Morning Folks May 1, 2006 Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit

Every year, back comes Spring, with nasty little birds yapping their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants.- Dorothy Parker

The world's favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.- Edwin Way Teale

It was the month of May, the month when the foliage of herbs and trees is most freshly green, when buds ripened and blossoms appear in their fragrance and loveliness.

And the month when lovers, subject to the same force which reawakens the plants, feel their hearts open again, recall past trysts and past vows, and moments of tenderness, and yearn for a renewal of the magical awareness which is love.- Sir Thomas Malory, La Morte d'Arthur

'But I must gather knots of flowers,
And buds and garlands gay,
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother,
I'm to be Queen o' the May.'- Alfred Lord Tennyson

What is so sweet and dear
As a prosperous morn in May,
The confident prime of the day,
And the dauntless youth of the year,
When nothing that asks for bliss,
Asking aright, is denied,
And half of the world a bridegroom is,
And half of the world a bride?-
William Watson, Ode in May, 1880

Happy May!

Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit!

Love,

Suz

Morning Folks 04 24 06

Some of you are aware that in Massachusetts we have a state holiday called Patriot's Day to commemorate the battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775. Sudbury, the town from which I hail, sent the largest militia of all surrounding towns to the battle on April 19, 1775. Although Longfellow's Midnight Ride of Paul Revere tells the story of Paul sounding the alarm on the 18th, he didn't make it to Sudbury. But someone else did and off to the North Bridge a contingent of farmers and townsmen went.

Revolutionary War cemetery, Sudbury MA 01776

Perhaps interesting to you Postal Employees and history buffs, in the 60s or whenever zip codes came into being, a prominent citizen of Sudbury, Forrest Bradshaw (whose daughter married my uncle, making my cousins his grandchildren) launched a campaign to obtain a distinctive zip code for Sudbury. In direct competition with towns like Boston, Concord and Lexington, Forrest was successful in his mission and much to the dissappointment of Concord, Lexington and Boston, Sudbury Massachusetts' was given the zip code of 01776.

Town of Sudbury Flag

Today, members of the Sudbury Minute Company gather on the common in the wee hours of the morning every April 19th to reenact the march to Concord. Although some years ago the state changed Patriot's Day to the 3rd Monday in April, the Sudbury Minute Company will not yield to the tyrant and continues to hold their march to the North Bridge on April 19, no matter the day of the week.

Old North Bridge, Concord, MA 01742

The Bicentennial Celebrations in 1976 brought President Gerald Ford to the area. Sudbury's Militia Company was selected by the President and his Secret Service as Honor Guard. The Militia protected the President armed with only the traditional weapons: muskets, pitchforks and what ever other sharp objects or farming implements were at hand. Other area towns that participate in reenactments frequently wear matching uniforms. Sudbury's Minute Company is one of the few militia in the area who wear clothing that would have been worn by the farmers and townsmen from that time period. There was no 'army' and there were no uniforms. Just a bunch of menfolk from town who picked up what they had for weapons, wearing the clothes they wore every day and responded to a call, changing the world forever.

Minuteman statue Concord, MA

My friend George, a member of the Sudbury Minute Company, is married to my friend Melinda who works in the Town Hall with me. Last week on the 19th, George stopped by to let Melinda know that her man had survived the battle and was safe and sound. Of course I had to capture the moment for posterity.



Hope you enjoyed the history lesson. Have a revolutionary day!

Love,
Suz

Morning Folks 04 23 06

And you thought I forgot about y'all!

Actually, it has been 12 days since I posted my last entry. But, lots has gone on since then. I went to Chattanooga for 5 days over the Easter weekend. During that time we sent out invitations, ordered the flowers, met with the caterer, ordered the cake,

bought a cake-topper, got Ed his wedding shoes, made hairdresser appointments for various guests and bride,

reserved hotel rooms for out-of-towners, went to dinner with friends who are making the centerpieces,

and still had time to plant a garden with Ed and his grandchildren.

And on Sunday we went to two different Easter services, one at Ed's church where we will be married and one at the UCC church in Chattanooga.

Then we had a nice Easter Celebration with Ed's family and I caught a 6 AM flight home the next morning.

Thank goodness Ed and his son are taking over the planning and execution of this whole wedding. It is pretty hard to get all of these things done being so far away. And I keep thinking of little details that we forget like tablecloths and a cake server. This wedding is only for 35 guests. Can you imagine if it was a big do?

Of course the day before I left I came down with a horrible cold, probably from the plane. So this week I have been feeling a little peeked.

But, under the weather or not, this past week at home I was able to find my wedding shoes and that was major!

Yesterday, I hosted a small Mary Kay party, had lunch with Kathy, saw a movie and I shopped for wedding foundation garments.

Who knew that would be such a pain?

And later today I will head to Franklin to have brunch with friends and relax a little more.

Sometimes I am just amazed at what I can accomplish when I want to. Of course my housework has been on hold forever and I haven't begun to pack or weed things out in preparation for selling. But if I start thinking about that right now, I will blow a gasket!

I keep reminding myself that I need to relax in the midst of stress and I think I am managing to do that. I am starting to relax about the wedding because so much has been accomplished and so much has been taken off my shoulders, thanks to Ed and John and other helpful friends.

And here I am on a Sunday morning sitting at my computer in my robe and wedding shoes,(I have to break them in, after all) sipping a steamy cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee from a favorite mug, just breathing deep and doing what I do to de-stress: write to you.

Anything fun or interesting or challenging in your lives lately? Post your comments and share with the rest of the Morning Folks crowd. I know I am not the only one who loves to read your comments and hear from you all. I like the way it connects people who have never met. And after all, it gets kind of boring hearing just one person's rantings.

Well, I need a refill. Have a wonderful day and I will check in again soon when I need to de-stress.

Love,
Suz

Morning Folks 4/11/06 Opening Day Fenway!

For All you Red Sox Fans-

It's Opening Day at Fenway! Some people think it is a holiday. People stay home from work and skip school. They line up in the wee hours for tickets and never lose faith that there might be one left. That heart that goes along with being a Sox fan is distinctly Boston.

Go Sox!



If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base. ~Dave Barry

Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer. ~Ted Williams


A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz. ~Humphrey Bogart

A good cigar is like a beautiful chick with a great body who also knows the American League box scores. ~M*A*S*H, Klinger, "Bug-Out," 1976

I'm convinced that every boy, in his heart, would rather steal second base than an automobile. ~Tom Clark

PLAY BALL!


Love,
Suz

Morning Folks 04 07 06

Ed's brother, Bob, sent this to link to me today.

http://www.goodolddogs.com/older.html

I probably should have only sent this on to people who I think will appreciate it, people about my age. And although it was supposed to be just comical, I just couldn't take my eyes off the picture and the message. (You probably won't want to open this picture at work, by the way. It isn't in bad taste or anything, but there is nudity.)

So, go to this link, copy and paste in your browser, then come back here. The song is funny, so turn up your speakers.

The caption on the picture: "The older we get the less concerned we are with appearances." I want to know how much older do I have to get before this happens?! Are you already there? Probably more men are than women.

Do we ever see 'nudity' that isn't a perfect airbrushed body? Probably not unless you are a member of a gym and spend time in a locker room. In fact I remember first thinking that maybe I wasn't that different from other women only a couple of years ago after having gone to Ed's gym one day and seen a very immodest woman in the locker room. We are all different shapes and ages and we should be accepting of that. But, when do most of us have a chance to see our peers naked? And if we never see that, how can we know what is "normal"? How can we accept who we are and how we look?

I started to realize then how shielded I have been from reality. It is amazing the influence that the media has on us in defining standards. Recently more movies, TV shows and commercials are including people with rounder, saggier shapes and even some with lined faces. And they aren't the comic relief all the time anymore either. No wonder so many women have body image issues. We never see the real people naked!

So, yesterday this blog was about my son turning 30 and that means I can no longer pretend to be 35. So, today's little link from Bob, for me, is a reality check that might just lead to self-acceptance. Bob is probably thinking, "Suzanne, lighten up! It was supposed to be funny!" And he would be right.

The link was really funny but it also had a great message. Don't worry, I am not advocating getting naked, just getting real. Thanks, Bob!

Have a great day.
Love, Suz

Morning Folks Happy Birthday Doug

For some reason I woke up in the wee hours of the morning today and was wide awake. So I went on the computer to pay some bills, read e-mail, maybe do my blog. I looked at the screen and it said 3:08 AM and it was April 6. Thirty years ago, to the minute I know where I was. Doug came into the world at that moment and changed my life forever, opening up my heart and my universe like nothing else could.


Grampy took this picture. He was taking a photography class that year. I am sure Doug was hungry. I was still learning his language at that time. He was brand new.

Corina and Gabe helped Doug celebrate his first Easter. They just loved their new cousin. Finally, someone littler than they were.

At 6 weeks he smiled all the time. I think I had learned his language by then.

First Christmas with Mom and Aunt Becky. He was the cutest little baby. He still is! Becky gave him his special Xmas PJs that year.


Partying on New Year's Eve with Mom. Bill is on the way.

A few years later and Angie arrived. Bill and Doug were like big brothers, rather than cousins. She never knew what hit her! (Mom liked their hair long at the time. It was the 70s.)

Brothers. Still pals today. I just loved to watch them together.

Finally had a hair cut from a barber by this time. This was probably 4th grade. Maybe 3rd. Braces came shortly thereafter.


And then, poof! And suddenly he is 30.

Where did the years go? I just don't know. But I have loved every moment of Doug's journey so far, from infancy, through childhood and on into his adulthood, good times and bad. Sometimes, especially when he was little, I was right there with him on his journey. Other times I was just an observer, allowing him to take over and navigate his own path while I watched in amazement as he overcame some of his life's more difficult challenges. He is a survivor with a strong spirit. His sense of humor and quick wit, his perseverence, his loyalty to his friends and most of all his heart make me feel so proud to be his mother. I can't wait to see the rest of his journey unfold, and it will be my joy to witness.

Happy Birthday, Doug.
I love you.
Mom