Rain on a Full Moon Weekend

Rain is falling on a full moon weekend! Spooky times ahead and pernicious pirates make mischief this month~

That has been my "theme" (if you will) for the past few weeks. I like how those words work together, they just sound good when spoken aloud. But more than that, I love the meaning.

October always brings a hint of mystic mindset and wide-eyed eerie watchfulness, particularly so when the moon is full and it's a little hazy outside at dusk. That's how its looks outside my window right now and when the sun fully sets, a full moon will rise and cast a pale glow, throwing shadows in places seen only out of the corner of the eye.

Only four days until our annual Cemetery Stroll and I can hardly wait. My sisters (mainly Shari and I - Mindy has already stated she's "NOT going!  It will give me bad dreams!"...'nuff said) and our children stop at the local Starbucks to fuel up for a chilly, spine-tingling evening walking among the dead. Mostly, we just laugh and scare the you-know-what out of each other and take lots of photos. Some of those photos can be viewed on Shari's site.  Note: the pic of Shari with her head chopped off and lying on a tombstone that has TAYLOR inscripted across it.  These are memories in the making and definitely not something for the faint hearted (or loose bladder).  The photos, I will definitely post!

In the meantime...enjoy your eerie autumn weekend. May you stay warm and happy (and a little bit on edge!)


Marti

Tears, Rain and Things That Don't Make Me Cry



I am sitting here in the most beautiful office overlooking Millcreek as it's raining. The tree in front of my office window was just about as tall as me, the last time I saw it. Now, that same tree reaches with long sturdy branches across the manicured lawn, an umbrella shading delicate flowers and ivy running along the creek bed. The creek's current cascades over stream rocks creating a rushing sound that soothes me while the raindrops dance on the water's surface. All of this I am able to view through the framed large window in front of me as I sit here warm, awed and peaceful.



Well, almost peaceful...I just was stabbed by a very old piece of wood panelling, a tiny sliver imbedded in my ring fingertip. It's painful reminder pulls me back from my serenity each time I tap an L or O or the period key.

My life is sometimes like that. I realized today what an amazing gift I have to choose joy almost unconsciously as I go through the events of my day. Joy that is alot like the view outside my window: natural, peaceful and fulfilling. That is...until something stabs my consciousness and reminds me that all of life isn't pleasant.


I don't think these types of "reminders" are meant to destroy our experiences, although they easily could when focussed upon long enough. My grandma is a perfect example of this. She is 97 years young. She cannot hear, has suffered several heart attacks (and still occasionaly mentions the "headache right here" - pointing to her chest - that "bothered me just a little last night but it's gone now", along with the many accumulating maladies that accompany a 90+ year old body. These little "stabs" in her life do not seem to trouble her as much as my sliver is troubling me as I type this blog. Her days are filled with studying old journals, writing new journals, organizing photos and family history, football and tatting (not in that order). Right now I can hear her upstairs watching old home movies put onto DVD's, the volume so loud the neighbors can sing along with Glenn Miller's Orchestra as it plays. She is laughing and cheering and pointing to faces of loved ones long gone from this life, waiting for her to join them. No, those little "stabs" in her life don't distract her. Life is "grand" as she would put it, should you ask.


My sister made the same observation in her new blog, which I highly recommend you take time to read. She is hysterical and has a very dry sense of life. The perfect antidote to "stabs". Her website is: http://www.everydayshari.blogspot.com. In fact....I'm off to read her latest post and forget about this sliver!

Namaste ~

Marti