What Is Lonnie's Room?

There is a room in our home to which I navigate more frequently than the others. It makes me feel secure, it is cozy, and it is quiet. From the peak of the room, there is a large rusty metal angel suspended by a very thin wire. It would apear as if the angel is hovering over me, protecting, and always present. The lighting in the room creates a virtual display of dancing shadows around the angel.

Every evening when I am in "MY ROOM", I think of what Luciano de Crescenzo once said, "We are all like one-winged angels. it is only when we help each other that we can fly."

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween Thoughts

Happy Halloween everyone!  There is always so much controversy over this day, however, I revert back to my childhood when I did not look at this day as being a satan day.....I looked at it as being a day when I could dress up as a scary person and laugh hysterically when I scared grandpa and grandma!  It did not mean anything bad..... it was just a fun day!  The school parties were exciting because we always had apples or popcorn and orange punch as well as a treat to take home.  As I grew older, I remember thinking it was cool to toilet paper someone's trees...always got a few treats, but it was more fun working with the toilet paper.  After being married, I would dress up myself to answer the door and join in the fun the children seemed to be having.  The creepy music would play, strange pumpkins would be lit and sitting on the step, and I would have as much fun as anyone.  Then I was blessed with children who went through the same joy as I did when I was a child.  Now I am grandma and I wait patiently for my grandchildren to come to my door to scare me.  (They always get some special extra treats, of course).  I think Halloween is like any other holiday we recognize...... it is what WE make it......not what the extremist want you to  think of it as.  I will share a little history of Halloween with you.  Halloween is actually inspired by religious traditions which have gotten distorted over the years.  It is actually the eve of All Saints Day which is observed on November 1.  On that day we honor all Saints in Heaven and pray for peace and rest for our departed.  Most of the customs we carry out on Halloween are remnants of the ancient religious beliefs and rituals.

So..... I don't know about you, but I am going to dress up, turn the lights on dim, play spooky music, and greet the little people with happiness.  Enjoy the event and those who knock on your door.

Happy Halloween!

Monday, October 18, 2010

The splash

Last week my husband and I took a small day trip to a place where we use to take his folks every year.  We have not been back since his folks died, so it was a bitter sweet experience.  We found ourselves taking the same route, visiting the same eating spots, and looking for the same treasures.  The trees were absolutely gorgeous, the weather was perfect,  people were laughing and enjoying themselves, and we seemed to  be handling the crowds with  minimal stress.   My husband was somewhat nostalgic as he had a tendency to want to see the things that his dad loved and would say, "do you remember dad would eat this and go back for seconds?"  I think it was a very healing day for him.    As we get older, we see the beauty in things that when younger we are too busy to see. I think I failed to see that his folks would not be making this trip forever, and how important it might be for him to revisit the place of his memories.  I am so glad we took the time, slowed our pace, and soaked in the day.  It reminds me of the ad that states, "I use to see puddles, but now I feel the splash!"