Day 314 Rainbow in the Black

October 19, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

Those days when pain overshadows, thoughts are dark and heavy, and I am anxious, my eyes sink downward to my feet as I walk. What I see reflects what I feel. The sand is mixed with black from oil spilling into the Bay, washed-up empty Natty Boh cans litter the beach and flies feast on a half-eaten dead fish with unseeing eyes aimed toward the sky. Waves suddenly pick up their intensity as a huge container ship way out toward the horizon creates a wake that thrashes the shore and tosses all the ugliness at my feet. I move backward to avoid soaking my shoes. 

Then I notice something that does not fit in with the black and the scavengers and the turmoil. I stoop over and look more closely. In the middle of the shore’s blemishes are three shells shining with their unique pastel rainbows. One side is scarred imperfect black like the dirt on the beach but the other side—a tiny spot of beauty—points up at me and beckons my eyes. In my mind, this beauty negates all the other things I see and feel. I focus on the smooth purples and pinks and blues. Did I just hear myself thank these tiny shells for the emotional harmony they offer? Why not.

Usually I look up to see rainbows. Today I looked down and found rainbows.

My gift today is a tiny pastel shell.

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> Day 315: My Husband's Prom Date

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 313 Girls’ Nights Out

October 18, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

Today my sisters and I left West Virginia to drive home to our families. This weekend, a girls' two-nights-out, we spent more time together than we have in the past.  We did some sightseeing, shopped, watched movies and ate together. My sisters asked me if the weekend turned out the way I expected it would. The answer is simple because my expectation was for us to spend time together. We did. 

We had a chance to talk with one another—about family, religion, feelings, and the past. They reminded me that I was a rebellious teenager. I have always joked with my sisters that, as the oldest, I went to the trouble of breaking rule barriers, which they didn’t take advantage of. 

We also talked about the present, attitudes, defining moments, the challenges of raising children today and how aging is affecting us personally. We are blessed that we came from a stable home with parents who loved their children and each other and did not show favoritism. Jealousy has not been part of our feelings for one another. We have never argued over things our relatives have left in their estates and are more concerned with people than with things. We are much alike in showing empathy and a basic desire to be considerate and helpful, but we are different in how we deal with uncertainty and what others might think of us. Among the three of us, I probably am most comfortable with uncertainty.  Because I take chances and tend to live inside questions, I am always on a journey.

My gift today is a triad of sisterly love.

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> Day 314: Rainbow in the Black

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 273 Refreshing the Heart

September 8, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

Each purple bloom is smaller than a dime.

It is so easy to miss little things—like a subtle smile or tiny orchid-like weed blooms mixed in with my azaleas. Although I wasn’t looking for them, I noticed tiny purple blooms each smaller than a dime. The azaleas bloomed long ago and will not bloom again until spring of 2016. Perhaps this is a good time for purple blooming because, otherwise, they would have been missed in the vibrant azalea bushes. 

If I had not taken time out just to walk about and observe, I would have missed this beautiful weed. Sometimes, caught up in quick days, I forget to slow down and look just for the sake of what I might see. Today I was rewarded and most days when I do this, I see new things. Years ago, when youngest daughter Lauren was about 2 ½, I was walking in the yard with her. At her age, everything was an adventure and everything was worth appreciating. At one point, she ran and picked up a knotted twig. “ET,” she exclaimed. Indeed the knotted section with the attached long neck really did look like ET. I certainly would have missed this. This yard walk with a child reminded me to explore like a child. 

I wonder how many small beauties I miss every day.

…in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” ~ Khalil Gibran

My gift today is tiny purple blooms.

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> Day 274: Nurse Calendars

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:

http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 51 - Connections

January 29, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day's gift.)

Once it fluttered

in gentle winds

green

whole and alive

connected to a system

rooted

Today it litters the

park path

brown

hunger-holes survive

connected by lacework

fragile

Now even after loss

it defies oblivion

transparent

with delicate beauty

connected to contradictions

The spaces and silences become the strength that connects.

Today’s gift is a fragile, lacy leaf.

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> DAY 52 TEDx Baltimore

You can read my other posts on this project here:

http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html