Friday, February 25, 2011

A Lazy Day...what better way to spend a day!

     As I sit here on my bed doing absolutely NOTHING except wait for the next text or post on Facebook....I wonder, is this really a good use of a day?  Lord knows that we only have a few days on this Earth, should we just "waste" it?  I say HELL YES!  These are days for decompressing, days for reconnecting, and days for doing what we have put off enjoying for far too long! 
    
     In my case, I have been DYING to watch movies lately and just haven't found the time.  This has been a day of nothing BUT movies!  Watching those classics that I was drawn to as a child and rediscovering them with childlike wonder.  Ralph Macchio in the "Karate Kid"...I was going to marry him ya know!  Michael J. Fox...what an absolutely gifted man!  Watching him in both "Family Ties" and "Back to the Future" brought back those memories.   Then, there is "Casablanca"...ah, we'll always have Casablanca!  The romance, the adventure, and the just plain beauty of that film is exactly why it is beyond price!

    I am again wondering, was this a productive use of the day?  When your battery is recharged, when you are glowing with sheer delight....that is NEVER a waste of the precious time we all share here.  So....go ahead, have a day when you just stay in bed, skip the shower, and just DO what makes YOU happy.  You will be a better person for it :0)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Spring Training....a Renewal of Hope :0)


     Ah....the fever is about to strike me!  It is that wondrous time of the year when any Red Sox fan feels that unbelievable serge of HOPE!  We can dream that our beloved team will make their special brand of magic occur right there on Yawkey Way.  It is almost a religious experience for me.  Very therapeutic.  All seems right with the world when I have my favorite team, my favorite cat, my favorite t-shirt, and my favorite seat in the house all ready to partake in the perfect game!  Yes, I am NOT that stupid, I realize there was quite a slump there...if 86 years can still be considered a "slump".  How can you maintain "hope", you ask, if your team always seems to lose?  It is the same reason that Christmas is magical even after you stop believing in Santa---it doesn't happen everyday, it brings people together, and you are always sad when it is over for another year.

     My love of "America's Passtime" started when I went to my first Eugene Emerald's game.  My parents brought their girls to the park for some together time and to enjoy the wonderful summer weather outside.  I was immediately hooked!  I couldn't possibly imagine any place better to be!  You could eat hot dogs, peanuts (and throw the shells on the ground at that!), and see the San Diego Chicken.  Ah....it was pure heaven!   It was the first sport that I learned to love while learning the intricacies of the game at my dad's side. 

     The Red Sox would come later....much later.  My family moved to Maine in 1988 and almost immediately I saw more Sox shirts, hats, etc. than I could shake a stick at!  I had always just followed minor league teams, so this was definitely NEW to me.  I began to follow the team just to have something to talk about with some of my friends----then (to quote the movie "Fever Pitch") I became one of the world's most pathetic creatures...yep, a Red Sox fan.  My 8th grade class went to Fenway...the Mecca of the baseball world, no matter WHAT team you root for.  Yaz, Williams, Pesky---legends and they had all been at THIS park!  I was absolutely hooked!

   I think it was absolutely out of control by 2003.  When Aaron-freakin'-Boone sent that homer over the wall and sent the Skankees  (oops, I mean Yankees) to the ALCS.  I could always imagine that it felt like that day when Buckner let the ball go between his legs----argh!  But there was always HOPE.  Hope that another game would send the Yankees home, or at the very least---they wouldn't make it to the Fall Classic.  There was always HOPE that next year Theo would make some magical trade that would make our team UNSTOPPABLE!
    
     It happened.  October 2004.  I have more historical dates than you can imagine running through my head, but October 28th, 2004 was absolutely cemented there.  2 outs, 2 on base, and we were ahead.  Foulke nabbed the batters best attempt, which was practically sent straight to his hands.  It was over.   The Cardinals broke that infamous curse.  They gave Sox fans everywhere more reason than ever to HOPE.  We had remained true to our love, we had showed our support, and we were given the ultimate reward. 

     All of this brings me back to hope.  Spring training and my favorite team bring me hope.  Hope of warm summer days, hope of spending time watching a game I love, hope of being with my family and spending that quality time that you just can buy!  So to all those teams that I have supported---thank you so much for the hope and wonderful memories you have helped make possible....oh, and GO SOX!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Paying attention to the "Footprints" in the sand...

     To say this week has been a little trying would be an understatement!  We lost our beloved family dog after her suffering a stroke,  my poor kitty still isn't feel "right", and then there is my job.  Do NOT get me wrong, I LOVE what I do---but the very nature of being a teacher is stressful (those in the profession can back me on that!).  It was in the middle of all of this that I saw something.  Something that would give me just what I needed when I needed it!   A key chain.  Yep, a key chain.  This particular key chain is in the shape of a footprint and contained the poem of the same name.  *I think that most of us have at least heard of it :0)

     I immediately realized that I had become so consumed by what was going on, that I literally was only focusing on the fact that there was only one set of footprints -not realizing that I was getting a "lift", so to speak, by a source much more powerful than myself.  The words of sympathy and support from friends, family, and some of the most beautiful condolences from my students--these were all examples of me getting helping hand.  These were His way of trying to show me that I was not alone---He was there right beside me.  This finally really hit home for me today.  I really hadn't had a chance to rest lately, then right on cue, we had an unscheduled day off.  In the middle of sitting there with my favorite furry friend and watching a movie, I realized that this was yet another "lift".  I was getting the therapy of time, rest, and attention from a little girly girl I totally adore. 

          The Lord replied,
"The times when you have seen
only one set of footprints, is when
I carried you."