Sun-streaked sky

It's always darkest just before dawn.

I've repeated that mantra over and over for years.  Still today it remains true.  When that first hint of light streaks across the sky and blooms into magical colors, the struggles and fears of the darkness evaporate.  This was the sunrise outside our backdoor on Monday morning.  And it was magical.

The amazing thing about the colors of a sunrise is that from moment to moment they change.  Right in front of your eyes.  Yet you don't see the change.  You see the change by walking away.  Just to refill your coffee and return.  The colors have changed.  If that's not a jam-packed lesson I don't know what is!

Perspective:  sometimes when we're standing too close we don't recognize the signs.  Step back.  Close the book, close your eyes.  Take a breath.  Look again.  The scene has changed.  It may not be better or worse, but it has changed.  Accept it.  Take another breath and move on.

Moments:  when I capture a photo of the sunrise at an amazing moment, like the one above there is nothing more beautiful.  In this one the colors streaked in the clouds above the horizon and I couldn't figure out how that was happening.  And after stepping away and coming back less than two minutes later, it was gone.  Just that quickly.  Savor the moment.  It is likely to change.

Each day that sun rises again.  It provides us a new chance to see things differently.  To accept, to move on, to create anew.  In order to make progress on the monkey bars you have to let go of one bar at a time and grab a new bar.  Change is hard.  It can be scary and overwhelming.  Yet it is necessary.

Take a step.  One at a time.  Savor the view.  Enjoy the moment.  It's given to you only for a heartbeat, and then it changes.  Don't miss the view.
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Choosing a side

When I saw this image it stopped me.  Isn't that the story of everything?  How can we possibly be right all the time, or wrong all the time?  And doesn't the truth lie somewhere in the middle?

The beauty of that is the opportunity to find perspective.  To step back and wonder if the "6" that your looking at could be a "9" to someone else.  Well, no, its a 6 to me - may be the immediate thought.  And yet it really is a "9" to the other person - not because they choose to disagree, it's truly their perspective.

Just think about that.

It caused me pause.  In a particular situation I'm dealing with at work.  And the friction it has caused is truly because the perspective is entirely different.  And this is our time to agree to disagree.  Decide to move past being right, and decide that the issue doesn't define us.

This is hard work, I tell you.  And yet so, so worth it.  At the end of the day what matters is that you have the right people around you.  The ones who'll be honest with you, who'll help you and who'll ask for your help.  There's trust and sharing.  Those are the people I'll choose, in spite of not seeing things the same way every time.  The lessons born from disagreement are worth remembering.

Fifth Grade Student

First day of 5th grade!

Ellie's first day of 5th grade was Monday.  New school, new clothes, new adventure.  And it's been an adventure since we snapped this photo.

There is a 5 page booklet on the dress code for school.  And you are seeing the gist of it above - khaki short, skirt or pants with a solid color polo shirt.  She may wear a cardigan or zip up sweatshirt as well.  The shirt must be tucked in and a buckle belt at the waist.

Honestly the rest of the 5 pages are about all the don'ts ... and we won't go there.

She has new folders, notebooks, pens, pencils, highlighters and lunchbox.  And after the second day she has already had to replace the lock for her locker, a folder and add another binder and pink square eraser.

Hint:  DON'T go to the store for school supplies after school has started.  We had a wild experience last evening at both Walmart and Target going through their very picked over piles of supplies trying to find what we needed.  And the lock - let's not go there.  According to Bill we've now bought 5 different locks for this locker.

So far she really likes her classes and her teachers.  She's fortunate to have lunch with Addison and two classes with Hannah.  Although I'm sure I was more worried about that than she was!  She is excited about Advanced Placement Math and AP Science.  She's enjoying her electives so far - Computer class and Career Center.  And she has PE every day!

She shared the story that in Career Center they had to fill a sheet out with what career they've chosen, where they plan to go to college and why.  I was very eager to hear this story at the dinner table.  She said she'd like to be a teacher.  She plans to go to Notre Dame and that the reason is because it's hard to get into and she likes the challenge of that!

You go girl!

No more zebras ...

My girl is all grown up.  In sorting through clothes on Saturday in her closet she told me she'd like to redo her room.  When I asked what she had in mind she said, 'I'd like to get rid of the zebras."  "Get rid of them?!?" I asked.  And then she said, 'well, maybe move them to the game room...."

And she knew the colors she had in mind - pink and gray.  Imagine that.  I agreed to start with the sheets since her comforter is white and the sheets are rather prominent on her bed.  So off we went to HomeGoods to see what we could find.

As you can see we got a great start.  New sheets, shams, throw pillow, wooden frame and canvas to hang on the wall - all in pink and gray!  Who knew!?  Apparently Ellie did!

I told her we can continue to look for things to fill out the rest of it as we go ... a throw for the end of the bed, wall decorations, etc.  She wasn't convinced when I said it would come together a bit at a time - and that was the fun of it, filling in the gaps!

When she awoke this morning she said it felt like she stayed in a hotel last night!  What a treat - new sheets and a room that you enjoy spending time in - she takes right after me!

Sweet dreams little princess ....

Happy Birthday Maureen!!

1998 - at a family wedding
There was no Gianni, no Ellie, no Enzo ... and we thought we were busy then!

2012 - Saratoga Summer vacation
Still no Enzo yet ....

2015 - Saratoga Summer vacation
with all THREE children in the photo!

2016 - Summer vacation

It's an understatement to say, 'we've come a long way...!'

Our beginnings where we shared a room.  And then shared a queen size bed, that we pretended was a raft floating on the water.  And I would take her stuffed animal, Huggable and toss him into the 'water' shouting, "fly, Huggable, fly!"  Needless to say, Maureen did not find that humorous.

But make no mistake, we have shared plenty of laughter over the years.  In most recent years with stories of our precious children.  We're convinced we have exactly what we were destined to have - me with a girl, and her with two boys!  And they sure do make us laugh ...

Yes, Maureen and I have been through many years of making memories.  The ones I recall most fondly include my trips to visit her on the North Shore when she lived in Beverly, MA.  When she moved back to Saratoga, we made an annual pilgrimage for several years to stay in Gloucester on Good Harbor Beach.  She took me to Woodman's in Essex for lobster - even though she didn't eat seafood!  Just because she knew I'd love to go.

We spent time walking the beach, collecting shells and the most coveted find - sea glass!  All the sea glass we collected together sits in a glass jar on my mantle to remind me of those memories.

We share so many things in common besides our last name ... being a Mom is at the top of the list, marrying into an Italian family, graduating from Skidmore College and certainly our love of books!

Wishing my baby sister a wonderful 45th birthday!  I can assure you that life changes as you approach 50 .. for the better!  So glad to be on this journey together with you!

BBQ at its best!

After this wonderful lunch of peach pulled pork we spent time making a couple peach pies!  We went to Jeanine and Michael's for dinner and a swim.  Although it was still in the 90's, there was a breeze and a dip in the pool was fun for the group.

It was the end of a really great day!

BBQ, Peaches and Girls' Day Out

On Friday Ellie and I spent together decided we needed a Girls' Day before school started in another 10 days!  We left the house early to run a couple errands, fill the tank with gas, drive thru at Starbucks and off to Terrell, TX we went.

Ham Orchard is well-known in these parts for having the best peaches around! It's about a 50 minute drive due East of our house.  Although it was mainly highways to get there, the orchard is on a gravel road which fascinated Ellie.

She kept saying we went on unpaved roads!  Yes.  Yes, we did.  This felt like Texas.  Ranches, tall grass, hay bales and horses.  You can see from these pictures that we found some gorgeous spots along the way.  The photo above is the entrance of the Last Cast Ranch.  It sounded intriguing to us so we paused to take a photo.

We found the Market Store at Ham's rather crowded and still full of produce.  We knew that this was our last chance for their peaches this season as they close for the season on Saturday, August 13.  So many people had the same idea as we did ... a peach pie was in our future!

We chose wonderful bags of peaches, jar of peach butter, gorgeous farm stand tomatoes and a few pieces of old fashioned candy that Ellie wanted to share with Bill.  From there we followed the path to the BBQ building.  We couldn't resist the smells coming from that direction .. at 10:30am.

Choices were aplenty - so we chose to split a peach pulled pork sandwich with a side of potato salad. Just half a sandwich was enough to convince Ellie it was the best BBQ she's had in Texas.  We sat under the big pavilion listening to the country music watching kids dancing around and visitors enjoying one of the white wooden rocking chairs in a line looking out over the farm.

It was a wonderful trip, and we're so happy to have spent time there!

I can see clearly now ...

Ellie had her annual eye exam two weeks ago.  We found this wonderful, family-friendly, neighborhood eye place in downtown Wylie when we moved to Texas.  She loves to go there and 'pass' all the eye tests.  She especially likes that there's no more, air puff to the eye test.  And our eye doctor is wonderful too.  She's young and sweet.  So kind - even to us adults during our eye exam.

This visit was funny because we checked in and the girl behind the desk had a tiara on her head.  And my first thought was, 'wow, does she wear that every day?  I remember she had one on last year too!"

Then I realized that it was her birthday.  When she shared that we had our appointments exactly a year ago we all had a good laugh since I thought she must wear a tiara every day - and not just on her birthday.  Oh, the joys of small town Texas.

Back to the glasses.  What we found is that Ellie is far-sighted.  Unlike Bill and I that are near-sighted and have glasses for distance - driving, watching t.v. really anything that's not close up.  Ellie is the opposite.  Yet she's exactly the same as the eye doctor.  Which made for a great conversation about how Ellie should use the glasses for reading, school work, using her iPad but not for the classroom to see the board.

It also makes sense why her reading comprehension is not up-to-par with the standardized tests.  And yet she's advanced in writing, math and science.  When she reads her eyes get tired and her brain assumes things in her reading.  Then she answers questions about what she read without having read the details.  This results in lower reading comprehension scores.

Here's where the glasses come in.  And boy does she love her new glasses!  These frames are trendy apparently too. So happy to see her wearing them when she does a workbook or reading.  Just in time for back to school - entering 5th grade happy, healthy and ready to learn!

There's a time to rest

Sometimes we need a nap.

Sometimes we really need a respite from the pains and strains of everyday life.

Rest.

Here's what I share with Ellie.  The cure for most things is a hot shower, a good cry and a good night's sleep.  Although sometimes in the adult world you can throw in a glass of wine, a couple Advil and a phone call to a good friend!

In any event, rest is crucial.  Our body and our mind need time off too.  Without guilt.  Without using that time to plan the next event, the next chore or the next need-to-do!  That's the beauty of children.  When they're tired they will find a quiet place and close their eyes.  Rest sweet child .... everything will look better when you awaken.

We need to take the advice we give to children.

Be kind.
Look both ways before you cross the street.
Eat your veggies.
Get a good night's sleep.
Hold hands.
Get plenty of water on hot days.
Wear sunscreen.
Take a nap!

The Priority List

I'm reading the book, The Priority List by David Menasche in between several other things right now.  I began it on Sunday rather uncharacteristically as I had no intention of reading it now.  As I mentioned I'm in the middle of a few other books - mainly for work - and my focus needs to be there rather than personal reading.

So as I sat in my chair that morning with my daily devotional, I reached for The Priority List.  As I read page after page sitting there, I knew I was drawn to it for a reason.  The author, David, was a teacher.  High school honors English teacher to be exact.  He was dedicated to his craft - opening the minds of students to the possibility.  To pursuing their passion - every single day.  He was admirable, he was wise and he was dying.

Without sharing the whole story I'll share a strategy he used to get to know a new classroom of students.  On the board he'd write a series of words - The Priority List - and ask them to choose the ones most meaningful to them.  A handful at most.  To rank them in priority.  Don't take a lot of time doing it, the ones meant to be will jump out.  This told him a lot about each student.  What they valued.  What was important to them.

And then it hit me.

This is exactly the exercise I would do with my new team on Wednesday.  This way I could share something important to me.  Reading.  Learning.  Someone else's story.  Life lessons.  And I could allow the team to get to know one another in a different way, and me to learn about them too.

It was awesome.  We learned about one another in a painless, fun and insightful way.  I feel good about this team.  I feel good about my ability to pursue my passion too.  To help grow these leaders.

Mission accomplished.

Or rather, now the work starts.  And the beauty of it is - we're in it together!


Oh, and by the way, here's the words we used:

Health ** Travel ** Style ** Adventure ** Privacy ** Creativity ** Loyalty ** Career ** Honor ** Technology ** Trust ** Education ** Companionship ** Fun ** Independence ** Family ** Acceptance ** Possessions ** Friendship ** Security ** Love ** Victory ** Shelter ** Respect

Expect Miracles

Sometimes its all about expectations.

No, honestly, it's always about expectations.  And when we enter something new with a smile, a deep breath and the chance to find something new - amazing things can happen.

I learned that lesson many years ago on a solo trip to the North Shore of Boston. On a Friday morning in early May 2001 I set out on a solo journey to stay by the ocean.  My intention was to overnight at the bed and breakfast that Maureen and I had stayed at several times before on Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, MA.  When I arrived early that Friday afternoon I learned they were booked for a wedding party all weekend.

And I do what I've learned to do many times before, and repeated many times since.  Deploy Plan B.  When the Innkeeper said, "I think that Sadie at the end of the street has availability,"  I took that as a sign and off I went.  I found a small room with a private bath and an adorable little balcony overlooking Good Harbor Beach.  It was clean and neat - just enough space for one's weekend alone.

I unpacked and went to the beach for a walk.  A long walk.   It was spring and the sun set early and the ocean breeze was cold and damp.  I'd been trying to put some distance between an on-again, off-again relationship rather unsuccessfully.  So the walk was accompanied by tears, fears, regrets and sadness. At the very end of the beach I looked back and found the Inn very small in the distance.  After a deep breath, wiping the tears and silent pep-talk, I decided what I really needed was a good bowl of chowder, a baseball game on the television and a crossword puzzle to work on while I ate.

As I drove into the village, unsure of where to land I found a place to park right outside the Topside Grill & Pub overlooking the water in Gloucester.  I went inside ordered chowder, bread and a club soda and settled in with my crossword puzzle.  The baseball game started shortly and before long we were cheering together and several people wanted to help with the puzzle.

I realize this doesn't sound like a miracle.  But honestly perspective is everything.  Well, that and expectations.  I didn't have expectations, but a group of strangers, a ballgame on t.v. and a hot bowl of soup can cure quite a bit.  Especially on this chilly night by the ocean about 15 years ago.

A lot has changed since then.  And yet, I'm still that girl inside.  The one that knows that miracles are around the corner if you're willing to just believe.

And i still do ....

Sunflower Joy.

This is the view that we saw on the ride to and from the winery in Tuscany just a few short months ago.  Its not a photo that I took.  Although when I saw it this morning online, it brought me back to that ride.  That peaceful, reflective journey through lemon trees, sunflower fields, olive trees and vineyards.  The simplistic way that they live their lives .. under the Tuscan sun.

Taking a moment today to recall the wonder, the magic and the serenity of that area.  Without another plane ride, I can easily remember how it looked, and how I felt as we enjoyed everything around us.

Today I'll find the sunflower in my day.  The sunflower is a symbol of happiness.  And how can you not be happy looking into that bright, yellow face as it stands so tall and proud.  Here's the key - look for the sunflowers - and they'll show themselves exactly at the right time.

Sunflower Joy.

Hello August.

Let August begin.  So many things about August to love this year.

Back to school planning begins.

• First day of school is 3 weeks away on August 22nd!
• The joy of picking out all those fresh, clean notebooks and array of colorful folders
• School clothes shopping is easier this year with uniforms of khaki and polo shirts!

Olympics in 5 days ....

• the games in Rio allow us to see South America in a way we haven't before
• the thrill of gymnastics, swimming, track and field
• the adverse side of Rio with worry over sanitation and security

Baseball enters the true 'down the stretch'

• With the trade deadline behind us - a record 18 trades - how will these team fare now?
• The Yankees invest in next season already without hopes of the playoffs...
• Joe Maddon and those Cubs have convinced Ellie and I to route, route, route for the Cubbies as they make their way to the playoffs and (fingers crossed) the World Series this year!

Summer fruit in full bloom - peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries ...

• A trip to the farmer's market
• Finding the local peach farm to get fruit for summer pies
• the smell of sweet fruit on a summer day

There's so much to love about August.  I will treasure each day knowing that as the days wind down the summer will be gone with the blink of an eye.  Treasuring what we have each day is the key this month.

Hello August!  Welcome to the neighborhood!