Month: September 2011

During my 30’s I realized that I often would be a bit teary at weddings and other celebrations that included a gathering with a large group of family and friends. As I became more curious about that, I realized that as a single woman, I wondered if I would ever have the opportunity to experience this type of joy? It was with that I began to think outside the box….I started to think, if I am still single by the time I am 40, maybe I will have a party of sorts. And as I began to think about that party, I began to create a dream…

The dream was shaped and formed over many many months…I mulled it over in my thoughts and heart for almost five years. I have often though about my life as a weaving. I would consider how in the tapestry of my life, there are many colors. There are some colors that are vibrant, but there are also strands of color that do not appear beautiful when they stand alone. But when that dirty brown thread is woven next to the purple and the red, the brown seems to have more beauty. I really love the idea of my life as a tapestry, woven by my experiences and community of people who surround me. I began to consider who are the people who have made an impact in my life? I began to consider those names. I realized I had to take time to envision the faces and remember my season of friendship with them in very specific ways. I realized that creating the guest list was not about my Facebook Friends list nor just about the people who surround me today. I thought back to each season of my life. I considered the faces from Canada, Elliott (the street I grew up on), Sylvan Christian, Holland Christian, Saint Mary’s Calvin College, Sunshine Community Church, Western Michigan University, Hospice, Adoption, Open Hearts Ministries and Visiting Angels.

And that is the crux of the birth of a tapestry party. Stay tuned to learn more about how to take it from the birth of a dram to a wonderful evening…And I love the idea that I believe this was the first ever tapestry party. I do wonder how to patent the idea? I just might start giving Tapestry Home Planning Parties!

Tonight I had my Tapestry Party. I have dreamed of this night for five years….and tonight my dream was realized.

I shared if I could freeze time, I just might have opted to do so tonight….

There will be many pictures and stories to follow, but for now, I leave you with the video that will share a bit of why my heart overflows!

http://web.photodex.com/embed/b24x928

Tonight I am very aware of my anticipation.  

I am anticipating a big day tomorrow. A day which will realize a dream I have held close to my heart for many years….

For almost five years I have reflected often on how as a single woman, I miss out on the opportunity to have an event celebration. I am often choked up with emotion at a wedding or anniversary party at the reality of the room being filled with people who have journeyed with the people we are there to honor or celebrate. I can honestly share that I have longed to have that experience.

And to that end, I am hosting a Tapestry Party. An event where 200 of those people who have impacted my life will gather. I will have friends and family from as far back as when I lived in Canada and all through the years. I have selected people who have left a very clear imprint on my heart. I am excited to experience something I have dreamed of and created. I am a bit anxious but the anticipation and joy of the journey is much stronger than my anxiety. I am praying for a wonderful day and evening. I am hopeful I will hold memories of this until my breath stops or my memory fails me. I have felt so loved and embraced by my family in the planning…..I am ready….I am blessed….I am filled with gratitude!

I will share more in the coming days. I will have pictures and video’s and stories galore. But for now I must finish some last-minute details….cause when I awaken the day will have arrived. The day of my Tapestry Party!

I will leave you with a bit of the invitation….

A word from Trish on a “Tapestry Party”…

I am a 41-year-old woman

who decided that I would

love to have the people who

are important to me

gathered in one place to

celebrate. Most often this

happens in the context of

family life (weddings, the

birth of children, etc.) and,

of course, at funerals! Since

I have not followed the

paths that lead  to those

events, I am having a

Tapestry Party – a

gathering of those people

who have left their imprint

on my life, making me who I

am today. You are one of

those people and I would

love to celebrate with you

before I arrive at my

funeral!

 

that is what I thought often today as I struggled through my dependence on technology. I am planning for a party on Friday and had spent many many hours on a video. I learned today my computer was over come by a virus and everything is gone. I have worked now for many hours straight to recreate what I have lost. I keep thinking as it is now well into the morning hours, how I could have done without computers today. Yet as I see what I can create, I realize I could not live without a computer….such a double-edged sword.

And so I will call it a long day and a short night and I will hope and pray my system is protected from all viral attacks for a long time. In the meantime, I remain grateful for technology and all it can do. I am also reminded that perspective is likely one of the most important things we can practice each and every day!

I will share my video after my party….it is quite fun if I say so myself!

 

I have a friend who blesses me with old-fashioned mail.

I have found the joy I feel when I see a card in my mailbox almost uncontainable.

The one I am staring at on my desk for the last week says….Remembering you in a special way….and wishing you a sunshiny day! Love  Sarah

It is simple and wonderful. I see it every morning and every evening….I am reminded of a very special friendship….I feel remembered and loved.

I often use email as a way to check in and say hello. It is a good tool, but I am convinced, there is nothing like old-fashioned mail. I am going to commit to sending more of it. I encourage you to do the same. Maybe together we can spread some love and cheer into each other’s homes and hearts! My friend has done it for me and I am inspired. I would like to offer the same joy to another! Won’t you join me?

 

Tonight I am thinking of two ladies who are important to me. Both of them are struggling right now with their health. They both will likely face surgical intervention this week and both have previously struggled with cancer. I can’t imagine the thoughts that go through your mind when you know something is not right….I can just imagine how you fear the worst and wonder what this next phase of the journey might hold….

I also am aware how quickly I have an opinion about what should be done. It comes from my heart for them that aches deeply and wishes somehow they could find relief. I know they both know that I would advocate for them in a heart beat. I know they both have a good head on their shoulders. I trust they will ask for what they need. I want them to feel my love and concern…not all my ideas!

And so, I read the following quote and I think of those who are struggling with health issues. I wonder how it is for you to enter into the lives of those who struggle with issues bigger than our mind or hearts can comprehend at times? I wonder if you also might envision a face of someone who is dear to you that you might want to live out the words of Mother Teresa’s quote: Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well. ~Mother Teresa

Today I enjoyed my nephew’s football game in Chicago. Andrew and Ryan give their all to their teams. I have watched them grow in their ability, but even more in their sportsmanship, commitment to their teammates and their respect for their coaches. Today I witnessed their ability, but even more, moments when their awareness of the vulnerability of sports becomes very real.

More than once today everyone on the field was directed “take a knee.” There were a few kids who were not and the coach clearly and directly stated if you were going to be on the field, you will remove your helmets and take a knee out of respect. It was a powerful picture of the importance of stopping and interrupting the game because something bigger is happening. In these instances, the bigger thing was injury.

The picture of these football players removing their helmets and taking a knee was powerful because it is the opposite of being ready to charge into the game, helmet on and in position. It was meaningful to see. Perhaps it had even more meaning because last weekend the teams were taking a knee for my nephew Andrew who dislocated his elbow and was taken off on a stretcher as well.

I will be thinking this week about the scenes I witnessed today. I will be wondering where in my daily routine I need to take a knee out of respect for what is going on around me. I am pretty sure there are times I am distracted and miss the opportunity to pause and wait, even if I can not offer much to a struggle someone around me is having. There is powerful imagery in the waiting and then the clapping that occurs when the injured (or struggling) is able to move from that place.

I did not expect to experience all that is involved in “taking a knee”, but it is a vivid football memory to carry with me. Of that I am sure!

Throughout my day today, I had different blog topics come to mind for tonight, but tonight, I am going to write a quick note on conserving energy….

The scene is this: Aunt Dot, My parents and I sitting in our room at the Carlton, a historic hotel in Chicago, sipping wine and discussing how lovely of an evening we had shared with Nick and Jonna and the boys. A wedding reception echos in the background, three floors below. In a flash, it is dark. The power is out and the air very still. After a chuckle or two, we settle into our beds by light of the computer. Thankful for my phone, I can connect to the internet for a brief time, before that to loses its power.

And so I end today with the thoughts of conserving energy. I think of the many transitions that occur post labor day. The transition to the change of seasons, the transition back to school, the transitions from cottages and vacations to daily routine. I think of the energy it takes for each of us in our transitions and I wonder what you will do to ensure you have enough energy to transition well. I wonder if you are often worn out and spent by the end of the day? I wonder if you conserve so much energy that you rarely feel the deep sense of being spent. We all function in a certain way for a reason. Much of it I would guess serves us well and can be left as it is. But I wonder where you would like to see change in your conserving or spending of your energy?

I know that I am continuing to find the balance of spending my energy well. I am working on not being an all or nothing thinker when it comes to this. I find I am either working out and very busy or crashed on my couch allowing myself one day off. I would like to find a healthy balance in my spending and conserving of my energy as I transition into fall and enjoy my new routines….

And so, as I wrap up today in a dark hotel, I wonder if there will be energy flowing in the morning. I can be assured of this, if the lights are on, or if they are not, I will awaken refreshed and ready to go at it again tomorrow. I am thankful His mercies are new every morning!

 

‎”We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” — May Sarton

I love this quote and the truth it holds. I can remember scenes in my life when being myself did (and does) indeed feel frightening or strange.

I am learning to know the feeling in my gut when I am backing away from being me. I wonder if you know that feeling. The feeling when you are either shrinking back or showing up to big? The feeling of insecurity that creeps into your thoughts and travels quickly to your heart? I wonder if you have ever practiced speaking up when your voice feels robbed by someone or something….

I will say that the more I have practiced and embraced who I am, the more I have been intentional about being kind to myself and been willing to pour myself out for others, the more I seem to be comfortable with who I am and willing to live and share my true self…

I wonder where you might be hiding some of your true self…

I wonder if you can envision confronting the fear and offering your true self…

Always remember:“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

I love this quote. To much of a good thing is wonderful. I realize how this time of year there are many comments about the sadness of the end of summer, the loss of beautiful weather, the dislike of shorter days and darker evenings, the dread of school schedules….

I am committed to focusing on the good things….where am i enjoying good and wonderful things and where am I bringing good and wonderful things?

I wonder how our attitudes and behaviors will change if we choose to focus on the abundance of good…

I will enjoy the almost 100 degree heat index tomorrow as I think of the upcoming winter months….

I will enjoy the cleaning up of my home and offer a prayer for many who have lost their homes in the last months….

To much of a good things is wonderful….hoping I will enjoy and deliver wonderful things this week, inviting others to remember that to much of a good thing is WONDERFUL!