Valentine's Day Card from my Wife

I want you to know...
Life for me changed forever the day we met.

I could not know then
how one person could have
such a profound impact on me.

You have changed how I feel about
my hopes, my dreams, my fears, myself

You have made me a better person
And for that I will always love you.

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

As I type, I am listening to the sweet music of my son's laughter in another room. How wonderful that for him, a special Valentine's Day would have to include a long talk with Grandma, filled with joy and lots of giggles.

Although I wish I had been able to celebrate with my entire family (all four of us), I've had a great day. My son and I gave each other Valentine's Day cards, watched two movies and went for a walk this afternoon. My card for him was a Smilebox, but he loved it!

I also enjoyed creating and sending Smilebox Valentines to my friends today. I felt tuned in to love today, connected to my friends, connected to my family. It was fun to cekebrate love.

And it's not over yet. After the kidlet is snugly tucked into bed, the wife and I will have some phone time to ourselves. She is not likely to be in much of a Valentine's Day mood, because this day is also the one-year anniversary of the death of her grandmother, and they were very close.

It bugs me that I can't be there to hold her as she thinks about her Grams, but I will do what I can as we talk. We haven't spoken today yet, but I feel very connected to her already. I feel her love for me and I hope she feels mine. I think my quieter energy is already prepared for our talk.

The sun did not make an appearance and I set the energy volume on low so today would be restful. It has been good, though. I love holidays!

News Story about the President & the Homeless Woman

I'm delighted to find that the story continues! ...

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A woman's hard-luck tale at a town hall meeting in Florida moved President Barack Obama to leave the stage.

When Henrietta Hughes complained she'd been down on her luck and was living in her car with her son, Obama walked to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Hughes said she was out of work and homeless, with "a very small vehicle for my family and I to live in."

A White House press secretary said administration officials asked the local housing authority to contact her after the exchange in Fort Myers.

Meanwhile, the wife of Florida state Rep. Nick Thompson offered to let the woman stay in a house she owns that's vacant about 30 miles away. Chene Thompson isn't sure if Hughes will take her up on the offer.

Couldn't find the Yahoo link to this story when I went back to look, but here's another one that includes the same basic info...

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/02/62687523/1?se=yahoorefer

And here's the link for the video of their interaction... http://www.yahoo.com/s/1029048

Proud of my President

Amongst the crowd of listeners in Florida today, while Obama was selling the stimulus plan, was a dignified but troubled black woman who took the microphone to tell him through her tears, how much she needs the help he's been describing. In response, his voice cracked or wavered as he told her he wanted to help.

he promised to have his staff talk with her after the town hall meeting was over but reminded her and all of us that there are so many others just like her who need that kind of help.

He, then, walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek.

So that's the kind of president I want! And I feel damn lucky to have him.

He has said that he wakes up in the morning thinking about the help people like her need. I believe him!

Animal Medicine

In the most recent module of study for my spiritual director training, our focus was inner exploration, with an emphasis on animal medicine and dreamwork. It has been my favorite unit so far and I have fallen in love with animal medicine.

So I was looking around for more info online and came across this fun quiz.

I'm not sure how scientific the results are, but some of them replicated what I've found on my own.

Here are my results...




You Scored as Deer

You are the Deer. You tend to be very gentle with other animals of your domain and are also considered the innocent one, which is a good thing. You tend to be able to perceive more than others, which is a handy skill.

In descending order, the other animals...

Eagle
Bull
Salmon
Dragon
Crow
Fox
Dog
Wolf
Stag
Bear
Horse

"Wade in the Water" Pic for Homeschooling

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's the middle of my homeschooling day today but I couldn't resist sharing the picture!

We're focusing on art and music today. In fact, he has a homeschooling ballroom dancing class later this afternoon and practice for their recital. But this month, we're studying black history, so we've been taking a look at the Underground Railroad. Earlier this month, we looked at slavery, the Civil War, Harriet Tubman and others.

Today, I asked for a picture of what "Wade in the Water" was all about in connection with that movement.

We're also taking a look at Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Marian Anderson and William Grant.