Dawn over the Saint John River Valley, February 1, 2007Free spirited Jane (whose tiara I long to adorn myself) down in beautiful Philly "tagged" me to write about 5 good things that put a smile of my face this week. At first, my mind went blank as I searched for the grandiose. Well, 5 grandiose smiles rarely happen in one week unless you have just won the lottery or you have JUST fallen in love for the first time and can't think straight, walk straight, sleep or eat......or if God just happened to knock on your door looking for directions only to be invited in for some cognac and a chat. Given that none of those events happened this week..........and given that's really not what Jane meant...... I gave my head a shake and started over. Here's my list
1. Sunrises before heading out the door. We were blessed with a few memorable dawnings this week. The photo I've included was the one that stopped us all for a moment of recognition during our rushed prep for school and work.
2. Last night I found myself sitting on a bench in an elementary school gym sipping tea from my travel mug, jotting ideas for this post, and watching a bunch of very determined 9 year olds learn how to play as a basketball team. I wasn't a game crasher......no I was meant to be there. My son Max was playing with a group of boys whom he didn't know when the season started last fall. Lots of smiles over this scenario. Not only has he made his way "in" with this group of boys who all attend a different school than he, Max's skills and confidence have soared. He fits. He belongs. He has learned how to give and receive..........as a team player. The biggest smile? His own. A successful 8 points he contributed to the win. Big dimpled grin from ear to ear on his rosy red hot face at the end of the game.
3. I learned this week that for the first time since he released "River of Dreams," Billy Joel has recorded a new song..........."All my Life........" I plan to ask him to play it (disregarding that he wrote it for his newest trophy wife) when he comes for Thanksgiving dinner next fall. I'm very excited. Paul........a spot will be saved for you. :)
Guess I better get my act together and formally invite Mr. Piano Man.
4. I went to Moncton on Wednesday for a meeting at the Moncton Headstart Centre. I had always wanted to see the place and have always been interested in the whole philosophy around the "Headstart" programs for preschoolers..........and finally saw it in action. Their mission? "We empower at-risk children, families and individuals to realize their potential and lessen the impact of poverty." Many smiles.......many ideas............and will share more as I figure out how to start up one here in Fredericton. I may have just found my next career path........
5. Alexi Murdoch: Time without Consequence............he sounds like Nick Drake. He sounds like John Martyn. I hadn't thought of those two singers in years and yet..........they were the first who came to mind listening to this man sing. His song which had a line he sung repeatedly about salvation and love filled my car the other day. It was mesmerizing. I had never heard of him before....... beautiful, romantic, lyrical, haunting...... loved it!
6. yeah..........I know it was supposed to be five.............but I was never one to follow rules. So, my sixth.............? Whenever Lily has done something she wasn't supposed to, she greets us at the door with a sheepish smile. REALLY..........the dog smiles. This photo was taken last night. Though she hadn't done anything wrong...........when I asked her to give me a smile for the camera, she lifted her head, wagged her very long bushy tail and smiled.
1. Sunrises before heading out the door. We were blessed with a few memorable dawnings this week. The photo I've included was the one that stopped us all for a moment of recognition during our rushed prep for school and work.
2. Last night I found myself sitting on a bench in an elementary school gym sipping tea from my travel mug, jotting ideas for this post, and watching a bunch of very determined 9 year olds learn how to play as a basketball team. I wasn't a game crasher......no I was meant to be there. My son Max was playing with a group of boys whom he didn't know when the season started last fall. Lots of smiles over this scenario. Not only has he made his way "in" with this group of boys who all attend a different school than he, Max's skills and confidence have soared. He fits. He belongs. He has learned how to give and receive..........as a team player. The biggest smile? His own. A successful 8 points he contributed to the win. Big dimpled grin from ear to ear on his rosy red hot face at the end of the game.
3. I learned this week that for the first time since he released "River of Dreams," Billy Joel has recorded a new song..........."All my Life........" I plan to ask him to play it (disregarding that he wrote it for his newest trophy wife) when he comes for Thanksgiving dinner next fall. I'm very excited. Paul........a spot will be saved for you. :)
Guess I better get my act together and formally invite Mr. Piano Man.
4. I went to Moncton on Wednesday for a meeting at the Moncton Headstart Centre. I had always wanted to see the place and have always been interested in the whole philosophy around the "Headstart" programs for preschoolers..........and finally saw it in action. Their mission? "We empower at-risk children, families and individuals to realize their potential and lessen the impact of poverty." Many smiles.......many ideas............and will share more as I figure out how to start up one here in Fredericton. I may have just found my next career path........
5. Alexi Murdoch: Time without Consequence............he sounds like Nick Drake. He sounds like John Martyn. I hadn't thought of those two singers in years and yet..........they were the first who came to mind listening to this man sing. His song which had a line he sung repeatedly about salvation and love filled my car the other day. It was mesmerizing. I had never heard of him before....... beautiful, romantic, lyrical, haunting...... loved it!
6. yeah..........I know it was supposed to be five.............but I was never one to follow rules. So, my sixth.............? Whenever Lily has done something she wasn't supposed to, she greets us at the door with a sheepish smile. REALLY..........the dog smiles. This photo was taken last night. Though she hadn't done anything wrong...........when I asked her to give me a smile for the camera, she lifted her head, wagged her very long bushy tail and smiled.
8 comments:
Lily reminds me of 2 other family dogs, although one was a white shepherd/yellow lab mix and the other was a black lab mixed with Border collie. They both smiled, too, I swear it!
beautiful sunset! sounds like you have many things to keep you smiling...you keep me smiling!
I love the pic of Lily! One of my dogs smiles too, her name is Chloe and she's a Rat Terrier. I also have an Australian Cattle Dog who is sweet and loving, she smiles with her eyes.
My dog is a border collie/black lab mix and she smiles too. She also gives hugs. She'll sit in front of you and lean up against you. Then she'll lift her paw and pat your leg while she'll pushing against you....I love my dog.
That is a beautiful picture of the sunrise in our neck of the woods. Gosh I am glad I live here...it's so pretty.
Look at that pretty sunset. Nice shot.
I really miss our dog. We had to leave him in the States when we moved here to London for two years. Marshall was a border collie/lab mix (just like sunny side up) and we miss him so much.
Great post.
What is making me smile right now is that every comment to this post includes a canine reference!
YES, they ... smile - mostly because they know (deep down inside) that despite their lack of opposing thumbs and refined development of hands and feet, they have us to type and speak for them in times like this, when they just can't do it for themselves.
Your other smiles are so worthy, Muskie but, c'mon - you just can't upstage the family dog.
(...oh, by the way, Layla, we have a Chloe too - chocolate Lab - the love of our lives - can she smile??? don't get me going!!!)
How interesting.........I wonder if there is a correlation between blogging and loving dogs?
Thanks for the comments....
I have a cat, a big one - Henderson...he never smiles unless he's upside down :o)
the sunset is gorgeous. I love it. I have to say...your very observant, you always find the silver lining.
Sounds like a lovely week and my staffy bella smiles also how precious are they............
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