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.

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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.

Sun Catcher

This is a winter post from a wintery place and who would have guessed that I would be sun catching in December on the top of a hill.

The eastern sky showed a hint of purple announcing the coming of the sun. There were only moments to bundle up if I were to make it for the magical moment. Hurrying out to the snow covered drive way I stood shouting "Glory!" When the dawn broke I closed my eyes took a deep breath and behold I had been kissed by the sun. Removing the snow from the van I felt bathed in hugs and kisses of the newly risen sun. I couldn't stop smiling. The joy I felt being in the first light of day is not quite like anything else I have experienced in this life.

The vista from my current home is an unexpected gift. Picture perfect. A work of art. The sunrise never looks the same way twice. It is almost too sacred to photograph and too glorious to be the back drop of any shot.

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

Millions of fingers reach to the sky from the barren winter trees and all at once they cried out "Cover me" and the new fallen snow answered.

This post is dedicated to two friends, Becky for telling me that I have been kissed and hugged by the sun and to Gail for offering me the view.

The Village Market, Now open for business

Serving the people of Wellesley and Newton Lower Falls, The Village Market, formerly Convenient Mart, has finally re-opened after being closed for 2 years. The local community felt like there was a hole in their neighborhood. I had the privilege of receiving hugs, applause and many exclamations, “we are SO glad your back!” “You don’t know how MUCH we have missed you.” “You are a God sent.” And my response has been equally affirming. “Thank you. We are glad to be back.” Some customers have said, “How long has it been a year?” Then I tell them 2 years and of course others seem to think it has been 3 because they have missed it THAT much.

This store, The Village Market is my brother-in-law Barry’s. Dan has 2 other brothers who have stores in Quincy and Dedham. Michael and I continue to work in Dedham once a week and now I am working part time for Barry as well. These men grew up in their dad’s stores. Everyone in the family has worked in one store or another.

It is exciting to be a part of something that was in some ways dead and has been resurrected to new life. The building was gutted and the store that for 40 years was my father in law’s and is now Barry’s is just in the next door over from where it was all those years. Everything in the store is new. The local residents and business people are grateful and excited and for some relieved to have the store back in the neighborhood. In these hard economic times it is wonderful to see people react with gratitude and rejoicing over a small business owner.

Please stop in and see us.

The Village Market

9 Washington St. Wellesley, MA

Open Daily 6AM to 11PM

THANKSGIVING

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, not because it reminds us of the pilgrims landing in Plymouth and after much loss of life came together in harmony with the Native American Indians shared a feast and gave thanks to God, but because I need to be grateful everyday.

Twenty-five years ago during the summer I met somebody near and dear to my heart at the time she was Kathy and I was Cathy (now we both go by Kathleen and Catherine). I left my home in suburbia and went to a state run facility that was less than ideal. I was talking to Kathy from a pay phone

and she said, I want you to do something. I was listening. Every morning, I want you to write down 5 things you are grateful for, "FIVE THINGS!!!" (If you know me personally then you also know that everyone on my floor, the floor above and below probably heard me). This was so foreign to me, I could feel my ears turning red and I probably said something like I probably can not even come up with 3. Kath said let's do the first one here on the phone, just tell me 5 things you are grateful for. I don't know what I said, I am pretty sure I made it through the list and I am sure that being sober and my cigarettes were on that first list. Why? Why did I need to write this list every day? The answer "Grateful drunks stay sober." Well, that was the point I wanted to stay sober. I think the phone call happened in September of 1985.

It was hard at first. A real struggle to come up with 5 things every day, but I was willing and soon I was writing 10 then 15 and eventually up to 20 things that I was grateful for each day. I kept up this discipline for about 2 years. I've gone through bouts of writing a gratitude lists and on occasion I still do.

When our children were small on Thanksgiving we would ask them what they would grateful for and Dan or I would write it down. Once they were able to write, we would write our own lists and then read them out loud to one another. It is so important in this life to be grateful. It has been said, "When you invite gratitude to your pity party the party disappears."

Here are some things that I am grateful for today:

That my girls get to spend some time together this week.

My son is a young man who knows how to work hard.

For my husband who has the gift of mercy (good thing for me I can be a real pill at times)

For our vehicle (we are sharing one presently)

Our newest abode in Shrewsbury and the view of the sunrise from here.

For the God who is there

For the Bible which is the Word of God

For Jesus, His grace, mercy, lovingkindness and LOVE

Being able to read and write

Being able and willing to come along side other people

There is so much more than that to be grateful for today. My heart is glad, my house is warm and life is not easy but thank God it is never boring.

I am well please to have been given the gift of knowing about the importance of gratitude and I need to get back to it. Sometimes it is really hard when life becomes hard to remember that there is always something I can find to be grateful for like the breath in my lungs.

Take a good look at your own life and acknowledge those things that cause you to pause and say, Thank you God.

When you sit down for your feast next Thursday take a few moments to express some gratitude.

The Wall came down

November 9, 1989

Don't know much about history

Today is the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin wall. My home page on my web browser is the BBC, a news organization with a more global outlook than most American news source. The picture on the home page caught my attention. At that time I didn't know very much about the difference between East and West Germany. I don't claim to know much more now 20 years later. East Germany was a communist and oppressed country, that was the extent of my knowledge. Recently I watched a film, The Lives of Others

.

It is a foreign film with subtitles. The setting was 1984 and it was an education in government activity of East Germany. The film was eye opening. It also carried the universal theme of the love of human beings for each other and the sadness of a life lacking in love. On the anniversary of this historic event, I recommend you watch the movie with your older teens. It is both moving and enlightening. And your kids will think it is much better than a textbook version of a look into the history of East/West Germany. It has real people, real drama a look into what really happened in that part of the world, not just some extracted facts, dates, and places. History is best told through a story by someone who lived through that time in history.

If you go to Google today this is the picture you will find. Sesame Street is celebrating it's 40th birthday, which puts me in the launching audience catagory. Oscar was my favorite character probably because he was both green and grouchy. I was tickle by yesterday Cookie Monster

Google. It is just fun. I love when Google dresses up their logo and when you click on it, you get more hits about the what the current art represents than there is time to read.

Here in my final week in Marlborough, any writing that I will be doing will be for my NanoWrimo novel. Since I have more readers than commenters, and some who are vocal about wanting me to write more stuff. Thank you for reading and your patience.

Foliage

This is a sampler of some of the foliage found in Massachussetts specifically, Marlborough, Northborough and Southborough. I was able to share the whole album from my Snapfish account, click on the sidebar to see the rest. Soon all the leaves will fall off and the branches will be bare as we look to another winter, but in the mean time today will be Indian Summer and we will delight in it.

The Process.....

As many of you know, the Mullaney Pilgrims have been wondering around the homeland, Massachusetts for the last 2 years. This past summer we went from a FL tag to MA license plates. After both the girls were off, I resumed house hunting. The search is not over but the packing has begun, trusting that God is indeed preparing a place for us. While going through some things I came across this bookmark that my friend Dawn gave to me years ago, it reads as follows:

"We are, quite naturally, impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages.

We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of inability and that is may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you. Your ideas mature gradually - let them grow, let them shape themselves with out undue haste. Don't try to force them on, as though you could be today what time (that is to say grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that God's hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete."

I do not believe I could have said it better myself. It was exactly what I needed to read this evening. I am looking forward to the new adventures that lie ahead. Yes, you can count on me keeping you "posted."

Fall pictures still to come......

Canopy of Colors

is a great way to describe New England in the Fall. Pictures to follow.

The First Word

Just over a year ago my daughter Grace while speaking to a group at a conference shared something that keeps coming back to me time and time again. I am pretty sure it came to her while she was at L'abri in the Netherlands. She was talking about people and when we encounter every person we ought to view them in the following way; the first word about people ought to be, "this one is created in the Image of God." It came up in conversation again, last night.

In Christendom, we often view people as sinners first who need the Lord's forgiveness offered by the shed blood of Christ. This is true. All people are sinners and we, as Christians quite regularly have this as our first word about people. Sometimes it is in a judgmental tone other times with compassion. Those thoughts can often lead to "they are on the highway to hell and they are beyond help" or "I need to share the gospel with them."

The judgmental tone needs to be left for the Only One who has a right to judge the living and the dead. And I know that I need to grow in my compassion for other people. I think part of the key to doing just that is for my first word about people to be: this one is created in the Image of God. Then I just may view the effects of The Fall i.e. sin, on this particular, man, woman or child with compassion. Knowing full well, that I am a fellow person, created in the Image of God first and that I too have been scarred by my own sin and that even though my sins have been forgiven and that I am a new Creature, I still walk around with that sin nature. I still mess up, fail, fall and yes, I sin.

Do we wish to be lovers of people? Is not the greatest commandment to love the LORD with all your heart, soul and mind? And the second, to love your neighbor as yourself? Can not the story of the Good Samaritan answer the question who is my neighbor be answer with a single word, "everyone"?

I do indeed wish to be a lover of people. I fail to love regularly but I wish to begin again and again. If I remember that we did not just simply evolve from Lucy or Ardi but that we were fashioned, yea lovingly created in the Image of God for His Glory them I just may have success from time to time as well.

What a wonderful thing to be learning this lesson from my own child who is now a young woman. I am so grateful that God gave me the gift of being the mother of Grace, Katie and Michael and that He would involve me in the creation process.

St. Francis of Assisi

The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace!

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon.

where there is discord, harmony.

where there is doubt, faith.

where there is despair, hope.

where there is darkness, light.

where there is sorrow, joy.

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

I first encountered this prayer in what might seem to be a strange source in 1985 in the book The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. Although as a child we sang a song based on the prayer in church. It is a prayer that I wish to return to and keep close to me. It keeps me in third place right where I belong, with God in first and others in second.

Today October 4th the Franciscan brothers are celebrating 800 years of the order established by God through the humble servant St. Francis of Assisi who toke a vow of poverty. Franciscan rule of life is:

"To observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience without anything of our own, and in chastity."

I was made aware of this and wanted to share it here on my blog.

Television Event

When I was a kid there were annual television events: once a year you could see The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music among others. If you missed it, you had to wait til next year, there were no VHS tapes, DVDs or Blu-rays, no YouTube or other Internet sources for your enjoyment. It also meant that it was usually a family affair. Children in feety pajamas hoping they could make it til the first commercial if they needed "to go." Parents putting aside their book or evening newspaper (there was a morning edition too in those days) to watch a classic with their family.

So I thought, are there really any television events left? Immediately, I thought about the Super Bowl, people still hold Super Bowl parties, bars and restaurants make it special too. It really is An Event. Tuesday September 11th, 2001 was a television event that most Americans watched. I was not one of them not because I didn't have a TV but I was doing something else. I became aware of the event in progress and since I was in the car I tuned into the news via radio. When I arrived at my destination there was a TV on and I witnessed the first Tower to come down, but I didn't stay. The man standing next to me freaked out. I wanted to know what was going on but I didn't want to be glued to the set. I would tune in later that day. Coverage lasted for days. I watched the President address the nation from a bed and breakfast in Queens. That's right, Queens one of the five New York City boroughs is where I was on September 20th, 2001.

As our friend Bob Dylan likes to say, "times they are a changin' " Some parents will not have their children watch the Super Bowl with them since Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. Other parents allow their children to have their own TV's and often parents have a TV in their bedroom. We can watch classic movies anytime and almost anywhere on a laptop. We have gained so much over the years but we have lost a time, date and place for the family to get together around a television event.

*These thoughts were brought on by my latest email from Barnes and Noble. The 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz is out. They even have an ultimate collector's edition. It can sit on your shelf reminding those of us who remember when it was a television event or you can watch it any time with everyone or all by yourself.

TO ALL THOSE WHO ENJOY THINKING,

BEING CHALLENGED

AND WHO LIVE

IN NEW ENGLAND

OUGHT TO CONSIDER

http://www.labri.org/mass/lecture.html

FRIDAY NIGHTS IN

SOUTHBOROUGH, MA

CHECK OUT THE LINK HERE

OR ABOVE FOR TOPICS,

TIMES AND LOCATION.

I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.

The Highland Games 2009

My maiden name is MacDonald, I am a second generation American and my paternal grandparents were from Nova Scotia and did not refer to themselves as Canadians but as Scots.  Oddly enough this was the first time I attended the Highland Games, I have never been to Canada but I did learn Scottish Country Dancing as a kid.  

Two of my nieces and my nephew participated in the games.  The girls danced (and placed) and the fine lad piped his way to a first place finish with his band.  I would say that I am a participant of life. It was a challenge and at the same time relaxing to take it in as a spectator.  I am already thinking about next year and wondering how I can join in.  

Our arrival in the early morning met us with a chilly mountain air.  The girls were up first dancing with the wind at their backs and a young lady on the pipes.  The Highland fling is just one of the dances that they competed in wearing matching kilts.  Two of the other dances are the Sword and the Scottish Lilt.  Pipe and drums compete in grades and perform in massed bands.  The sites and sounds are just a part of the culture of these clans from Scotland.  

At some point I ran off to get a progr'm.  Half way through the day I wrote the following that probably best describes my reflection on my day at the games:

"Never too old to dance, to pipe, to drum, to embrace your heritage, to know the history of your people."   CM

"In Essentials UNITY, 

           In Non-Essentials LIBERTY, 

                                   In All things CHARITY."

                                                                    

                                                                                           Rupertus Meldenius 1627

In other words "they will know we are Christians by our love" and if we fail to do so, the apostle Paul reminds us, that we will eat each other alive.  This past week with Katie and the rest of the Communicators for Christ 2009 traveling team I experienced all three and above all was the LOVE.  

Thank you David, Teresa, Wendell and Devin.