Irish Heritage

This past weekend we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. I sure hope it was a good day for you. I wore green, did you?

A fair percentage of my heritage is Irish, and I incorporate that heritage into my storytelling. As with many of us, I was not raised specifically in the heritage of my ancestors, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t come from history. It is up to me to learn about those who came before me. I am a storyteller; that is my profession, and as such, I am intrigued by the stories that were told in the countries of my ancestors. I’ve learned a lot of Celtic stories and I include them in my performances. I do not try to speak with the accents of the native lands and I am sure I would not give them justice. I speak with my own tongue, the one that belongs to me. However, passing on the ancient stories of my ancestral lands is important to me. It helps me to know myself and understand the traits I have.

I have a dream to one day go to Ireland. Oh my, I want to see that land with my own eyes. For now, I have the stories; I read them, remember them and carry them in the pocket of my mind… and I desire to share them.

What stories do you have in your mind's pocket? Share them with someone.

People Watching at Panera

I've come to Panera Bread to work. As I sit here drinking my tea and eating my cranberry walnut bagel, I am looking at the people around me. One woman sits with her phone in hand as she eats her spaghetti with vegetables and I think, “That must be a new dish here. I don't remember seeing noodles and vegetables on the menu.”

Another woman eats a salad while she reads a book. The cover reads Percy Jackson; I'll have to look that up later. In the far back corner, two women are having lunch together; one has brought in a medium-size clear plastic tote that is half full with papers, along with a tote bag that appears to be heavy with books. Both of the women have a note pad in front of them that they ignore as they eat. In this part of the restaurant, there are only women. But wait — now there is an elderly couple coming into the area. The woman is dressed in all black, including her purse, and carries a blue cane. The man leaves to get beverages and napkins. When he comes back, he spills a little bit of milky coffee. Two bagels are brought to them. They must be on an afternoon date.

A third woman comes in walking quickly and joins the two women with notebooks in the corner. Their body language indicates that they have met before but not developed a friendship. Oh, there it goes: the woman with the tote is giving a presentation to the two other women. The elderly couple eats in silence. At the counter, a mother orders her food while her young daughter, who looks to be about 2 ½ years old, lies on the floor with a kid-protected electronic tablet. The little girl doesn’t want to get up. The mother picks her up.

This has become a great people watching day. They all have stories, and today they all became part of mine.

Hmmm, I wonder if anyone is watching me?

Laugh about what you don't like!

I have been doing a residency every Thursday for three weeks at a local school. It is one that I love to do. The students are making origami books, and in it they write a bit of an autobiography. I give the students prompts to spark their ideas and help make good use of their time. One of the things I asked them to include in their narrative is something that they don’t like. Many of those pages just made me laugh: “ I don’t like how my father’s feet smell.” “I don’t like elevators.” “I really don’t like wearing socks.”

I got to thinking — what if we all just laughed about the things we don’t like? It might not make those things more appealing, but a good belly laugh is really good for your health. It relaxes you, reduces stress hormones, helps you to connect with other people, burns calories, and makes you feel good. So, next time you are faced with something you don’t like, laugh instead… you might live longer, which means you can spend more time on the things you do like!

This song from Mary Poppins always makes me laugh: 

If you would like to learn even more about laughter, follow the links below!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Stress Relief from Laughter? It’s no joke

Dancing with the Stars LIVE

A week before Christmas our youngest daughter, Carmen, called and asked what my husband, Steven, and I would be doing for New Year Eve. I asked her what was up and she said she was trying to get her plans together for the night. It set me back that she was interested in spending that evening with us. When we had our family Christmas together, Carmen handed Steven and I an envelope and inside were tickets to go see Dancing With the Stars Live on New Year’s Eve. It was such a lovely surprise.

As Steven and I watched the dancers coming on and off the stage with different costumes, different music, and set images I took note of the stories that were being told. Some were dramatic, some a little silly, others romantic. The ease and flow between transitions were striking to me and before we knew it 2 hours had gone by and the dancers were taking their final bow.

To me, the night was lovely and so joyful. I got a little dressed up and was able to sit back and enjoy the date hand in hand with Steven. To appreciate the love and generous hearts of our children, and to be thankful for the artists of the world. I took a few pictures, they might not be perfect, but they hold a memory for me.

The Journal Dilemma

I have an end of the year ritual that usually happens every December 31. I must select a new journal for the coming year. It is a dilemma! I have several empty ones on my shelf right now. I have some that I love, and I have others that I like. It may not sound like a big deal, but I will have a relationship with this book for the year. It will meet me every night when I go to bed, and it will travel with me wherever I go. This book will hold my thoughts, my wishes, as well as my hurts and disappointments. It will be my companion. My new journal needs to feel good in my hands, and it needs to be beautiful; worthy of the secrets I will tell it.

Here are some of my choices. My daughter and her husband gave me two new journals for Christmas, and they are lovely books. They both have sweet sayings on the cover. One says “Brilliant ideas,” and the other says “Leave a little kindness wherever you go.” Perhaps one of these would be my secret keeper for the year. Another one from my shelf is black leather with a tree carved into the cover. I have great admiration for trees and leaves (that’s another blog for another day), maybe this should be it. Then yet another, light brown leather with a Celtic tree of life on the front and Celtic knots surrounding the border. It has the rustic paper with no lines on the inside; this would be sweet to write in with fountain pens. Another lovely journal to consider is one that is a deep purple color with lovely delicate flowers. I love to garden and plant flowers. There is another that a friend gave me. It says, “A gardener’s journal” on the cover and it has a vintage look and appeal about it. This takes much pondering because I genuinely love them all.

As I write this, it is December 31, 2018, and I have made my decision … but I will very likely change my mind come the evening of January 1, 2019. I’ll let you know what I decide. In the meantime here are pictures of them. Do you have a favorite?