Serenity

Silence
A peace within
Without
Soft sighs that stir the air

Breeze
Gentle wind ruffles my hair
Scents of dew on the grass
A rustle, a movement
Tiny bird in the branches
Of a twisted cedar

Sunshine
Warms my back
Soaks into my skin
My face I raise
In praise

Song
Lilting robin whistles
Grackle chucks
A trill of thrush
Mockingbird mimics
In time with the breeze

Ripples
Stream’s music
Down the hillside
It dances, races
The stones it caresses
Build a song
That echoes through me

Green
Of emerald of lime
Of chartreuse and pine
Leaves, grass
The subtle shade of the horizon
As dusk grows near

Circle
A shield of peace
Surrounds, enfolds
Outside chaos
Inside control
Where no pain may touch
My heart.  Safe.

In serenity.

===========

The RAOKA mission seeks to remind us that Random Acts of Kick Arse happen all around us. The concept was begun by Sami, of Life, Laughs and Lemmings. Each month, a member of Sami’s RAOKA groupies picks a new theme to focus our attention on something positive and good in this world.

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

May’s theme for RAOKA will be “Serenity”, chosen by Zeenat of Positive Provocations!

Please visit the other RAOKA members and enjoy their thoughts on the theme of the month:
Lance at Jungle of Life
Lori at Jane Be Nimble
Zeenat at Positive Provocations

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]

Related posts:

1. RAOKA for April: Family
2. RAOKA for January: Gratitude
3. RAOKA for March: Laughter

I’ll be with you in apple blossom time
I’ll be with you to change your name to mine

May 8th.  My parents would have been married 66 years on this day.  From my earliest memories, they always cherished the song “Apple Blossom Time” as “their song”.  I can’t hear it, or think of it, without my heart going warm and tender, filled with both joy and sorrow.

Some day in May
I’ll come and say
Happy’s the bride
The sun shines on today

Mom passed away on November 1st, 2006.  She was my Dad’s heart and soul.  She had been failing slowly for a while, and he cared for her, tended her needs, totally dedicated to her for the last few years.  When she passed away, a huge piece of his heart went with her.

On the 26th of February, 2010, Pop joined Mom.  Or at least, with all my heart, and with all my many tears, I have prayed that my beliefs are truth, and that they are together again.  Some days, the only thing that keeps me moving forward, is my hope that they are once again happy, together, and as in love as they were for the sixty two years they were together in life.  And yet, through all my hope, I still have fear.  I’ve doubted, and I’ve been afraid to doubt, scrubbing the “what ifs” out of my mind every time they tried to creep in.  I have asked, over and over, for a sign: something unmistakable that would let me know they truly are together and happy.

What a wonderful wedding there will be
What a wonderful day for you and me

Twenty years ago, we purchased two tiny saplings, both flowering crab trees.  We planted them apart, but within sight of each other, between our two houses.  Mom and Pop’s tree died that winter, but ours has carried on.  It’s sickly, spindly, some years only has grown a few leaves, and never once has it bloomed.

And then yesterday, I stood out on the deck, our deck, Mom and Dad’s deck, and looked down toward the house we just moved out of, where my daughter is now living.  There, on the branches of that poor little flowering crab-apple tree … were blossoms.  Not just one, not just a few, but all the inner branches of the tree were graced in pastel flowers.

Church bells will chime
You will be mine
In Apple Blossom Time.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad.  I love you and miss you with all my heart.  And thank you for my flowers; thank you for my sign.

Related posts:

1. Pascha
2. For Judy
3. Happy Birthday, Pree

When Lori and Sami asked me if I’d like to select a topic for RAOKA, and I chose “Family”, it was right after my Dad passed away.  I really expected, at that time, that my post would be about him, about my Mom, about the way our childhoods and the people who surround us mold the human beings we become.

It’s really interesting how things change.  Life brings us events that alter our thought processes, so that in a few weeks time, there can evolve an entirely different focus.

Today, as I sit down to actually write my “Family” thoughts out for RAOKA readers to view, though of course Mom and Dad and my biological loved ones are very much on my mind, the entire idea of “Family” has expanded and changed.

What event made me shift my concentration for this month’s RAOKA post?  It was a day of fence-building here at Nastasi West (or “Wit’s End”, as I’ve begun to call our home).

For the 20-plus years that we’ve lived in our current home, our forever home, the plans always were that, when my Mom and Dad died, my hubby and I would take over their house while the house we lived in, and in which we raised our children, would be offered to the next generation.  So, once emotions began to sort out, we did just that.  My daughter and her “significant other”, a great guy named Chris, took occupation of “Nastasi East”, and here on the western half of the property, Joe, Devon (our son) and I have been settling in.  With us came my silly birds and our dog Kai, to invade Dad’s poor cat’s personal space and make this our home.

Down the hill, Kai had a back yard, fenced in, that he used for exercise and his daily necessities.  Up here, there is a much larger space that we planned to fence, which stretches between the house and the pole barn and probably covers between half and three quarters of an acre.  With all that is going on, though the dog yard fencing was obviously a priority, it was one that our family was far too distracted by things like legal and financial matters to give our full attention to.

And that is when the concept of Family expanded and came to the rescue.

I’ve a dear friend, his name is Wes.  He and his wife and kids have become more like extended family for us than “just friends”.  My readers know Wes through NY Wildlife Rescue Center, I’m sure.  Last week, Wes showed up with a horse trailer full of cattle panels, and on Saturday he returned, with two great helpers (Rose from SUNY Cobleskill and her boyfriend Dave), a load of t-posts, tools, and the determination to get the job done.

We worked all morning driving posts and starting the construction of the fence.   Half the yard was done by the time Wes had to return to the Center for an appointment.  My son Devon and I put up the rest of the panels, attaching them to the already-driven posts, in the afternoon.  Later in the day Wes, Rose and Dave, along with Wes’s friend TJ, came back, and we finished the area under the carport, and hung a kennel panel across the front as a gate.

In one day, Kai had a yard.  After it was done, Family sat in the grass along the west side of the fence, and I let Kai out.  He didn’t know quite what to make of things at first, but suddenly the light went on, and he opened up and ran.  Kai loves his yard, with more room to really stretch and gallop than he’s ever had at home before.  Every time I stand out there and watch him run, I offer gratitude to the Universe for bringing me such wonderful friends.

Such wonderful Family.

“Family” is a word that means different things to different people; a word which has a variety of meanings in many situations.  We talk about the nuclear family of parents and children, the extended family that includes grands, aunts, uncles, cousins first, second and third.  We talk about our Family of Man, which, to some, is limited to those like them, to others includes all mankind.  We speak of, as we reach outward with our hearts even farther, our Earth Family, which embraces all living things who grace the Mother Planet.

For me, Family is a matter of heart.  Family are those who care, who help, who comfort, who are part of the circle of life to which we are bonded and bound by love.  Ties may be by blood, or not — and it really doesn’t matter.  The old saying is that blood makes us brothers, but hearts make us friends.  The truest friends are always, in my heart, Family.

I’ve had some challenges in life, these past few years.  I believe that the struggle to survive those challenges has been, in many ways, a blessing.  It’s made me acutely aware of, and eternally grateful for, the people who have gathered around me in support.  I know that I would not have made it to this day without them.  Wes and his family are among our closest Family members, for whom I thank the Creator every single day.  I don’t think a biological brother could have more of a heart’s bond, or have provided more strength to us as we’ve battled through these recent tough times.

“Family” is not necessarily about blood.  It’s about people (both human and otherwise) who are there for you to share the laughter, and still there to soak up the tears.  Family give from the heart.  Family have your back.  Family are the ones you’d gladly lay down your life for, and never doubt for a moment that it’s the right thing to do.

And to close with the words of some wise man or woman, whose identity I’ve never known but whose wisdom I’ve repeated many times over the years:  Friends may help you move, but real friends (Family) help you move bodies.

Kai surveys his new domain

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

May’s theme for RAOKA will be “Serenity”, chosen by Zeenat of Positive Provocations!

Please visit the other RAOKA members and enjoy their thoughts on the theme of the month:
Lance at Jungle of Life
Lori at Jane Be Nimble
Zeenat at Positive Provocations

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]

Related posts:

1. RAOKA for May — Serenity
2. RAOKA for January: Gratitude
3. RAOKA for December: Wacky

Wow.  What a topic to be focusing on during this particular time of my life.  We’re still dealing with the confusion of my father’s passing.  Settling the “estate” has been (to put it mildly) a challenge.  To try to focus on laughter during a time of grief seems like a major contradiction, doesn’t it?

Perhaps.  And yet, keeping the theme of Laughter in mind over the past few weeks has been such a great help.

My dad’s good friend, Jim, visited last week.  We sat for the longest time and just reminisced.  He had me laughing out loud with stories of my dad on the golf course.  Dad was quite the tease — he loved to see people smile because of his interesting (one might even go so far as to call it “smart-arsed”) sense of humor.  His buddies all loved him, and even in the last year, whenever a new person would join their team, and this eighty four year old man would hobble out on to the course, his friends’ eyes would start to sparkle.  They knew that, though he appeared to be growing feeble, once he hauled his club back, that little white ball was going to sail farther (and sometimes even straighter) than those struck by guys half his age.

He did love to make people laugh.  He made various trips to various hospitals over the last few years (for various reasons) and the nurses always loved him.  When I’d go to visit, I’d usually hear giggling from way down the hall, and would know it was coming from my dad’s room.

Pop was one of seven children … two girls and five “all American boys”.  I don’t know how my grandmother managed to live to ninety-three with those boys around.  I will always remember her steel-gray hair, and I’ve no doubt that every one of those gray hairs had a story behind it, thanks to her rambunctious sons.  Like the story about how they tied a blanket to little sister Janice and threw her off the porch roof to see if blankets worked as parachutes.  Or the time brother Walter smuggled home a horse and hid it in the garage, which then ran away down the Bear Mountain Extension with little brother Royce on its back.  Or the tales about the annual hockey sticks which went out to the pond each Christmas morning all new and shiny, and came home the same day in splinters.

As we grow older, we begin to realize that more of life lies behind us than ahead.  It is when we focus on memories that are laced with laughter that these sober realizations begin to lighten up.  The smiles tilt the corners of our mouths toward the heavens, and as our expressions lift, so do our spirits.

So, as you walk forth each day, strive to build laughter-laden memories.  The more we laugh at what is behind us, the more there will be to laugh about ahead.  The higher our spirits lift while we walk this earth, the farther they will soar when we leave it.

I know that my Dad soars high and far indeed … for he left a legacy of laughter.

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

Please visit the other RAOKA members and enjoy their thoughts on the theme of the month:

Sami at Life, Laughs & Lemmings
Lance at Jungle of Life
Dani at Positively Present
Lori at Jane Be Nimble
Zeenat at Positive Provocations

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]

Related posts:

1. RAOKA for May — Serenity
2. RAOKA for April: Family
3. RAOKA (Random Acts of Kick Arse), October

Judy's precious portrait of Dancer

Judith Simpson was one of the earth’s finest human beings.  She and I were friends for many years.  Lord, I think it must have been 1994 when we first met on the internet, became friends through Saluki-L, and began to share our common loves.  When word came through from our mutual good friend, Willie Towles, yesterday, that Judy had passed away, my heart just crumbled to pieces.

All evening last night, and all day today, emails and Facebook messages filtered through about Judy.  The number of people whose lives she so deeply touched is astounding.  As I read through them, it dawned on me, and it seems so unbelievable … Judy and I, for all our good times and shared laughter, never had the chance to meet in person.  I feel that I’ve lost a sister, and it is so strange to realize that she was a sister I never “met”.

In 1996, when my darling dog Jai, only four years old, passed away suddenly, Judy’s voice was one of the first I heard on the phone.  She brought me words of comfort, gave me a shoulder to cry on, and I have never ceased to thank her for that kindness.

Our long friendship actually began when we discovered that my boy Yoda, my first heart dog, was from old English bloodlines shared by her own Salukis.  Judy sent me reams of photos, pedigrees, articles, and we chatted back and forth, comparing notes, and deepening our united love of this wonderful breed.  After Jai passed, Judy was instrumental in information gathering for “S.I.G.H.” (Salukis In Good Health), a short lived but influential little organization that helped bring into the public eye a unified effort to explore health issues in the breed.  Judy’s strong support of Saluki Health Research never faltered from that moment on, and I, and Judy’s other friends and family, encourage those who wish to honor her memory to make a donation (see link at bottom) in her name.

Judy was many things to many people, and Salukis were often the center of whatever part of her world she was gracing.  She was a talented watercolor artist.  Many of her friends have prized portraits of their hounds, done up by Judy’s loving hand.  I am no exception to that blessing.  My portrait of WindDancer, who passed in 2007 at age “almost fourteen”, is one of my most treasured possessions.  I will never forget the day the painting arrived.  I set it upright in the living room and Dancer lay across the room on the sofa, staring at it, for hours.  She’d raise her ears, tilt her head back and forth, and just gaze in the most amazed and loving way at her painting.  I have no doubt at all that she knew it was a painting of herself.  (Dancer was also my Saluki who would put her paws on my bureau so she could admire herself in the mirror above it.  She was incredibly cute, who can blame her?)

Yesterday was my son’s birthday.  Devon turned twenty this year.  He told me, in the morning, that he’d had a dream about Dancer.  The connections, many of them, did not occur to me until after the news of Judy’s death arrived.  Dancer took ill in 2007 on Devon’s birthday (the 16th of March).  We made several emergency vet trips over the next several days, in an effort to get a raging and sudden infection under control, but we lost our little Dancie-Pants on the 21st.  Here we were again, on Devon’s birthday, Dancer came to him in dream, and the artist who so lovingly painted her portrait passed into the spirit world later that day.

Was Dancer letting us know she was there to help greet her Aunt Judy, along with so many other Saluki friends?

Judy had so many Saluki friends, both fur-covered and of the human variety.  She and I, along with our dear friends Lin and Mandy, have monitored the SalukiFriends email discussion group together for several years now, bringing us all even closer.  Her dedication to the breed is unsurpassed, and she mentored many new Saluki owners over the years.  The number of hounds out there who called her “Aunt Judy” is uncountable.

Judy was also a talented writer, published under several noms de plume, and a mentor to many aspiring authors.  She taught creative writing courses, and brought many new writers encouragement and wisdom.  In her role as writer and mentor, she had a dream, and worked hard to bring it to reality:  Lost Bard Books was due to open its doors officially very soon — my own mid-grade mystery novel, and a collection of short stories I wrote, were to be among the first books published by Lost Bard.

My heart is broken to pieces to think that Judy will not be here to see the realization of her wonderful dream.

At least, she will not be here in physical form.  I know, I pray, I hope, and I believe, that she will still see her dreams become reality.  Miss Judy, the Southern Belle with the charming accent and the heart of gold, will look on from a higher place, watching over all of us who strive toward that dream.

For Judy: my love, my prayers, and my wishes for a gentle journey into the spirit realm.  May your beloved Salukis gone-before, and your dear partner in life, Tally, be there to greet you with kisses and loving arms.  May your son, Tobby, and sweet Duke bring one another comfort.  And may your kind heart and gentle spirit inspire us all, always, to be better human beings.

For we are, indeed, better human beings just for having known you.

Sweet sleep, my friend.  Sweet sleep.

Related Links

• Lost Bard Books
• Saluki Health Research
• Willie’s dedication to Judy
• Lin’s dedication to Judy, including a beautiful watercolor of Miss Ellie

Related posts:

1. Dancer
2. Pascha
3. Happy Birthday, Pree

When something difficult or painful happens, Gayze, always look to see what it makes possible that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible.

Like a new adventure, a closer friendship, or chocolate in your peanut butter.

Everything makes you better,
The Universe

I was angry this morning. This post planned to be a vent, a warning to others, and a way to express the hurt, the anger, the upset I’ve been feeling since my father died on February 26th.

And then, just before I opened my browser to write the post, I checked my TUT Thought from the Universe for this morning, and found the above.  Once again the Universe found a way to smack me upside the head and tell me to think clearly.

The truth is, I really don’t feel like thinking clearly.  I want to cry, to whine, to complain — all of which, if you’ve read my blog for a while, really is not the focus of this website.  I do appreciate, though, the timely reminder (as so often happens) that there is always a silver lining, and that, even though I might not feel like looking for it today, it will eventually make itself evident.

The original name of this post was going to be “Leeches and Predators”.  It was going to be about heartless people who lurk behind rocks of deceit, waiting to pounce on and take advantage of families in their grief.  It was going to be about the Main Street lawyer who immediately hit us with a fee of “five percent of the total estate”, which would have nearly wiped out the small bank account my dad left behind, and would have eventually caused us to lose our home.  Said attorney then shrewdly wheedled it down, out of his kindness and generosity, of course, to “just” an hourly rate of “only” $250/hour.  It’s still going to take a big chunk, but we might have enough left to pay for Pop’s cremation, and cover his final bills, afterward, at least.

It was going to be about how a will, even when drawn up by an attorney … who, at the time of the writing, witnessing and signing, assured us that the will was worded in a special way so that on my father’s passing, the properties would immediately transfer to me, and we would not have to go through courts and probate … is a worthless piece of paper.  Suddenly, the lawyer insists he “never said that”, and the county courts are taking their cut, too.  But, you see, they don’t have time for us, because this is just an estate settlement, and they are booked up with criminal cases.  We still hang in limbo, can’t get access to accounts, can’t pick up Dad’s ashes, and haven’t even been able to really sit down and have a good cry.

And now, the sudden shift, as I am gently reminded that new doors will open.  I don’t know where they will appear, or what they will lead to, but I do know they’re out there.  I still want to have that good cry, to give myself time and permission to miss my father without having to worry about bureaucratic red tape and fighting to protect all that he worked so hard for all his life.  But, I’m going to keep my eyes open, too, for whatever this loss is going to make possible.

When my Mom died in 2006, I tearfully asked her to help me get through it.  Within a few days, people began asking me, “Have you seen The Secret yet?”  That question led to a world of discovery, a life-path of learning and adventure that even after three and a half years, I know I’ve barely begun to travel.

Now, a new road, a new leg of the journey.  Although he is gone from this world, I do still believe in the depths of my heart, that my father walks that path beside me.

Eventually, the leeches will have been left behind, and new doors will have opened that will allow me to keep my Dad’s dream alive.  This beautiful little plot of land on a mountainside, the culmination of decades of hard work in the subway tunnels of the South Bronx, is holy ground to me.  My heart’s desire is to keep it safe, to keep it sacred, and to make sure it is secured for my children, and my children’s children, and further generations beyond.

So, I’ll allow the tears to fall.  I’ll deal with the vultures and bureaucrats as they appear.  And I’ll keep my eyes pealed for that chunk of chocolate in the peanut butter.

PS: I would like to extend a heart-felt, thank-you to all the friends who have expressed their sympathies, and been there to support me through these painful days.  You are loved and deeply appreciated.

PPS: And the attorney’s office just called.  The court refuses to believe I’m the sole heir and the will is uncontested.  We need to find a second witness, other than family, to prove that my father wasn’t lying when the lawyer made out the will.  So, I’ll give that warning to all now … make sure your loved ones, your heirs, your beneficiaries’ names are on your accounts, on your property deeds, before you die.  There are Leeches and Predators out there just waiting to take everything away from them, to kill your dreams, and to wipe out all memory of you, when you die.

PPPS: Thank you, Scott, for saving the day.

No related posts.

If you go to dictionary.com, and look up the word “passion”, you will find, at the top of the listing:

pas·sion
/ˈpæʃən/ Show Spelled[pash-uhn] Show IPA
–noun
1. any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
2.strong amorous feeling or desire; love; ardor.
3. strong sexual desire; lust.
4. an instance or experience of strong love or sexual desire.
5. a person toward whom one feels strong love or sexual desire.
6. a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything: a passion for music.
7. the object of such a fondness or desire: Accuracy became a passion with him.
8. an outburst of strong emotion or feeling: He suddenly broke into a passion of bitter words.
9. violent anger.
10. the state of being acted upon or affected by something external, esp. something alien to one’s nature or one’s customary behavior (contrasted with action).
11. (often initial capital letter) Theology.
a. the sufferings of Christ on the cross or His sufferings subsequent to the Last Supper.
b. the narrative of Christ’s sufferings as recorded in the Gospels.
12. Archaic. the sufferings of a martyr.

Right now, the numbers most strongly resonating with me are numbers 1, 8 and 10.  In addition, though I’m ashamed to admit it, I have to confess to an inner seething toward 9 … though I know that will pass as the emotions settle and I start to find some new sense of normal.

My dad died Friday.

I am going through those Number Tens a lot right now.  I find myself confused, out of control.  Yesterday I stormed from a lawyer’s office, totally unable to stop myself, and by the time my husband found me I was almost a mile away, trying to walk home.  Home was four miles away, most of which is up a mountainside.  There were snow drifts on the sidewalk that I, with my limp and my gimp and my Saluki-head cane, was climbing over and around to try to stay on the narrow strip of sidewalk that had been partially cleared.  I didn’t know where I was going, or what I was doing, only that I was experiencing deep grief and violent anger over the knowledge that everyone and his brother are lurking, waiting to take advantage of people in their darkest hour.

Passion.

Though our RAOKA themes are supposed to help us be aware of and acknowledge the good things in life, and help us strive to live our lives to the utmost, for me, the end of February and first days of March have brought out the darker side of Passion.

Yesterday would have been my Mom’s 85th birthday.  She died in 2006.  Each year since, I’ve baked her favorite pineapple upside down cake and shared it, and her memory, with my Dad.

This year I limped alone, blinded by tears, down a snowy sidewalk in a dark-passion haze of grief.

And yet, the word Passion brings brief glimpses of sunshine as well, as I think of my father.  Underlying the current pain, there is a bright sparkle, a memory, images of him:

• With his golf clubs in hand, making sure he got out on the course, even after he’d aged to the point that all he could really do was ride around with his friends in the cart, and get out once in a while to smack a ball.
• Picking me up from school in the fifth grade in a brand new bright fire-engine red 1969 Chevy Malibu, a bright smile on his face and a gleam in his eye.  What a car that was!
• Talking about trains, his life’s work, with authority and knowledge.
• Gazing out over a field that had corn growing so high on it that you couldn’t see a foot in front of you, with a look of love and pride on his face, and telling me that this, once the corn was cut down, was going to be his retirement home.
• Standing in the driveway by his first motorcycle, a Honda Goldwing, something he’d worked all his life to own.

Yes, despite the heart-ache, the fear, the feelings of abandonment and grief, and the long, agonizing list of things I still have to do before I can really even sit down and allow myself a good long cry … there are glimpses of Bright Passion when I think of my dad that will, eventually, take preeminence in my heart.

Passion’s not always a good thing.

But it isn’t always bad, either.

Frank W. Stubbs, Jr. (Nov 21st, 1925 - Feb 26th, 2010)

On the first Wednesday of the month (or Thursday for you folks living on the other half of this world) we all post about what we’ve observed.

Please visit the other RAOKA members and enjoy their thoughts on the theme of the month:

Sami at Life, Laughs & Lemmings
Lance at Jungle of Life
Dani at Positively Present
Lori at Jane Be Nimble
Zeenat at Positive Provocations

[logo designed by Melissa at Operation Nice]

Related posts:

1. RAOKA for March: Laughter
2. RAOKA (Random Acts of Kick Arse), October
3. RAOKA for May — Serenity

Wikipedia says:

The Saint Valentine that appears in various martyrologies in connection with February 14 is described either as:

* A priest in Rome,
* A bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), or
* A martyr in the Roman province of Africa.

The Farmer’s Almanac newsletter states:

…a Christian bishop named Valentine was martyred on February 14 in A.D. 271

Yet the Wikipedia entry states that no “Valentine” appeared in the earliest list of Roman martyrs, which was compiled in A.D. 354.

In other words?  No one really knows for sure who St Valentine was.  And no one seems to be able to track exactly why Valentine’s Day became globally associated with sweethearts, courting, and gift-giving.

Though I say “globally”, Valentines traditions vary across the world.

In Japan and South Korea, only the boys receive gifts of chocolate on Valentine’s Day.  The girls have to wait their turn until White Day, which occurs on March 14th.  In the Republic of China, although White Day is also celebrated, the order is reversed … with the girls getting gifts in February and the boys in March.  Some countries celebrate February 14th as a day to honor love and friendship, others do not celebrate it at all.  In some regions, a “lovers day” is marked on a different day of the year.  In Slovenia, though February 14th is a special day, it is the day that farmers traditionally begin working in the fields.

In some areas of the world, Valentine’s Day has even been banned … due to religious and cultural conflict.

Although the stories of St Valentine, whoever he may have been, are ancient, many countries have only begun celebrating any version of Valentine’s Day proper in recent times.  For many, it’s simply a modern celebration of love, offering various ways to show appreciation for the people you care about.

The way I see it, however you view St Valentine’s Day, showing appreciation for your loved ones can’t be a bad thing.  Like many other holidays that had their roots in religious observation, Valentine’s Day has become more of a social celebration.  Although there may be some who still focus on the martyrdom of whichever St. Valentine they believe the day is based on, I think those people are probably few and far between.  For most of us, it’s a day to say “I Love You”.

So, to all my friends and family, to my darling children, my wonderful husband, my precious animal family and companions, and to all of you who have touched my life and made me smile….

Happy Valentine’s Day.

I love you!

No related posts.

RAOKA’s theme for January was GRATITUDE

Anyone who’s followed my various ramblings for any length of time will know that I was most pleased to see the theme for January.  Gratitude is a pet favorite topic of mine, and an attitude (I love that Attitude rhymes with Gratitude, I mean, how perfectly serendipitous is that?  Serendipity is one of my favorite words, too, and … Um, I digress….) I consciously strive to maintain.

Thus, when the theme was announced, I pasted on a big grin, and have been doing things all month to try to foster the Attitude of Gratitude in my own heart … and, in small ways, try to inspire it in others.

One thing I’ve been doing is including Gratitude as a central theme for my various tweets and Facebook status updates.  One of those updates led to responses that I really enjoyed from my Facebook friends … as well as what I’d like to make the primary focus of today’s post.

What is YOUR Pet Thankful For?

The Facebook update actually read: “We can learn so much about being thankful for the simple things from a dog. What is your dog thankful for?”

I had some great responses.  People’s dogs were thankful for their homes, long walks, carrots and beds, and of course … the humans who love them.

Although all of our pets express gratitude often, and I’m one of the lucky ones who has the privilege of frequently relaying their messages of thanks to their humans, dogs seem to have gratitude down to an art form.  I mean, what says “thanks” more clearly than the wag of a happy tail?  Dogs seem to appreciate the simple things in life in a way that can really teach we 100-mile-an-hour human beings, who are so often racing through life trying to get from point A to point B, to slow down.  Stop and smell the roses.  Or the rotting carcasses on the road side … I mean, you know, shifting the phrase to a dog’s perspective.

Urk.

Anyway.

Cats also express their thanks, though often in more subtle ways.  A purr, a roll in the sunshine, exposing a soft belly for a scratch, a head-butt on the chin; those are a cat’s little “thank yous”.  A dog, however, is pretty blatant when he says thank you … even those human beings who choose not to be “animal people” can’t help but understand the furiously wagging tail, the play bow, the happy bark, the mad dash around the yard that a dog uses to express his joy over simple pleasures.

Understanding Cat is more of a practiced art.  Dogs shout “Happy” in a fairly universal way.

Thus, even those readers who don’t currently have pets, or aren’t normally that observant of animal behavior … take some time out this week to watch a dog.  Even if it just means turning on Animal Planet for a dose of Dogs 101, do it. Watch with the past month’s theme of Gratitude in mind.  I guarantee you’ll learn something fun about “Thank you”.

And here, for your entertainment, is my OWN dog … thankful for satellite telly and imaginary friends to play with on a cold winter day!

====

And another thing I’m thankful for? That Sami asked me to join the core group of Rockin’ RAOKA’ns!  Thank you Sami, I’m honored!

Friends, please visit our other Kick-Arsin’ ROAKA core members!  Links to their blogs are below.  They’ll provide you with smiles that stick, and even more to be grateful for in your life.

========

• Lance from the Jungle of Life (http://www.jungleoflife.com/)
• Lori from Jane Be Nimble (http://www.janebenimble.com/)
• Dani from Positively Present (http://www.positivelypresent.com/)
• Zeenat from Positive Provocations (http://zeenatsyal.wordpress.com/)
• Sami from Life, Laughs & Lemmings (http://www.lifelaughsandlemmings.com/)

“Note: We’ve had a couple of core RAOKA members exit the group due to other commitments (thanks so much guys for being founding members) and as such, have 2 regular and enthusiastic contributors to this movement taking their place; [myself], and Zeenat from Positive Provocations.”

The Random Acts of Kick-Arse idea was developed by Sami, of Life, Laughs and Lemmings, to remind us all to watch for evidence of the Kick-Arse life all around us.  Each month, a new theme is selected, and on the first Wednesday of the month, we post our thoughts, and tell readers how the theme has appeared in our lives.  If you think you’d like to participate, visit Sami’s site via the link above.  On her own monthly RAOKA post, she’ll include a feature where you can link your own blog thoughts on the theme, so others may enjoy reading your words.

February Theme: Passion (as chosen by Dani, author of Positively Present )

Logo courtesy of Melissa from Operation NICE

Related posts:

1. RAOKA for April: Family
2. RAOKA for May — Serenity
3. RAOKA for December: Wacky

RAOKA, or Random Acts of Kick-Arse, is a fun concept created by Sami, of Life, Laughs and Lemmings. There are several main players in the game, but many of us have a good time playing along.  We’ve had the themes of Kindness and Beauty, and this last month’s topic was  … Wacky.

I had thought about posting pictures of Frosty. When my hubby lost his job in September, his co-workers gave him a going away present: the seven foot tall inflatable snowman that had decorated the front of the store during the holiday season for years.  We set Frosty up outside, and I had every intention of taking photos of him the following day.  That evening, however, we had a windstorm.  The winds knocked Frosty over, and his blower-motor busted.

Although I suppose pictures of a limp snowman might have been pretty wacky, the situation was just too sad to photograph.

So, instead, I’ll substitute my Starlings.  You’ve all met them before, and can listen to them talking away in a previous post.

Not long before Christmas, my Saluki dog, Kai, wanted to play.  I was out in the living room, and he kept going to his toybox in the bedroom.  I told him he should bring me his chicken (it’s a pretty wacky rubber chicken).  Instead, he came out with his used-to-be-stuffed purple dinosaur.  I told him to get the chicken again, and he returned once more with the dinosaur.  Finally, I asked Kai, “Are you telling me you want a new dinosaur for Christmas?”

Kai, smart dog, eh? (Can't find the pix of his chicken or dino, but this was wacky enough....

Stars the Starling yelled, “Diney-Saur!”

Now, this is a word they’d never said before (and haven’t since, for that matter).  So, I asked Stars, “Do YOU want a diney-saur for Christmas?” and he said, in that cute little squeaky-gravel Starling way, “Yeaahhhhhh.”

Meet the Starlings’ Christmas present:

They were afraid of them at first, but they’ve picked the little orange one up and thrown it on the floor (their idea of playing with toys) a few times since Christmas.  I guess they approve.

For more RAOKA fun, stop by the key players’ blogs and enjoy!

Lori from Jane Be Nimble
Dani from Positively Present
Melissa from Operation NICE
Brandi from Joy Rebel
Lance from The Jungle of Life

And of course the originator of RAOKA, Sami at Life, Laughs and Lemmings!

Related posts:

1. RAOKA (Random Acts of Kick Arse), October
2. RAOKA for May — Serenity
3. RAOKA for April: Family