Dan

I am the youngest in my family--the little sister to three older brothers, David, Don and Dan. David lives in New York, Don lives in Georgia and Dan lives a couple hours south of me in a group home for men with mental disabilities.  Thursday was his birthday.  Ever since last March, Dan has been looking forward to March 2--the day he would turn 60 years old--and has excitedly shared his birthday wishes with all of us. I was so glad to be able to celebrate with him a few days ago!

Growing up with Dan, I was the sibling that was closest to him in age, so we have always been especially close.

My parents recognized that he had some learning difficulties when his major milestones such as walking and talking were delayed. As many parents before them and since, they began searching for a diagnosis, but after visiting various therapy centers and doctors, realized there would be no magical cure and instead settled into embracing both his strengths and weaknesses alike and providing him with plenty of love and support.

While he went to outpatient therapies, we both went to a regular kindergarten at our church and then started first grade at our neighborhood school together.

My parents made the decision to hold him back from starting first grade (long before that was a popular thing) so that he could begin with me and have an extra year for maturity. He struggled through first and second grade before enrolling in a special school in our city where he thrived.

Through the years, there have been many challenges and so many joys. Thursday, I was once again reminded of the many ways Dan has affected my life in a positive way.  He has a charismatic personality that never met a stranger. While he struggles with depression at times, most people would never know it. His challenges with motor control have made it impossible for him to swallow pills, so for years, he has chewed up the nasty medications that are needed, thinly disguised in a spoonful of apple sauce or pudding---without ever complaining. His teeth have slowly been eaten away by the these medications, but yet he chooses to make jokes about the medicine instead of really complaining.

He loves a pretty lady and can charm most anyone he meets. He also has a mischievous side and loves to hear stories about the his childhood mischief.

When Ron first met Dan, he was amazed at his music knowledge---he can name the title and artist of most any popular song since the 60's and has quite a collection of DVD's. While he loves a good ghost story or old police sitcom, history documentaries are some of his favorites and he can tell you random facts about tons of events in US history.

Dan is especially fascinated by ghosts and monsters, so for this birthday, I wanted to do something special for him--a whole set of Big Foot themed gifts.

My favorite and most labor-intensive gift was a quilt featuring Big Foot walking through the trees.

He told me that he was going to start using it instead of his LSU fleece blanket, so I am pretty sure he liked it.

He seemed especially touched by the dedication label I sewed onto the back.

When I think about Dan and the most important lessons he has taught me, I think it really boils down to this.

Dan doesn't see differences in others the way many of us do. He doesn't care about your race, your age or your abilities or disabilities.

Everyone is his friend and he treats everyone the same. He offers a greeting or thank-you to servers at restaurants, doctors, nurses, receptionists, social workers, teachers, gas station attendants and trash collectors, just hoping to brighten someone's day.

He will hold the door for you and help you carry things if you need it. While childlike in his understanding of some things, he is protective of the people he loves and is KIND to everyone.

While there are many who openly make fun of those who are different and think that those with different abilities are lesser in some way, I can't help but think that this world would be a much better place if it were filled with more Dan's.

I am the lucky one. He's a "light" for me.  He's my big brother and I am so proud of him!!

Rock Chapel - Hidden Treasure

It is Sunday afternoon and the house is quiet except for a playlist playing in the other room from our Bluetooth speaker.  Both Toddler D and BabyD2 are here for a few hours.  Both are asleep right now, as is their Papaw.   It is a bit chilly outside and the rain is falling from time to time.    The only light in the house is coming from the lamp hanging on the wall behind me.  Even the dogs are napping on the deck outside my back door.

While they nap, I am looking back through photos I've taken since the first of the year and trying to purge and organize them into folders for easy retrieval. As I scroll, I am reminded that I haven't yet shared our first adventure of 2017. Ron was off on that Monday, January 2 so we decided to go for a drive. Months earlier, my friend Debbie had posted some photos of a small chapel hidden away in the woods near Shreveport and I wanted to visit it as well. We GPS in hand, we drove to Mansfield in search of the Rock Chapel.

At first glance, we thought the gate across the road was locked, but upon further investigation, we found it open, so we walked down the winding road into the woods.

As we neared the chapel, we noticed wooden crosses hung on the trees lining the road. (We later learned that there is one cross for each monk that lived at the monastery).

Then we saw it.  A small, humble stone chapel built on a hill above a stream.  A bridge crosses the trickling stream and is flanked by beautiful camellia bushes that were filled with blooms.  It was beautiful!

Rock Chapel was built in 1891 by Carmelite monks as a place to meditate, reflect, pray, and to study in seclusion. The chapel itself is the last remnant of an old Carmelite monastery which flourished in the late 1800s. 

The monks living in the monastery built the chapel itself, carrying rocks from the surrounding hills and using mud as plaster to hold it together.  The monastery itself burned down shortly after the turn of the century and was never rebuilt, but the chapel remains.

In front of the chapel are six graves with crosses, 3 of which have names and dates on them. The monks were so very young when they died, most likely victims of some illness that is now treatable. 

I'd heard that the doors of the chapel are often locked, but this day, the lock was left unhooked.  We carefully opened the doors and stepped inside to find frescoes that were created over 100 years ago! Back in the 1960's the painting had been meticulously restored, but the recent effects of termites was evident.  

While the painted churches I have visited in Texas were in much more ornate and spectacular, there was something so incredibly sacred about this place.  


The painting above the door translates (roughly) "I have much love for the Lord God."

The afternoon we were there, the sun shone down through the trees creating a glow that was so beautiful. It was the perfect opportunity to work on my "shooting the light" through my camera lens.

We wandered around a bit and then just sat, breathing in the air and listening to the birds. 

Neither of us wanted to leave, and I really wanted to paint he scene, so we went back to get the truck (where my art kit was), drove it down the road and parked it so that we could sit in the back until the sun went down.

Curled up on the back tailgate, I sketched until we heard voices approaching on the road behind us.  We turned to find a young couple laughingly walking dow the path.  We greeted each other and then watched as they made their way across the bridge and up the hill.  The looked around a little bit and then the young man got down on one knee.  I snuck a few pictures of his proposal and then we cheered as she obviously accepted.  Later, we exchanged email addresses so that I could send them the photos and he explained that this was a special place to him since he had grown up nearby (they now live in Colorado, I believe).

Everything about this adventure was special and one I am likely to never forget!  What a hidden treasure this sweet chapel is and a gift that continues to bless so many people.

This Little Light Of Mine

Rather than making a New Year's resolution, each year I choose a word to focus on.    2010 was the first year I tried this and I loved it so much that I've continued the practice.  I like that instead of focusing on one particular behavior, choosing a word allows me to find many different areas of my life in which that word can be beneficial.  In years past, I have chosen RISK (2010), PURPOSE (2011), OPEN (2012), BEGINNING (2013), GROW (2014), HOME (2015), and BREATHE (2016).
In choosing the word, I spend some time thinking about what kinds of things I want to accomplish during the upcoming year and what areas, I need to work on. This time, towards the end of December, I was pretty sure what my word would be for 2017. I had thought of it several months earlier and I even liked the way it sounded when I said it. In preparation for the new year, I decided to jot down some notes about my word. I gathered my planner, a pencil and me new devotional book to use as a desk and set to work.

First, I wrote down some of my big goals for the year and then other smaller things I'd like to work on. I used word and snippets of sentences as I brainstormed. Suddenly, looking over my paper, I noticed that they all seemed to have some things in common. I tried to make them fit the word I'd chosen, but they just didn't fit. As I shifted the pile of things in my lap to be more comfortable in this uncomfortable situation, I glanced at my new devotional book and it hit me.  The word I was supposed to choose had been right there in front of me all the time.   LIGHT!

In 2017, I hope to look at "light" in a more intentional way. Not only do I want to look for the light, I want to actually BE the light and to USE the light in new and fresh ways. I hope to look at light through my camera lens, in my painting, decorating, cooking, finances and in my home organization.

Having a word like this helps me bring more purpose to everyday activities and generally helps me with follow-through of projects I plan. Have you made a resolution or chosen a word for this year?  It's not too late.

If you want a way to keep your word on your mind throughout the year, I recommend the "One Little Word" class, offered by Ali Edwards. I've done it in past years and gained so much from it. Even though I am not officially participating this year, I have already done some of the exercises on my own and found them very helpful.