youngest niece had never seen Niagara Falls. Paul booked a room at a hotel in Canada that advertised it was 'overlooking the falls with direct access to the casino'. Perfect for Mom who would happy about a shorter walk to the falls, and she has always had an affinity for casinos and a wee bit of believing she might be 'winning enough money' to share with friends and family. My son joined us for the festivities, as well as my niece's best friend who took the virtual tour by phone. As a typical teenager, her cell phone was permanently attached to her ear, and we often asked how her friend was enjoying the trip!

We visited the falls, and the casino, and had a nice dinner at a festive restaurant. We decided to go to the 'Butterfly Conservatory' the next day before leaving for home. And so back to the room we went where others had a view of the falls. We had a view of the back of a wing in the building! Oh well, it was a one night thing, and we settled in for some sleep. Sleep?? At about 3 AM there was a repetitive series of alarms that sounded to me like the fire drill alarm from school. Flo heard it too, and we woke Paul up, who proceeded to call the front desk.

Paul: "There's an alarm going off...what is that?"

Desk: "That's the fire alarm."

Paul: "Is it for real?

Desk: " Well, yes. Fire trucks are here."

Paul: "What should we do?"

Desk: "RUN!!!

To which Paul says,

and ..."What is your name?"

"Robert."

So, Paul left the room to look out a hallway window with a view to the front, and he returned and verified that fire trucks were indeed there. Now we [4] are quickly getting dressed not really knowing what to do. I stepped into the hall, and there were people's heads popping out all of the doors, but it was apparent that English wasn't necessarily a common thread among us. So I retreat back into the room while trying to remember what floor we were on, and where the stairs were, when I see Flo...

She looked exactly like Estelle Getty with her jeans on under her mid -knee nightgown, and her pocketbook hanging off of her folded arms. And I knew she was thinking, "I'm too old for this s***!" If the building wasn't possibly on fire, I would have probably taken a picture for posterity! Priceless!

At the same moment, an announcement repeatedly came over loud speakers in the hallway saying that everything was under control and to:

"Stay in the room."

It didn't really inspire confidence, but maybe was the lesser of two evils. [???]

The next day, the front desk shared that they had been having a problem with false alarms being pulled, and they apologized. We really did want to meet Robert. There was no excuse for his stupidity!! And in the future, our hotel room won't be above the second floor, for sure!!

The butterfly conservatory was the only place that I really wanted to see. After Jer returned from the Buffalo region, we had all breakfast together and proceeded on our way to find those 'fluttering beauties' down the road.It was certainly worth the trip [especially considering the escapades of the night before at the ******hotel!].

It was a 4-5 story building where we entered the butterfiies' habitat. There was lush vegetation, and feeding stations with a variety of fruit for Mother Nature's whispers of color! There were instructions to 'Please do not touch the butterflies.' Many people were trying [unsuccessfully ] to get them to land on them, and settled for pictures instead. My brother's sense of humor may have lead to a heart palpitation or two from the people around us when he stamped his foot on the ground and yelled, "Got him!!" Can you believe that there were many who were not amused?!!

My mom decided to take a little rest, and told us as she sat on a bench , "Just come and get me when you want to leave. Don't shorten the visit because I am sitting down. I'll be watching all of the beautiful butterflies from here."

And then, very slowly and serenely, a Monarch rested upon the Matriarch! My niece was close by with her digital camera taking pictures, and she was able to record this for posterity. I sent the photo into the Post Office, and got stamps made out of this pair of beauties, and sent them to all family and friends of Flo...who then sent them to her on their Christmas cards! She was so surprised !! What fun!!

So glad that the short little trip ended on a positive note. A very natural Kodak moment. God bless ya! and...

Let the games begin!

Welcome to March Madness and the college basketball games that will prevail for several weeks. The dentist and I were chatting about it and he told me that he, too, loves to watch the drama. I have great memories of my son[ about 10 years old and then annually thereafter] taping the schedule to the living room wall. There are teams that have made the cut to be among the 64 teams for the first time. There has already been a first round upset! My thoughts: Go Syracuse!

And for the people who don't get into the NCAA Tournament, here are a couple of clip art funnies...well, I think so anyway!

3 strikes! Yikes!!

I went to the doctor today, and while the doctor/surgeon is pleased with the latest x rays, I am to stay off of my right foot for another month. I was mentally prepared for this, so it wasn't a surprise. Since I want it to heal, and have NO desire to start this whole process all over again, I remain sidelined as my leg heals. Just stating facts, and I realize that there are worse scenarios happening to other people. Let me just get this one scream out of my system! There...I feel better.

Tomorrow I am going to the dentist because last week, the Good Lord sent along a distraction for me to get my attention off of my broken leg....

I broke a tooth eating a cookie. I have been trying to remember to eat on the right side of my mouth because of the big gaping hole in my upper back tooth. I'm hoping that it is not a root canal or crown to fix it!!

I like my dentist very much, but I would prefer not to see him very often.

And today, so that I wouldn't think about my broken leg or my tooth needing attention, guess what was the latest annoying occurrence to happen my way...

My cable TV went...poof! and it was gone! I called Time Warner and over the phone they sent a new digital signal out to reboot it[ 3 x] and since it didn't work...they would have to send

someone out to the house...and the earliest appointment is next Monday!

I realize this is not a crisis, so I did my stress reducing deep breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. So, let me just release some of this hot air! Ooph! Out goes the bad air!

Things come in threes...so I'm looking forward to my three good things which I assume will be happening along any time now...I believe.

A wee bit of this...and a wee bit of that!

In August of 2001, my mom, brother, son, 2 nieces[one with her husband and mother-in-law] , nephew and wife, and I jetted off to Ireland for a week to visit the Homestead and meet with our Irish relatives. Jer and I met the rest of the group at the airport where my brother handed out green caps with a shamrock and our names embroidered on it. We checked in ,proceeded to the gate, and sat down awaiting the boarding call. And here it was:

"Flight # **** to Ireland is delayed due to a mechanical problem, and an announcement will alert you to its new departure time."

Oh great! They encouraged us to go and get something to eat while listening for the announcement. And the next message was:

"Flight 3 **** to Ireland's mechanical problem has been resolved, and we're going to take it out for a test fly. Boarding for departure will follow."

Taking it out for a safety test fly?? Who wants to hear that? Did they think that we would feel better about the plane with mechanical difficulties doing a test run?? And then boarding for a seven hour flight! OOPH!

Well, the plane returned, they deemed it safe, and we had to believe that the pilot wouldn't fly if he thought it would be his last flight. So, we boarded, and off to Ireland we went.

I never slept, but I can't sleep in cars, buses, planes, etc. anyway.
We rented a tank...I mean a car...to drive to our different locations. It was a red standard-shift boxy kind of vehicle and we had to remember to drive on the other side of the road. The roads were very, very narrow and when a bus or truck was coming at you, it seemed huge in its skinny lane. We began counting the number of cones that my brother came into contact with in an effort to avoid a close encounter!!

We checked into the first hotel, and Jer fell onto his bed with a clearer understanding of 'jet lag' and so he did a rendition of Rip Van Winkle for a bit. He was in for a bigger shock as we met for breakfast the next morning.

There wasn't very much that appealed to him, since he doesn't eat eggs, and other choices [black pudding sausage] were really offensive to him. On about Day 5, we stopped to get gas and Jer went inside to find something to eat. He came out with a package of donuts and apple cider and started singing, "My Country 'tis of Thee" in celebration of a real breakfast!!
The other snapshot in my mind in relation to breakfast was about Flo. She was 90 at the time and determined to keep up with everyone. She never did like to be rushed, and even though there was a deadline for breakfast, it was the last straw for her. The elevator door opened, and out she came kind of disgruntled. She spoke into my ear, "I don't even have a bra on!!" Well, I started laughing and said the, "I'm not laughing at you... I'm laughing with you. You just haven't started yet." It was quite the moment in time!!

To highlight a couple of events:

The Cliffs of Mohr were my favorite place to stand and admire Mother Nature's finest. Quiet and serene. The bluest of blue skies and the greenest of green patchwork quilt land areas. I turned around to say something to my son, and he wasn't there. As I scanned the area, there he was lying on his stomach on the edge of the cliff taking a picture looking down the cliff! Holy Mother of God! Even as an adult[22], kids still have the potential to scare the BeJesus out of you.

I was impressed with the overflowing window boxes of flowers, and the intensity of color that many houses were painted. Vibrant colors. And not just a few. And I remember thinking... what a big contrast to the colors of our American houses.

We visited the home of Waterford Crystal, and naturally the Blarney Stone was on the list of 'must go there' .The able bodied among us climbed all of those steps and were hung upside down from the fourth floor to kiss that famous piece of marble. Quite a feat!

Jeremy got to go to a 'hurling' semi-final, and he and Paul couldn't say enough about what a good time it was being among that crowd of animated fans cheering their team on with so much spirit!
I didn't even know that the sport existed!

We found the family homestead, broke bread at the homes of our Irish relatives, and managed to find the home of the cousin where 'the book' of years ago was kept. It had signatures of my grandmother and father when they visited in the late 30's. And signatures of my mother and brother when they visited in the '80's. It was kind of surreal, and 'movie-like' with the drama of finding that piece of our family history. Memorable, for sure.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

Spread some merriment along the path today.

Patience is a virtue...

'The View' has been broadcast from Disneyland this past week. Each day, the View ladies were escorted to their table by a Disney character. Friday's choice immediately brought back a memory that most likely puts me in a category all by myself. It was Donald Duck.

It was 1989 when this little scenario occurred.
My son, Jer, was about 10 and my friend Janet had 9 year old Jennifer jumping up and down with excitement ready to get to it.

"Let's go! Come on...Let's go!"

We were vacationing for 5 days and staying somewhere quite nice within the Disney complex, and the kids were ready to explore The Magic Kingdom. Through the gates we went, and young Jennifer had her autograph book and pen in hand to get the signatures of as many Disney characters as possible. We were through the gates and within 11 seconds, who do we see larger than life?
Well, it was Donald Duck with about 20 kids surrounding him awaiting his signature. Okay, perspective is everything. Jennifer ran right up to the gathering and she was ready to get her autograph book started with Donald as # 1! The other 3 in our 'party' were ready to keep going and catch up with 'The Donald' later on in the day. After all, we had only been in The Magic Kingdom for 11 seconds! So, I politely explained to Jennifer that we could get Donald's signature later as we were going to be there all day...and two more days, too!

Well, Mr. Duck calmly broke away from his little crowd and waddled right over to me, and shook his finger at me. It was like, "Eh-eh-eh!!!" Perhaps he thought that I lacked patience. Not so...but he thought so! It really was quite funny. And I'm sure he thought that I should slow down and chill out since I was obviously on vacation.

The irony is that I am a patient person. One of a very few east of The Mississippi!

Well, I'm out of therapy now. But I think that it was Donald who should have been in therapy. Just because he dressed up as a great big duck didn't give him the right to chew me out...anonymously and in public, no less! It just ain't right!! Stupid duck. Just kidding, of course!!

I'm ok now...really I am. But if you ever find yourself within 3 feet of Mr. Donald Duck, consider yourself forewarned! [hehe]

Six overtimes!!

Six....that's right...6 overtimes...and a WIN!!!!

In the Big East Tournament last night/ this morning, Syracuse went from having a 3 point buzzer beater with 1.1 seconds on the clock...OVERTURNED...to sweating through 6 overtimes, guys fouling out, guys coming off of the bench with very limited experience[21 min]...until 1:30 in the morning when Syracuse was able to win 127-117. I don't know how they managed to come out in Overtime #6 and score enough to win by 10. But don't let that fool you. It was the best, most unbelievable live basketball entertainment that I have ever seen!

My son and I were texting back and forth through all of the overtimes. And Flo woke up at about 1AM and thought I had fallen asleep with the television on. When I told her,

"You're NOT going to believe it, but the Syracuse/ U Conn game is in its 5th overtime!!"

She was astounded, and we talked and laughed until the game was finally over...both of us glad that we didn't have to work in the morning! And feeling good that we were a part of that historic game.

American Idol...and away we go!

American Idol really began last night when the field of thousands was narrowed down to 12 singers. As a result, we [24 friends/family]each know who our own individual potential winning idol is and therefore have a vested interest in the outcome. Last year when it was between the two Davids, Flo [ Mom] won first place, and the year before that while in she was in 'stroke mode' in the hospital, she managed to win second place. In last year's Amazing Race, both my mother and St Nic held the winning team's names and I was the only one in the house who didn't receive any dividends!!

This year, Flo and St Nic again have 2 of the 3 different frontrunners.[ luck of the draw]. Nic has Adam who reminds me of a young Elvis. He is very popular, and can certainly sing.

Flo has Danny who was told,

"I think we may see you in the finals."

The third favorite is Lil Round.

She is also very talented.

So who did I manage to get who will probably be going off next week? Anoop.

I have come to accept that as luck goes, I don't win pools or raffles or 50-50 drawings. That's okay. As I think about the boatload of 'Thank You' notes that I will be sending out to all of the people who have helped me when I broke my leg, I am very lucky. There were friends who visited me in the hospital and/or rehab, came from out of state to stay with my mom, called me and chatted on the phone, sent flowers, brought cookies and other delectable goodies, brought me coffee, visited my mother in my absence to cheer her up, grocery shopped for me, installed handles in my house and took the shower door off so that I could get the wheelchair close enough to get in[ everyone thanks them!!], brought books and magazines, sent cards, collected money , offered to drive me to the doctor, stopped by my house on her way to work at 6:30AM to let the dog out and feed the cat, come over and play backgammon to help pass the long hours of the day, and I could go on and on. How terrific are all of these people?

Who's the lucky one?

That would be me.