tranquil [trang-kwil] adj. free from commotion or tumult; peaceful; quiet; calm: a tranquil place So, I think it's pretty safe to say that our entire nation knows all about "Snowstorm Leon" due to the chaos that has taken place over the last 24 hours in the Atlanta area. My heart goes out to all those that were displaced due to the fallout from that mess! That being said, I have thoroughly enjoyed the results of Leon's efforts here in our little neck of the woods. I couldn't wait to bundle up and take a photo walk this morning. I can't really explain it, but snow fascinates me. It's so beautiful! I walked into the wooded area next to our house and honestly felt like I must have walked through the wardrobe straight into Narnia! (Spoken like a true Children's Lit. degree-holder!) Aside from the audible crunch of snow under my boots, it was so quiet....so peaceful....so.....well.... simply tranquil! I loved every single moment as I attempted to capture the tranquility! I'd like to share those images with you! Take a look... See what I mean? Tranquil. Snow just seems to do that. It spreads a blanket of calm on everything. I know it is anything BUT calm over in the ATL, but here in our little North Georgia town, it's been delightful! God never ceases to amaze me with His Creation! Whether it's snowing in your neck of the woods or not, I hope you experience your own tranquility today! Until next time,
~Dot
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There is such a special sweetness in being able to participate in creation. ~Pamela S. Nadav As a Mama, I feel like I have three BIRTH-days every year...of course, my own, but, the older I get, I consider the days my children came into this world as milestones for me as well! I mean, come on, fellow Mamas out there, who remembers the day better...you or your new bundle of joy?? I daresay that whatever your experience was, YOU recall MUCH more of that special BIRTH-day than that sweet baby did! So, here's to all us Mamas in the world, and, today, I'm celebrating one of my very special BIRTH-days! The arrival our precious baby girl! Sorry. I know this picture is a bit graphic, but I absolutely LOVE this shot! On this date twenty-two years ago, I was strapped down (literally!) to an operating table (C-section), so I didn't get to hold her until much later on in the morning. They brought her around the curtain to let me see her, and this is my very first look. Chelsea's fist is under her chin, already showing that strong "This is how I roll" attitude! (No, I didn't take this picture...neither did my husband! He was a bit shaky himself!) I'll never forget the moment that I was finally able to hold her! (I had to be able to feel that pin they kept pricking my lower extremities with before they would take me back to my room, and that took forever! Ugh!!) Anyway, I looked at her, and in a very regular "adult voice" (I've never talked "baby talk" to our children), I said "Hey, Chelsea!" She looked straight into my eyes (and right on into my soul) and the look she gave me said "Okay, I'm here....now what?" Well, we've eaten a lot of cake over the years, and done plenty of celebrating, but admittedly, not every day has been one that we've felt like partying. Very recently, I have witnessed firsthand the amazing strength, courage, and determination within our daughter, and I am immensely proud of her! I can't wait to see how her life is going to continue to unfold in her 20s......30s......and beyond! So, today, we raise our mini-cupcakes in honor of another year of life for our sweet Chelsea. Chelsea, if I could remind you of one thing on this 22nd birthday of yours, it's these very famous words of Aibileen Clark (from "The Help"): "You is kind. You is smart. You IS important." I don't care how old you get (or how feeble my mind becomes), "as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be!" Happy Birthday, my Girl!
I love you! ~Mama collocate (KAHL-uh-KAYT): verb from Latin collocare, (together, with) and locate (to place): 1. to set or place together in proper order, 2. to arrange side by side. Anyone that knows me, knows I LOVE "proper order" and "arrangement" of things. You should see my closet! To the average person, it almost looks like overkill or perhaps at the very least a obsessive/compulsive kind of thing. Well, there may be some truth to that, but all I know is that ordering and arranging things brings me lots of peace...and dare I say it....even joy! This is great when I'm dealing with "stuff"...you know, like shoes...skirts...belts...scarves, but this same mindset can become quite problematic when it comes to me trying to COLLOCATE the people in my life. I've pretty much given up on my trying to collocate the things (and people!) associated with my job. I've finally figured out that that's just not going to happen. I simply take it day by day and deal with it as it comes. Then there's my personal life. With our children out of our nest for most of the time these days, I'm really working hard on trying to lighten up on the collocating that I tend to do with them. The key word there is "trying". Some days/weeks are much easier than others!
So.......COLLOCATE. Do you exercise this verb on a regular basis? If so, how's that working for you? Until next time, ~D y'all [yawl] pronoun. Abbreviation of "you all." A US, especially Southern, word for you, used especially when addressing more than one person. Most all Southerners use this word frequently. It's just a "Southern staple" in our vernacular, and I'm super-cool with that! HOWEVER, lots of Southerners don't know how to spell it properly, and THAT is why I felt it needed to be my focus for today's word post. See, here's the deal.... as the definition clearly says, y'all is an abbreviation of "you all". In fact, I might go so far as to say it's a contraction. Sooooo....since the two words are YOU and ALL...and we've omitted the "ou" from YOU, the apostrophe takes the place of those two letters!! Please, please, please don't spell it with the apostrophe after the a! There aren't any letters between the a and the double l that are being omitted!! So, again...this very Southern word needs to be spelled as follows: y'all. That is, y-apostrophe-a-l-l. So, there you have it. My very first Wednesday's Word. I'm all about Southern Lingo! I just want to be sure the rest of the world knows that we're still plenty smart down here in the South! Thanks for listening! Until next time.....y'all.... ~Dot ;) "Family is the most important thing in the world." ~Princess Diana So, we made it through Christmas holidays, and just like that, our nest is...ahem..."roomy" again. (If you're joining me here for the first time, let me bring you up to speed...I simply cannot discuss the idea of an "empty nest", so I prefer to embrace the term "roomy nest".) Even though there were some seriously emotional times to sort through over the holidays, we WERE able to enjoy our time together under one roof for a few days and for this I am extremely thankful. Toward the end of our time together before one of the birds flew back out of the nest, I got really sentimental and, sure, okay, maybe a bit sappy. The point is, I decided I wanted a picture of the four of us together in the same place at the same time before my babies left us again. I'm a big fan of "then & now" side-by-sides, depicting the passing of time, so I decided I wanted to re-do a picture of us that was taken on our back porch right after we moved into our house in 2003. So, my family humored me and allowed it to happen. Take a look.... Really cool, huh? Yeah. I think so, too. That's the same chair, too, so it really IS a true picture of how much our son has grown over the years. Our daughter, on the other hand, made the discovery that she really hasn't gotten any taller since she was 11. Bless her heart! :) "Family is not an important thing. It's everything." I don't know about you, but I get VERY sentimental when I start thinking about how much my baby birds have grown and changed over the years...especially when I start pulling out the photo albums! So, without further ado....I'd like to invite you to pull up a chair and see the transformation of my family over the last 20+ years. I think you'll agree that our children aren't the only ones who have "evolved" over the years! (Click on the big picture to start the slideshow!) Here's the bottom line.....this Mama Bird LOVES her nest! Sure, the nest has changed a little...okay...a lot....over the last 6 months, but these three people are everything to me! They have brought much joy into my life, and I love every moment I am blessed to spend with them! I'm already looking forward to seeing them on their turf very soon and hearing all about the latest news in their lives! Happy 2014 from our nest to yours!
~Dot |
AuthorHi! I'm Dot. I refuse to succumb to the "empty nest syndrome"! So, this is my journal.....my photo album.....my attempt to enjoy the next chapter of my life as it unfolds. Welcome to The Roomy Nest! Archives
January 2020
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