Lifelines...

                                                              Lifelines...


  So many things connect one person to another, but one of the strongest connections can be family history. With this connection comes a link to the past, as well as to the future. A shared family history can bring to life inherited traits, similar interests, and forge a bond with family members from past generations.

  Twelve years ago I began a quest to search out connections to my maternal and paternal roots. I spent hours at the local library,on the Internet, and scoured the phone books from every state in the union for my maternal and paternal surnames. Then, I wrote letters to these individuals, asking for any family history information that they would be willing to share with me. The result of my letters was mixed, but I did receive two treasures....one was a book on my fathers' family line, and the other was a phone call from New York from my grandfathers' step-brother.These two gems led me on in my quest to discover all that I could about my fathers' family line. 

  Yesterday, I began searching through several binders of collected family information....birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, pictures and other memorabilia. Often, right after a birth certificate would be a death certificate, and it brought to me a sense of nostalgia mixed with melancholy for the reality of the brevity of life hit me. Here before me in these documents was a life lived between the date of birth and the date of death...with so much happening in between. Maybe it was coincidental that I was sifting through these documents on Ash Wednesday, when I was reminded of my own brevity of life.

  Yesterday I discovered details about my parents wedding that I never knew, and wouldn't know except for a newspaper clipping about the ceremony. My mothers' colors were green and white, and her bridesmaids wore mint green dresses. One of our daughters is getting married this spring, and her colors are green and gold, with her bridesmaids wearing green dresses...connection!

  I have decided that I have too much interesting family information to keep it to myself, and so my goal is to organize it and form it into a book. This book will then be given to my family members, and passed on to future generations to keep the connections going. 

~Kathy~

                                     
                                Joliet Township High School (Joliet, Illinois)
                                   (where my parents met and fell in love)

                                       University of Minnesota (Twin Cities)
                                        (where my paternal grandparents met
                                                  and fell in love)
                                        

Chico State Memories...

                                                           Chico State Memories...

  My days spent at CSU Chico are so long ago, and so far away from my everyday lived experience, and yet what I learned as a nursing student there shaped me in my nursing career, and in my personal life.

  I first stepped onto the Chico campus in the fall of 1971, as a junior in high school. I had all day to explore the campus. I still remember the beauty that I saw on that day, from the expanse of lawns and variety of trees, to the elegance of the historic brick buildings and the bell tower. In addition, Chico Creek runs through the campus, so there are several bridges for bikes and pedestrians spread across the lovely campus. After seeing the campus and the town, I  decided that Chico was the college for me. There was a small town personal feel to it, along with being surrounded by the beauty of nature. I never regretted my decision to go to Chico State.

  On the Administration Building (pictured above), are the words: Today Decides Tomorrow. Those words always gave me pause as I glanced at them while coming or going to classes. These words made me consider my decisions on the big and small things in my life at the time. These words acted as a guide to me on my journey as a nursing student, causing me to slow down momentarily and reflect on where I was going.

  One thing for sure that I took away from being at CSU Chico was the love of learning, and the love of challenging myself academically. I had many hours of difficult study, and nursing exams and labs and hours spent caring for patients in the local hospitals...and I loved every minute of it! Something about Chico, the college and the town, wrapped itself around my heart and soul, much like the ivy covering all the brick buildings on campus. These special memories and feelings that they evoke will always stay with me. The place that Chico holds in my heart is tied to so many treasured memories, such as; meeting my husband, meeting my adopted grandmother, and finding my career path in nursing. For these treasures in my life, I will always be grateful.

~Kathy~

  

Bridal Memories...

                                                           Bridal Memories


   Why do weddings evoke so many deeply rooted thoughts and feelings? Seeing one of our daughters trying on a series of lovely wedding gowns really put me in a reflective state of mind. It was as if time had raced past me unawares, and now with my daughter arrayed in elegant lace before me, there was no denying the reality of the passage of time.

   The reality is that a wedding is approaching, and with that realization comes a host of feelings, some fleeting, but many are tied to the momentous occasion that a wedding is. It takes some adjusting on everyone's part, because the family is expanding to include a son/brother-in-law. This shifting of the family dynamics is felt differently by each family member, and is easier for some than others.This is all a very normal and expected part of the transformation that slowly evolves over time in families. 

   There is nothing more beautiful in terms of ceremonies, nor more stressful, than a wedding. I could add to that statement that there is nothing as expensive either, but I am sure that is common knowledge. Hopefully,when all is said and done,the memories from this upcoming spring wedding will evoke thoughts that transcend the passage of time. 

~Kathy~

Collage of Christmas Memories...

                                             Collage of Christmas Memories...

  Now that the ambiance of Christmas day still lingers in the air, and the wrapping paper and some gifts are still strewn about the house, along with remnants of cookies and other goodies...now is the time for a bit of reflection.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without love, reflected in the presence and faces of those nearest and dearest whether near or far away.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without family, and the joyful generosity of spirit.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without prayerful reflection on the gift of life, and the meaning behind the season.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without snow, but pictures of snow will have to do.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without the sending and receiving of cards and letters from friends, relatives and old college roommates.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without cutout, mincemeat and cream cheese cookies.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without creating memories through conversation, playing card games and going to visit certain Christmas light extravaganzas.

  Yesterday Christmas arrived in full force, bringing with it much joy and gratitude. The afterglow of Christmas fills our home with love, and hopefully radiates from it to others.

  As the deeper realities of Christmas begin to permeate my thoughts anew, I am thankful that each year with the gift that Christmas is, I am forced to slow down and contemplate deeper realities that will resonate within, and hopefully manifest themselves without for the twelve months to come.

 ~Kathy~

                                

Check out my other blogs:
www.kathy-dessertmania@blogspot.com
and
www.mertonthinker@blogspot.com

Real meaning of Christmas...

                                    
                           Real meaning of Christmas...


    I was just in a human maze of unbelievable proportions! It consisted of cars and people and merchandise, and an indoor shopping mall, and there were times when I wondered if I would get out in one piece physically and mentally. I have no one to blame but myself, as I decided to shop on a day equal to or worse than black Friday...which I avoid like the plague. There were moments of frustration, exhaustion, and jubilation, all within seconds or minutes of each other, but after two hours I had to call it quits for the day. I think I may still have a few brain cells left, and perhaps an ounce of patience. How do the store clerks pull it off day after day? Bless them!

  So, here I am in my cozy home at my computer, asking myself what did I just experience, and out of all that traffic, honking, glitter, tinsel and fakery, where is an inkling of the real meaning behind the season? I have been to most of the stores these past few weeks, picking away at my shopping list, and trying to remain calm and bright. It hasn't been easy when it takes forever to find a parking space, or what you are looking for is in every size but the one you need. One clue that people are frazzled and anxious these last days before Christmas is that very few shoppers are aware of the others around them in the store, or in the parking lot. 

  In all of this, I have caught glimpses here and there of a light in all of this mess out there, and it was in the form of one person helping another. Today at the mall, among a crowd of hundreds of bustling shoppers, a man slowly pushing the wheelchair of another person, so that person could shop was a highlight for me. 
That gave me a clue to the remedy for all the merchandise madness, which is to slow down. Is all this rushing around really necessary? Is going to five more stores really going to bring the real meaning of Christmas any closer to any of us, or will it just push it farther away?

  A simple act of caring, whether it be a word, smile, letter, card or visit, will do much more to bring to life what Christmas is all about.

  Wishing each one of you reading this a very special and meaningful Christmas.

~Kathy~

Reflections on baby Mary

                                                 Reflections on baby Mary

 Forget Christmas gifts for me this year, as right now I am holding the most precious gift of all...baby Mary. No material gifts can compare to the wonders of new life. Trying to see the world through the eyes of a baby brings us back to innocence, which brings us back to the divine. Holding a baby can remedy all ills, as one is taken into a simpler, more contemplative realm. How can this mental state not be beneficial for mankind? Don't we as humans have a deep seated need for a connection to eternal realities? Holding a baby makes this connection a reality, and forces one to slow down and become a little more contemplative in the process. Truly, holding a baby is the best Christmas gift, forcing me to slow down amidst the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

~Kathy~

Grace, all grace....

                                                                Grace, all grace....



   Recently I was given a great gift. Not a material gift, but an interior gift. It came about in response to a phone call that I made to inquire about a nursing teaching position. The woman at the other end of the phone happened to be my former boss from eleven years ago. The phone call started the wheels rolling for me occupationally, but touched me at a deeper level. 

  There is some truth in the old saying that it's not what you know, but who you know. I have often discovered this saying to be true in my life. Sometimes its putting yourself in touch with the right person at the right time. More than that, it is grace, all grace.


~Kathy~