Coming SOON.

Perhaps a book review or two. See side panel for books I am currently reading.

It was a Thursday on the fourth day of February

(17 years ago)

{picture coming later}

There is so much going on in my heart, my mind and my life that I basically avoid writing here on this blog. I do my best to be purposeful and thoughtful. In fact, earlier this morning I knew exactly what I was going to write about and it was going to take time and well, I don't have a lot of time this morning and my favorite time to write is in the morning. So, I decided I will be even more vulnerable than I already feel and exercise the act of writing. Consider yourself warned close the window of the browser if you wish to stop reading.

Today is my youngest child's seventeenth birthday. Yes Michael is 1 7 and is growing into quite a young man (I don't mean that in the way my father used that with my brothers when they were 7 and 5.) I mean he is a young adult. I am stingy with praise and I appreciate hard work. Michael is a deep thinker, a philosopher and wishes to pursue the truth. Last May Michael and I started working together at my brother in law's store. I would work with Michael in any environment. He applies himself to whatever task he is given, submits to authority and exercises authority when it is given to him. Michael looks people in the eye, does his best to take care of his customers quickly and keep things orderly. Whether he is stocking the shelves, making the coffee or on the register, he shows care and concern for the people, for the store and for his uncle.

As much as Michael is methodical, he is also flexible. This young man has moved more times than years he has been alive. Although most of those moves have been in the last 7 years. Since, I have just gone a little random with that last paragraph. I will close. I love my son, Michael Mullaney. (deprived of a middle name, he has acquired many but that is for another blog post) I am proud of you Michael! Happy Birthday!!!

Names written on my heart

Alberta and Patricia (surnames withheld) are two names that were written on my heart during childhood. I hadn't seen either of them in years and with the 25th Reunion (that the 3 of us were not invited to but no offense taken....they probably couldn't handle the possibility of the 3 of us showing up together) I thought it would be great to see them again.

We met for lunch this past Wednesday, the day after the historic MA Senate Race and in our 2 hour plus meeting we managed to escape talking politics and religion. How do 3 thoughtful, caring American women manage that? I have thought about it and I have come up with some ideas and a conclusion.

The three of us are strong personalities and I think it would be safe to say that all of us are opinionated. Differing opinions were not on the menu. On my count, I had a thought or two cross my mind, after all I had bought 4 papers that morning and friends from across the country were inquiring about the Senate Race. It wasn't just local but national news. However, I wanted to just enjoy these dear friends, so I let the thoughts come and go. It wasn't even a restraint. My focus was on the two dear hearts that I had the honor of breaking bread with on this winter afternoon in the greater Boston area. I didn't want to break this circle of friendship. It was just the start of catching up. May I be so bold to say that each of us has grown in wisdom and each of us value one another more than our opinions and beliefs. Although, our opinions and beliefs matter to each of us and I was curious about what Patricia and Alberta think about all kinds of things, nobody brought up either subject.

As I have continued on this pilgrimage called life, I realize more and more how much people matter. These days I am more of a student than teacher for my children. These young adults place a high value on people. People matter. It is true. So, my conclusion is that we were conquered by something greater than ourselves, Love. Love conquers all and I was able to bask in it for the rest of the day.

There is something curious and wonderful about the people who etched their names on your heart when you are young. Some names fade away but others may only gather dust, it just takes one to make direct contact with the other for the name to become visible again. When the faces meet the hearts though now filled with more names burns bright with love for one another. I love you, Alberta. I love you, Patricia.

Pax Vobiscum,

CM

Originally drafted the morning of the 14th day of January 2010

(Today the sky is shades of pinks, grays and blues)

A NEW DAY

The birds, the earth, the trees, the mountains and the sea wait with expectation. We all see her coming those who arise before she arrives. She sends burst of colors oranges and grays today and the oranges have turned into soft purples with the dark gray covering clouds.

EXPECTATION

ANTICIPATION

NEEDS NO PREPARATION

OURS is to simply welcome the new day. The Dawn she is the one who is greeted or ignored or cursed. The One who set the Sun in the sky and gave the Earth its axel is the Giver of each new day. Do we arise to Praise Him? Do we arise to just meet our own agenda? Are we looking at the clock and thinking, there really are not enough hours in this day? Or do we look at The Clock and count it as the Master of the Day?

Purple turning pink with a brightness that shouts "She is coming! Be ready! Ready to be kissed and hugged. Awoken with the brilliance of a new day. Will you stand to greet her? Any moment now, she will burst forth over the horizon and mesmerize you as a restrained ball of fire, reminding you that you do not rule the day. The day is a gift to be received with gratitude and we are to make the most of it for Another.

Dawn still comes if you are in the midst of a personal tragedy, a natural disaster, a terrorist attack or anything that we may not wish to contend with. There is an opportunity to recover, restore, rise up. Meet this day! Go through with it! Greet it in spite of the pain, the work, and the heart ache.

Backing off the Edge but gaining ground on the road

For years I have said that I would rather drive in a blizzard than rain. That was until I was run off the road by a sander the day after Christmas. Taking in the elements is still something I relish. The wild is not just the weather. It is also the other drivers and road equipment. When you make it through the storm to yours destination the old feeling of "conquering the Nor'eastah" gives way to "gratitude for traveling mercies granted."

2010 = the continuation of lots of changes for our family. The one constant in life is change. However, some changes pack more of a punch than others. With determination, rolling with those punches is the key to coming out on top. Fighting the changes results in sure defeat and causes the greatest pain. There is always a degree of pain in change. As a somewhat demented teenager I had some favorite sayings. One from a movie, "Life is pain, pain is everything, you will learn."

I am still making my way to "Life is beautiful" - the snow covered branches of the bare trees is beautiful and can be dangerous. Perhaps I am coming into a balanced view of life. Life according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary states in its first 15 definitions for the noun:

1 a : the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body b : a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings c : an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction
2 a : the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual b : one or more aspects of the process of living <sex life of the frog>
3 : biography 1
4 : spiritual existence transcending physical death
5 a : the period from birth to death b : a specific phase of earthly existence c : the period from an event until death d : a sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of a convict's life
6 : a way or manner of living
7 : livelihood
8 : a vital or living being; specifically : person lives were lost in the disaster>
9 : an animating and shaping force or principle
10 : spirit, animation
11 : the form or pattern of something existing in reality
12 : the period of duration, usefulness, or popularity of something
13 : the period of existence (as of a subatomic particle) — compare half-life
14 : a property (as resilience or elasticity) of an inanimate substance or object resembling the animate quality of a living being

15 : living beings (as of a particular kind or environment)

I've italicized number 11 and embolden the word reality. So 2010 I will embrace all that life with dish out joy, sorrow, peace, pain, death, suffering, strength, challenges, success and struggle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mullaney Notes from the Journey (possibly coming soon)

The last Christmas letter I wrote and sent out in the regular US Post was in December of 2006 and I am not sure if I even sent it out. A whole lot has happened in the last 3 years and young adults have grown, our address has changed 6 times since then and I am considering writing one. If I do write one perhaps I will put an excerpt or 2 here on my blog.

New Template

for the New Year

2010

New post coming soon

The waning hours of 2009 are here.

My husband is working.

My oldest is singing and playing the piano...delighting me.

My youngest is here but I am not sure what he is up to, I don't want to interrupt Grace. My guess either on the computer communicating or he may be reading, thinking or writing.

My red girl is in the Midwest surrounded by more loved ones.

Of course, I am here at the kitchen table blogging on my MacBook.

The pilgrimage continues as we are living in our third residence of 2009 and into 2010 for the mean time.

Life is worth living.

Friends are worth keeping.

Family is worth loving.

Another year for the history book........until next year.

Read.

Laugh.

Love.

Remember.....and remind one another of who you are. A created one who is meant to love and be loved.

Blog = Web log or Online Journal

I don't write on this blog as often as I would like. In fact, it got me to thinking that my not writing here has possibly affected my not writing in a paper journal. Writing is really therapeutic for me. Journaling is something that I am really missing right now. It is usually VERY personal.

My children's generation could be called the "all access generation." Some think that any information that they want about anyone should be accessible to them. Mystery, secrets and personal information is being invaded by this portal that I write for now, the almighty internet. (small "a" and small "i" because I am one of those people who believes that GOD is The Almighty One) There is stocking on Facebook and googling your neighbor or co-worker. Anything I write or post here in cyberspace is in today's public square.

Perhaps I am afraid that my paper journal might end up in the wrong hands and fed to said portal. Sounds paranoid but not far fetched, not in the 21st century USofA. With all this access, my freedom of expression doesn't seem so free or at least, I am not feeling free to express myself. On the other hand, there is the ability to reach so many more people at one time than ever before, but that is not the point of this blog post.

It is my desire to be honest and transparent as I can on this blog. Not looking to bring harm upon myself or others but there are times when writing that the feeling of vulnerability comes over me and I have to hit the delete button. It is usually something that would fit perfectly into a paper journal because it was beneficial to write. Deleting it robbed me of being able to go back, read and reflect. There it is: time to reflect, time to contemplate, not on the "focus on your naval" kind but the kind that allows one to let go of trashy thinking littered with lies and become open to the truth that flows from above.

Recently, my daughter made me aware of an article entitled, "Is Google making us stupid?" by Nicholas Carr from The Atlantic Monthly July/August 2008. In it Carr says,

"In Google’s world, the world we enter when we go online, there’s little place for the fuzziness of contemplation."

There is no time to digest what you are reading or even writing. At times it seems like we just need to go, go, go, gather, gather, gather info, get to the next link, the next site, the next blog I am following, respond to that email, write a blog post, update my status on Facebook. My time here on this chair has grown and at times robs me of picking up my pen. However, I did pause to write a friend a Christmas card while writing this post.

Pens and paper are still an everyday part of my life, I just want to pick up the pen more often in order to become a better person, a better wife and mother, a better friend and of course, a better writer.