It's been a while....

September seems like yesterday, but so much as happened. We put the house up for sale. It is sort of a bummer and sort of a relief. Karl has been out of work for almost 11 months. It has been a tough year, but one that has really allowed us to get back to the basics, so to speak. We spend a lot of family time together. Lots of time for playing games and getting creative. Liam and Karl have really bonded, no that they weren't close before, but Karl being him every day allows for loads of quality time with our little guy. So, in all the upheaval, there have been great blessings. We are surrounded by lots of love and support that reveals itself in ways that I am often quite surprised by. The generosity of family and friends has been overwhelming at times. We are surrounded by abundance of all things good. While the storm is blowing outside, I have managed to stay rather centered, calm and faith filled. A few weeks ago, Liam told me to stand next to Karl and then he put his arms around our legs, hugged us and said, "We are a family". So, so blessed!

Thoughts for the day...

Insight enables you to know your own heart. Clarity enables you to accept without illusion.

-Deepak Chopra

Let me be fearless in the examination of my motives and intentions. Let me be boundless in love and compassion for myself and others.

-Me

13 is a lucky number...

So, yesterday K and I celebrated 13 years of marriage and it was a wonderful day. In the morning K had a meeting in downtown SD, so L and I went along and spent some time at the San Diego Children's Museum. L loves the mattress room, which is just like it sounds, a room full of mattresses. He jobs around and slides down the on propped against the wall. When K was done, we took a ride over to the San Diego Zoo and spent some time wandering around one of our favorite places. After the Zoo we went to our fav place in Little Italy, Filippi's Pizza Grotto, to chow down. L loves th spaghetti and we don't have to worry about his allergies when we dine there. It was a really wonderful family day for us. Spending our anniversary as a family was really special! Afterall, L is the very best thing to come from our union.

No truer words...

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. -Rumi


Today I will carry this in my heart as a reminder that happiness is an inside job.

Surrender, Dorothy!

Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the light, even though for the moment you do not see.
--Bill Wilson


Sometimes in life the greatest power comes from acceptance and surrender. Often, both are very difficult for me because I am a fighter. I need to be reminded that the Universe is always conspiring in my best interest, even if I can't see it at the moment.

Sad news, a joyful life.

Bill Petry died the day before yesterday. Bill is our dear friend, Hisham's, dad. I met Bill on several occasions over the years and he is a really warm and sweet man. He and his son have a wonderful rlationship. They did several biking trips togther and always appeared to really enjoy each other. Theirs is a deep and abiding love based on acceptance and respect. Bill is a teacher, in both life and profession and I am profoundly grateful that I got the opportunity to know him. He made Karl and I feel like family and in turn, I hope we did the same for him. He will be missed, but truly lived a life worth celebrating. His passing reminds me of a saying I heard in my Al Anon program:

In the end what matters most is
How well did you live,
How well did you love,
How well did you learn to let go.

here is a story about Bill:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20090827/NEWS01/908270346/1221/LANSING

Generosity

Even after all this time the Sun never says to the Earth, "You owe Me"

Look what happens with a love like that,

It Lights The Whole Sky

Hafiz
- Sufi Master, 14th Century

Thanks to my friend!

My friend B sends me a daily thought, which always helps to start the day off great!

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

The body repeats the landscape. They are the source of each other and create each other.
--Meridel Le Sueur

The beautiful correspondences that structure the world - from the five pointed star in the core of the apple to the snail shell spiral of our inner ear - can be a source of great comfort to us. When we feel most alone, most abandoned and out of sorts, the simple forms of beauty can remind our eyes of the world's unity and our place within it.

Our path through the world is a part of it. We add our individual voices to the chord that is language, that is history. No matter how desperate we may feel, or how hopeless our lives may seem at times, the fact remains that loss and sorrow are a part of life, and the law of life is change. Unless we choose to cling to sorrow, it will flow through us. The next wave of feeling may bring us joy.

The hexagonal cells of the honeycomb recall the shapes of insects' eyes, snowflakes, geodesic domes. We fit into this grand design. We're here for a reason - for many reasons. Let us treat ourselves as gently as we try to treat the other parts of the delicate web of life.

I stand in a reciprocal relationship with the world, part of it as it is part of me.

You are reading from the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey & Martha Vanceburg. Copyright 1983, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of Hazelden.

An oldie but a goodie......

-- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Superheroes do exist!

Check out this picture of Liam and his friend Andy. They are so cut together. They always hug one another and walk hand-in-hand when we go places together. They are, in a word, precious.

The Little Duck

Heard this while watching the documentary "How to Cook Your Life". It made me cry, it was so beautiful. BTW, AWESOME movie!

The Little Duck

Now we are ready to look at something pretty special.

It is a duck riding the ocean a hundred feet beyond the surf,

And he cuddles in the swells.

There is a big heaving in the Atlantic.

And he is part of it.

He can rest while the Atlantic heaves, because he rests in the Atlantic.

Probably he doesn’t know how large the ocean is.

And neither do you.

But he realizes it.

And what does he do, I ask you.

He sits down in it.

He reposes in the immediate as if it were infinity – which it is.

That is religion, and the duck has it.

I like the little duck.

He doesn’t know much.

But he has religion.

Donald Babcock, The Lyfe Poems of Donald Babcock

That child o' mine.

Liam cracks me up! He just says the funniest things. At dinner last night, Liam was his usual "ants in the pants" self and Karl tried to discipline him by telling to get back in his chair and not get up until we had ALL finished dinner. Liam looked him squarely in the face and yelled "No, Daddy! You are a bad boy!", then raised his eyebrows, cocked his head and smiled. I swear I had to turn away from them because I wanted to laugh so hard. Later, that night before he went to bed, he kept telling Karl that he must sleep on the "layslounge". Karl didn't know what the heck he was talking about and the debate raged on. Finally, I went upstairs and told Liam in my gentlest "mommy" voice, "Honey, you can not sleep on the CHAISE LOUNGE tonight. Tonight you will sleep all night in your very own bed". Crisis averted and the mystery of the "layslounge" solved.

Busy, busy, busy!

So yesterday was a very busy day, though not so much that I couldn't spend about an hour watching all the inaugural activities. I can't even imagine how it must have felt to be physically present when the oath of office was taken. The crowds were astounding at least from what CNN was showing. I was on the phone with Jude during most of the time I was watching and it was nice to share those moments with her. We have somewhat different political views, but I think it was nice we could both come together to watch. It really is representative of all I am hopeful for with this Administration. That people can put aside the petty differences and realize we are all one people. That we can agree to disagree without someone having to be all wrong and one having to be all right. I thought President Obama's speech was very poignant. As he said throughout the campaign, we all have a responsibility to involve ourselves in the process of change and his address Yesterday echoed that most profoundly. I am humbled and ever so grateful to be a citizen of the United States and I believe that while we may not have all the answers to the problems that currently face us as a nation, we can and will find solutions that consider the prosperity and grace of all people. Here is to an exciting time and a brilliant future!

Its the little things...

It is the little things I am grateful for today, my coffee this morning and the early morning time I had just to myself. Little things like watching Karl and Liam playing rock band with a drum and a new electric guitar The Barramedas gave him for his birthday. I swear Karl plays it more than Liam, but they are quite cute together. Then there is seeing Liam jamm out to U2 while watching the concert celebrating Obama's inauguration, swiveling hips and all. Little things, but so precious.

The morning wasn't without a few glitches, like Maya bashing her head on our IRON floor lamp. YIKES! That was scary, but she is just fine, so says her Mama. Then at the park, Liam had a bit of a tantrum, so I took him home. All in all, it was a lovely day, even if I am green with envy over the many friends I have attending the festivities in D.C. Big day tomorrow and one that I intend to watch with my beautiful little boy.

The first of many joyous things.

Having just posted my last blog at mybithsession, I have decided that I will share the joys of my life rather than the frustrations. Upon reflection there are many more of the former than the latter for which I an ever so grateful.

Today, Karl and I took Liam to the Wild Animal Park. Nothing like an adventure with a three year old to put you in touch with joy. He fully lives in joy on a daily basis. Ok, sometimes he is, as JLo coined it, a sandy little butthole, but mostly he is just awesome. He ran from place to place full of energy and spunk stopping long enough to eat an Cherry Icee. We had a wonderful day!

When we arrived home I was just in time to watch the end of the concert in the Mall celebrating the Inauguration. Still gives me the chills that yes, Barack Obama will soon be sworn in as the President of the United States. I feel so hopeful!