Our Voices, Ourselves

In King Lear, Shakespeare wrote, "Her voice was ever soft, gentle and low -- an excellent thing in woman."  My mom had a soft, gentle and low voice.  It was lovely -- calming, patient and kind.  While Shakespeare may have approved, my grandfather -- Mom's father, who wore bilateral hearing aids -- used to jokingly call Mom "Whispering Hope."  In his witty way, he would explain that Mom whispered and he hoped that he could hear what she said! Seriously however, I really wish that I had Mom's vocal qualities. But, alas, while her voice was a bell, mine is a gong.  A couple of nights ago, Larry and I heard a musician in concert who has his own style but strikingly bears the singing voice of his famous musician-father.  The next day, we visited with a young relative who is living her own adventures but shares her late mother's speaking voice and laugh.  I must admit that I envy these two talented young people in that they have been gifted with the qualities of their parents' voices, yet have their uniquely own stories to tell.

Darkness Cometh

It's that time of year again when Daylight Savings Time ends.  For a brief period after we turn the clocks back, I'll awaken to daylight and leave work in darkness, but soon I'll wake up to the dark, as well.  The days will grow shorter and shorter until we reach the Winter Solstice in mid-December.  As Mom's favorite author, Gladys Taber, wrote in Stillmeadow Calendar (J.B. Lippincott Company, 1967), "I really prefer the long summer days, for I love light with a passion."  Like Mrs. Taber, I, too, want my days brimming with sunlight.  My favorite days are the sparkling ones in May and June when there's more daylight than I know what to do with.  I awaken early at that time of year to a morning that feels as if it's already begun without me and I linger outside as long as I can to soak up that last glow before the sun sets. For now, however, I must flow with the rhythm of the seasons, be one with the positions of the planet and sun, and get used to the darkness once again.  I'll be dancing on the Winter Solstice, however!

Wind Power

While heading to the eastern part of the state where the rolling hills dissolve into flatter land, giant windmills sprouted up to our left and right as far as one could see.  At first blush, they looked like big, white flying birds.  Upon closer examination, they became perfectly synchronized dancers or cartwheeling acrobats.  Harnessing the power of the wind, these huge monuments to humans' innovation and intervention stand like sculptures, like sentinels across the fields.  The landscape will not be the same with the erection of these windmills.  Whether they seem to be beauty or blight, we can only hope that they will help us conserve our precious resources and preserve our planet.

Goodness Abounds

There is a lot of goodness in this world.  Watching the evening news on any given night might make you think otherwise because only the most violent, horrific, extraordinary and disgusting seem to be worth a sound bite.  But I witness generosity, goodness and thoughtfulness every day in my ordinary life.  Much of that generosity is seen through my work for a nonprofit.  But I also see it evidenced in other aspects of my life -- a neighbor reaching out to another neighbor, adults giving of their time to benefit a children's cause, folks of all ages organizing food pantry drives, and people visiting our local nursing home to bake cookies, clean eyeglasses, and fluff hairdos.  The world truly is a good place.  Surely, there are bad things happening, but doesn't it nourish our spirits much more when we focus on the good, instead of the dreary or alarming?  I am blessed to see generosity and kindness around me each day.  We all have opportunities to learn from the example of others so that we can lighten another's load and contribute in our own way to the greater good.  For that, I am thankful.

Let It Snow! But So Soon?

The season's first snowfall arrived today.  As I left work, a wintery mix of rain and snow stung my face and coated my car's windshield, rapidly turning roofs a pristine white. The wet snow clumped up on our lawn - the kind of snow that you know will melt just as soon as the temperature rises, even just a little.  I'm of two minds when it snows.  On the one hand, the inconvenience of the cold wind and the slick, icy surfaces irritates me.  But, by contrast, a sense of coziness envelops me that is so perfectly portrayed in the Bing Crosby movie, "White Christmas," when Bing is joined on the train by Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen in the singing of "Snow."  The arrival of snow brings the hub-bub and hurry-up of the other seasons to a standstill, a literal chill-out that complements the temperature. There's a blessing in having to slow down now and again.  A local meteorologist is forecasting between 60 and 70 inches of snow here this winter, greater than the average.  That prediction may give us numerous opportunities to slow down and maybe even stop a bit.  However much snowfall we do get, this season -- like all others -- will be a series of moments where we can choose to embrace and even thrive in the midst of what we've been given or we can gripe about it.  We might as well choose to thrive, for just as quickly as the snow arrives, spring will come.  Nothing is forever on this Earth, not even an irritating, early-season snowfall.

Good Friends

For me, a sign of good friends is the ability to pick up the conversation thread with ease, even when months have passed since you were last together.  So was the case last weekend with my friends, Donna and Gloria.  We met at a favorite downtown cafe and nestled into one of the antique wood booths, each of us taking our familiar places around the table.  Over eggs, pancakes and oatmeal, we coasted from topic to topic -- gardening, politics, family, local events and home improvement -- as if we had all just been together the day before.  Our conversation flowed effortlessly as such conversations do among good friends who have known each other for a long time.  Laughter, a hot meal, communing with forever friends -- what a great way to start my day.

Halloween at the Pumpkin Patch

I drove by a pumpkin patch yesterday.  What more appropriate day to do so than Halloween?  It was one of those Linus and Charlie Brown "Great Pumpkin" kinds of pumpkin patches that stretch far and wide, rows of bright orange orbs as far as you can see.  It was made even better because the daytime sky was overcast with clusters of dark clouds to give a moody, almost eerie Halloween-esque look to the landscape.  'Tis the season of the pumpkin, as well as the winter squash, sweet potato and carrot -- those great orange foods brimming with the anti-oxidant beta-carotene.  In addition to the produce delivered in Nature's own packaging, I recently bought pureed, canned pumpkin at the grocery store, ready to add it to soup, pasta, and vegetable lasagna (in the place of tomato sauce).  Pumpkin is beautiful in color and rich in nutrients -- no trick, all treat.