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.

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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

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

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

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!

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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.

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• 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

RAOKA’s monthly theme for November was Beauty.  I didn’t think it would be as difficult as it was to spread beauty, but it turned out that I didn’t really have a lot of opportunity to do so.

I sent a couple of hand-made e-cards, using my photos, to various friends who sounded like they could use cheering up.  I knitted a pretty burgundy scarf for my daughter, using a color that I absolutely am in love with.  (That burgundy is destined to become a pair of socks very soon, in fact).  But really?  That was about it!

I’m still somewhat handicapped, and unable to get out and about much on my own.  So, I guess I don’t feel that my giving of beauty is a great success.

However, receiving beauty … that is always all around me.

My new friend Sami in Australia sent me a bouquet of cyber-flowers recently, which thoroughly touched my heart.  I sat and watched the snow falling not long ago, mesmerized as I watched the little individual flakes that landed on the miniature spruce outside our bedroom window.  The huge moon the other night, though obscured at home by cloud cover, was shared with me by many friends who managed to get photos in a clear night sky.  My own personal newest obsession, knitting, has led me to appreciate the subtle pleasure of colors and patterns that go along with the hobby.

They say that Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.  The key to that is to make sure one’s eyes are open.  Remain aware as you walk through your day, and the wonder of Beauty will be set before you in often surprising ways.

We live in a varied and wondrous universe.  Behold.

Related posts:

1. RAOKA (Random Acts of Kick Arse), October
2. RAOKA for December: Wacky
3. Knit-Wit

October was also the Month of Kindness for those good bloggers participating in RAOKA.  I hope my site visitors have also been visiting the websites listed in that post, and following the adventures of gentle souls as they touch the lives of people around them.

I’ve been blessed by various opportunities to help others this month, for which I’m most grateful.  However, when it comes right down to it … I feel funny typing out the details!  Yeah, I guess that’s silly.  So, instead I’ll say thank you to:

• The lovely people who gave me the chance to see them smile at the psychic fair
• The several friends whose computers came “this close” to making them tear their hair out
• The folks whose pets needed to relay a clearer message to them
• My hubby … I so hope he continues to enjoy that old computer with new life breathed into it
• My Dad … well, simply because he’s my Dad.  You can’t get any better than that, can you?

Not only have I been “blessed to bless” in the past month, I’ve been even more aware than ever of those people who are offering exceptional kindness to me.

• Thank you to my “local partner in crime” who, even when I’m at my lowest, will manage to say something to make me feel wanted and help me bounce back.
• Thank you to my “long distance partner in crime”, who has the best shoulders for crying on any friend could ever ask for.
• Thank you to those clients who, even when I didn’t quite feel like I was being as helpful as I wanted to be, would always let me know that they appreciated the help.
• Thank you to my own animal companions … no matter what sort of turns life may take, they are always there with nose-kisses, or purrs, or delightful little “who’s-a-pretty-birds” to make me smile.
• And thank you to all of YOU, just for being here and reading along with me.  I would love to hear about your own “Random Acts of Kick Arse” from October.  What special act of kindness were you blessed to give … or did you receive … that made you smile?

Don’t forget to check out the RAOKA blogs below!

UPDATE: November 4th, 2009

Sami’s home!  Sami, over at Life, Laughs and Lemmings, has been in Hawaii for a while, but has returned home to Australia.  She’s posted her own awesome RAOKA update!  Check it out!

She’s also announced that the November theme will be Beauty.  It’s going to be interesting finding out ways to spread Beauty this coming month.  I look forward the the opportunities!

RAOKA updates from our friends across the blogworld:

• Sami: Life, Laughs and Lemmings
• Lori: Jane Be Nimble
• Brandi: Joy Rebellion
• Dani: Positively Present
• Lance: Jungle of Life

Sites of Interest:

• Lori’s RAOKA introduction at Jane-Be-Nimble
• Sami’s RAOKA introduction at Life, Laughs and Lemmings
• Lance’s Jungle of Life
• Melissa’s Operation Nice
• Dani’s Positively Present
• Brandi’s Joy Rebellion
  

Previous Post on this topic:

RAOKA’n Robins, Er, Starlings

Related posts:

1. RAOKA for May — Serenity
2. RAOKA for December: Wacky
3. RAOKA for March: Laughter

Well, yours truly is privileged to be one of those guest posters!

Take a peek at “What’s The Worst Thing That Could Happen”, and stick around to read more of Sami’s thoughts, and those of her other guest posters, while you there!

Related posts:

1. RAOKA (Random Acts of Kick Arse), October
2. RAOKA for December: Wacky
3. RAOKA for January: Gratitude

Neewwwwp.  I spelled, or initialed, anyway, it right.  RAOKA.  It stands for:

Random Acts of Kick-Arse

Sami, a super blogger over at Life, Laughs and Lemmings (I kid you not), came up with this great idea, you see.  She’s setting up a network of other bloggers who will perform Random Acts of Kick-Arse, which essentially means doing nice things for others as a part of living the life of one’s dreams.  I’m seriously considering joining the team, but at the very least, I’ll be following everyone’s antics and doing the cheer-leader thing.

But, although I want everyone to click the link above, the links below, subscribe to the feeds of these bloggers, and follow along as the love is spread around the world, that’s not really what this post is about.  Well, it is, but it’s not.  Well… um….  You’ll see.

The Robins, er, Starlings part

Everyone who’s read this blog for the past year, by now, has become sick of hearing about stuff like pyoderma gangrenosum and wheelchairs and … stuff.  (Okay, I’m not exactly grammatically in-tune this morning, sorry.)  On reading between the lines, everyone’s probably also surmised that I don’t always jump out of bed miss Suzie Sunshine every morning.  I wake up hurting quite frequently, and even though I’m doing morning pages and my joy-journal every day, religiously, before I get out of bed, I still often roll out to face the day with pain in my back pocket.  I try to hold back the frustration, but it’s sometimes hard.

However, once I get out into the kitchen to take care of my pets’ morning needs, everything changes.  I find myself smiling, whistling and singing despite myself.  You see, I have two little pals out there who make sure I start every day with laughter.

Their names are Stars and Stripes.

Our Starlings, Stars and Stripes, as young juveniles

I am, though for obvious reasons I haven’t been very active in the task this year, a wildlife rehabilitator.  Last year, long before the sheep hit the fan, on July 4th, these two tiny baby starlings (though we weren’t sure of their species at the time, it took some extensive internet searching to make that definite) were brought in to the center I volunteer with (NY Wildlife Rescue Center).  I brought them home, fed them every twenty minutes all day every day, and as they were right at the prime age for impressing upon their caretaker … I became a parent.

Although Stars and Stripes recovered from their injuries, they grew completely human-dependent, and could not be released.  Fortunately, in most states in the U.S. (though not all, check your regulations before even thinking about such things), it’s legal to keep a starling in captivity.  These are not native birds, but imports from the U.K., which have spread in great masses across the Americas, and are now considered (gasp) pests.

I have come to realize that there is no cooler bird on earth.

My little ones, who refer to themselves as the “babies”, perform Random Acts of Kick-Arse for me all day long, and start my day out with a barrage of:

Who’s a pretty bird? Who’s a pretty baby? Here, kitty kitty kitty! Come here!  Who’s here?  Who’s a bird, is he pretty? Yeahhhhh.

And on and on and on….  And no, it’s not me talking to the birds that I’m quoting … well, I do ANSWER them when they talk to me.  Starlings Speak.

Yes, English (or whatever human language their … flock … speaks).

Starlings are known in their native countries as “The Poor Man’s Mynah”, for a very good reason.  These birds are phenomenal mimics (and ventriloquists, they fool me every time with their voice-thrown blue jay imitation.  I’ll run to the window to see the blue jays at the feeder only to realize that the stars have snagged me again.)

Stars and Stripes don’t just mimic … they so often seem to understand what they’re saying, and respond appropriately, that it’s uncanny.  They will floor us with full sentences that they’ve never said before.  Sometimes they’ll pick those phrases up as part of their permanent vocabulary, other times they say it once and we don’t hear it again.

For example, not long ago one of them asked their typical, “Who’s a pretty bird?” and when I replied, “My babies are pretty birds,” he asked, “Do you love us?”

I’ve been waiting to hear that one again, and encouraging it, but to date, it was a one-hit-wonder.

The other day, my son was helping feed beasties in the afternoon, and he let the dog in after his constitutional.  Kai trotted past the cage, and one of the starlings asked, “Who’s here?” Devon answered, “It’s the puppy,” and the bird asked, “Can I see him?”

And yes, Devon brought the dog to the cage for the birds, who hopped down to Kai’s level and greeted him nose to nose.  (They also do this with the cat.  Another good reason they’re unreleasable. ::cough::)

My little RAOKA’n Starlings.  They bring me joy, they brighten my days, they give me reasons to laugh even when I’m in a rather un-laughing kind of mood.  I truly believe that Stars and Stripes were brought into my life to make sure I survived the past year.

Not only have I survived, in a large part thanks to them … I’ve thrived.

It’s amazing what we can learn from our animal friends.  Two funny little birds, giving back so much more than they were given, and never giving their joy a second thought.

And yeah.  I think I will sign up with the RAOKA team, if the roster isn’t already full!

[Footnote: Sadly, though "pests" in the States, in their native United Kingdom, starlings, along with english sparrows, are now so endangered that they have been put on the "red list" of endangered species.  Look kindly toward these little "pests" next time you see them ... we may be their last stronghold!]

Sites of Interest:

• Lori’s RAOKA introduction at Jane-Be-Nimble
• Sami’s RAOKA introduction at Life, Laughs and Lemmings
• Lance’s Jungle of Life
• Melissa’s Operation Nice
• Dani’s Positively Present
• Brandi’s Joy Rebellion

Related Posts:

• Joy-Journal by Velma Gallant
• The Artist’s Way

Related posts:

1. RAOKA (Random Acts of Kick Arse), October
2. My Starlings Talking
3. RAOKA for December: Wacky