It’s only mid-January and this is SO real, I felt compelled to share this meme! Can you relate?
Plus it’s raining really hard, which on one hand I LOVE, but at the same time, it wasn’t supposed to start until later and now I can’t go for a walk.
Meme found on Pinterest. Credit to meme creator.
Not too long ago, the Angel Kids’ parents went to a social function. They weren’t too happy about Mom and Dad leaving because they rarely do, but as soon as the door closed, everything was OK ‘cos Grandma was there.
The kids have a solid bedtime routine: bath, night snack, brush teeth, read, and sleep. After their baths and a bowl of yogurt and applesauce, teeth were brushed and we snuggled together for reading time, my favorite part.
We began with a book for Angel Girl about a ballerina who loves to wear sparkly tiaras. I was peppered with questions and comments, “You love to wear a tiara, don’t you, Grandma!” “I have a sparkly tiara, too.” After her book, she turned on her side, clutching her stuffed unicorn, ready to drift off to sleep.
When it was time to read to Angel Boy, Dad had kindly left me with a chapter book they were halfway through, and I planned to read to the lovely child who was curled up against me.
I wasn’t prepared for what came next…and I can genuinely say that it was one of the happiest moments of my entire life…
“Hey, Grandma, how about if I read to YOU this time instead of YOU reading to ME?”
That had NEVER happened before. He’s gifted in math, but reading was sometimes frustrating for him, totally unlike his dad, who was an early and brilliant reader. T tested at grade level in school, but it wasn’t with the joy that reading brings to our lives. I always told him that reading was the gateway to the world. In my opinion, reading is EVERYTHING.
So of course I said that would be the most wonderful idea EVER in the history of wonderful ideas.
He read four chapters of his book while I watched; eagle-eyed, to observe (scrutinize) his reading prowess as a second grader, and his ability to successfully sound out words that weren’t familiar. The best part was that he didn’t want to stop reading; he wanted to keep going, but he was so tired, he agreed to finish the book the next day.
I was absolutely blown away, not only by his skills, but the way he read with humor and expression.
“Did you like that, Grandma? I knew you would because you love reading so much.”
“T, I am so incredibly proud of you! C is too, and we both loved to hear you read. How did it make you feel to read to US?”
“Grandma, I was reading and the words were like, just in my head as I saw them, and I couldn’t believe it, they came out so fast!”
At that moment, I think I almost squeezed the very life out of him, and I was more than grateful to be able to experience his “lightbulb” moment where everything clicked into place.
“T, that is what’s called REAL READING! I told you it would happen soon, where words you see instantly translate from your eyes to your brain — and you totally GOT IT!”
“I wanted to make you happy, Grandma.”
And he did. That was an understatement!
T whispered, “I love you, Grandma.”
“I love you too, so, so much. See you in the morning for buckwheat pancakes!” I whispered back to him.
For me, this definitely qualifies as a memorable, momentous watershed event.
I feel like I’m the luckiest grandma in the whole world.
Looking through old photos again, I recall this was my thrilling first actual sighting of a lenticular cloud phenomenon. I thought it was Mt. Rainier, but my son, the original Angel Boy, corrected me and said it was Mt. Adams.
It really does resemble alien spacecraft or could belong on an episode of Lost in Space, right?
Some other nicknames for lenticular clouds include “cloudships,” “clouds of heaven,” and “lennies.” They also have a fancy scientific name: Altocumulus lenticularis.
“Danger, Will Robinson!” Maybe the Robinson family stayed away long enough and they’re on their way back to planet Earth. The entire landscape looks otherworldly.
Although there is no significant weather produced by a lenticular, their presence often foretells snow in the next 24-48 hours. Regardless, they’re a good warning sign of an approaching weather front and sometimes a big snowstorm.
Whether it’s Mt. Rainier or Mt. Baker or Mt. Adams, it’s absolutely spectacular!
Yay for window seats!
A few photos to memorialize January 2024.
This is my favorite, a swan pedal boat on Agua Hedionda Lagoon. It’s an activity high on the list when the Angels visit this summer. Doesn’t that look like a lot of fun?
Now I’m standing on a path with a view of the trestle bridge and a peek of a blue Pacific ocean. Do any locals know my specific location? I bet not, ‘cos it’s a secret.
After walking all the way around the lagoon, this is a look to the east and a very low tide…
If you block out the electrical poles and the road, it’s easy to transport yourself back in time to when this land was the home of the indigenous Kumeyaay Indian Nation.
This is where they lived, fished, gathered berries, wove baskets, and buried their families. They lived in small family groups which had to move frequently to find new sources of food and water. Each clan wintered in a sheltered valley and migrated into the mountains in the spring.
It’s sacred land and should stay that way in perpetuity.
Some people might think a solitary swing is the epitome of loneliness; forlorn, swaying empty in the breeze.
Instead, I like to remember this poem by Robert Louis Stevenson and think of the joy it brings to the Angels; well, except when they’re fighting over whose turn it is to swing.
The Swing
How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown–
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!
–ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
111
There in the wild darkness
is the silence
And, after the darkness
Comes the light
A New Dawn.
A Little Poem by Athey Thompson
Tonight’s new moon in Capricorn can enlighten the pathway to our desires and our dreams, our awareness of who we are and how we feel about ourselves. Let go of any old unhealthy thoughts and beliefs.
A Little New Moon Ceremony
As the darkness draws near
Light a candle
Sit alone in peace
In silence
And invite your hopes
Your wishes
Write them down
Tell the New Moon
Of what you have written
And, welcome in your hopes
Your wishes
Believe you will receive
And say thank you
To the New Moon.
Upon such a dark night there be magic in the air, it be everywhere.
And, as they do say, ”Those who believe are those who receive”.
by Athey Thompson
I was at a free expo a couple months ago and grabbled a package of forget-me-not seeds. I tossed them in a planter and forgot about them until today.
This is their first flowering!
Forget-me-nots symbolize true love, fidelity, and respect. It’s also associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and has (weirdly) been adopted as a symbol by the Freemasons.
Germans coined the most common name used for this flower, das Vergissmeinnicht, because of the myth of two lovers who first saw the bright blue flowers as they walked along the Danube River. The man retrieved the flowers for the woman but was swept away by the river. As he floated away, he told her not to forget him.
Whether the story is true or not, it’s certainly made the forget-me-not a lasting symbol of remembrance.
Myosotis sylvatica readily reseeds, so I’m hoping to grow more and more in the garden because the blue is so valiantly BLUE and truly unforgettable.
A dramatic sunrise always makes me think of Romeo and Juliet:
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
From the front door looking directly toward the lagoon, this morning’s spectacular sunrise showcases the clouds that brought a little overnight rain.
Those black specks are hundreds of raucous crows heralding another new day.
Leonard Cohen said it perfectly:
The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say…
Happy first Sunday of 2024!
I love visuals and this speaks to me. Does it resonate with you, too?
I’m not really someone who enacts resolutions for the new year because it seems like the perfect storm for failure and then I’d feel terrible about myself for failing and spiral into shame…BUT I do comprehend the concept of making good choices and not repeating certain ingrained ways of doing life.
This brings me back to my admiration for the theory of neuroplasticity and the works of Dr. Henry Grayson and Rick Hanson, as I’ve written about previously HERE.
Remember: don’t spiral. Evolve!
Graphic found on Pinterest
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 