Awesome job Nationals!!!!

Last night was such an awesome experience for the boys and for the parents!!
Marko's team, the Nationals, won their championship game.
Their head coach Tim did such an amazing job of coaching the kids.
Whenever I think of how Tim coached, I think of this one teacher's poster at Macy's school.
It said something like " the teacher believed she was smart and so she was."
Coach Tim believed that they were awesome players and so they were.
I have never seen such an upbeat and positive coach.
His encouragement was endless........and not only taught them great baseball skills,
he taught them great life lessons like: everyone matters, baseball is suppose to be FUN, there is no "I" in team and everyone has a gift to give to share.
He made every single person on the team feel special.
Coach Tim......thank you for all the time you put into coaching (and Brigid too.)
You have a beautiful gift of being able to coach and you made a big difference in the lives of 12 boys!!!!!!!
Marko will always remember you and how much you believed in him!!!!!!

Nature

Teach a child to play solitaire, and she'll be able to entertain herself when there's no one around. Teach her tennis, and she'll know what to do when she's on a court. But raise her to feel comfortable in nature, and the whole planet is her home.
Joyce Maynard

Parenting

It's not only children who grow.
Parents do too.
As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives,
they are watching us to see what we do with ours.
I can't tell my children to reach for the sun.
All I can do is reach for it, myself.
-Joyce Maynard

Congratulations Nationals

Marko's baseball team is one of the two remaining teams in the finals.
They get to play under the lights Saturday night for the championship.
They are so cute!!!! I guess this day ended on a good note....I was feeling
pretty blue after taking Macy to the doctor.
Have a great day!
Namaste,
Michele

I feel so bad that my dad isn't here...this is the kind of thing he would love!!!!
Subject: Championship game

The tournament is coming to a close after some great games. Every team played their hearts out and really showed how much hard work they put into this season. The CHAMPIONSHIP game is set and should be fantastic. The Mets (9-2) and the Nationals (8-2) will meet on Saturday, July 14 at Reagan 3. The players will be introduced and we will be doing the National Anthem before the game, with the teams taking the field at 7:30pm. Everyone is invited and encouraged to come out to the game and cheer on the kids. The louder the crowd, the better!

The Water

Mark made this collage....something about it speaks to me.....same with the quote below.
I love to read spiritual quotes.....it gives you a small glimpse into the mystical world of the unknown.
I had a hard day....took Macy to a kidney specialist because she has kidney reflux...
one kidney is bigger than the other (inflamed) and she may have some more pretty
invasive testing like she had when she was three years old. It breaks my heart....
wish I could have the testing done on me instead of her.
Maybe like the quote below, I need to go to the water and be soothed.
I guess I find that soothing in my morning walks and in playing my harp and in doing yoga.....
where do you find that inner peace?????
Love, Michele

"When something intolerable is in my life, I head for the water.
It leavens me in some way. Some middle-most part of me is soothed
and silenced by it."
Alice Koller

Kindness

You like the fruit that I painted???
How about the quote below?
I love the quote below.......have a great day! Love, Michele


"When you are kind to someone in trouble,
you hope they'll remember and be kind to someone else.
And it'll become like a wildfire."
(Whoopi Goldberg)

mystery

Rainbow at Findley State Park last week....beautiful.....ehh?? Love, Michele

“The answer is never the answer.
What's really interesting is the mystery.
If you seek the mystery instead of the answer,
you'll always be seeking.
I've never seen anybody really find the answer -- they think they have,
so they stop thinking.
But the job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery,
plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom.
The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer.
-Ken Kesey

A Metaphysical Dissertation on Being Who You Are

Mira saw the sun coming through the trees at Findley State Park last Thursday and asked Mark to take this picture. I am glad she did.....very cool!

I had a hard time going back to work today ...and I love my job....It just seemed so "jarring" to the soul today after being in the woods all week. Oh well, I will adjust. It took me a day to adjust to camping and really relax....to just be able to sit and watch a fire or to listen to the birds.....anyhow,
there is a pretty beautiful poem below......hope you enjoy it. Love, Michele

A Metaphysical Dissertation on Being Who You Are
Jun 22nd, 2007 by diannone

If nothing else,
don’t doubt yourself.
If nothing else,
don’t discount the wisdom
planted deep inside you
from the very moment
of your birth.
If nothing else,
don’t be afraid
to be yourself
in all your glory.
If nothing else,
don’t for a moment
waste your life wishing
you were something
or someone else.
Should you decide
you want to be
something more,
start first
by being who you are.
Chances are
you will find
no need to be anything
more than you already are.
http://poeticalchemist.wordpress.com/2007/06/14/on-being-who-we-are/

Moving towards life

Swamp Stomp with Ranger Roger
Sunshinedaydream
MarkO's camp art
My camp art

On Moving Towards Life....Not Death

and embracing life fully.....

Namaste! It is a little hard to come back from camping all week. I love camping and being "Unplugged." It is so beautiful and peaceful at Findley State Park....I could stay all summer. Last week, I was reading After The Ecstasy, The Laundry, by Jack Kornfield and came across the most beautiful poem (below)....I was very intrigued by it and kept reading it over and over......... it is about living and learning to love the mysteries NOW, but the author is unknown. I think the author wrote the poem at a meditation retreat and wanted to remain anonymous.

Hope you enjoy the below poem as much as I do!

Love,

Michele

REVERSE LIVING

Life is tough.

It takes a lot of your time,

all your weekends,

and what do you get at the end of it?

Death, a great reward.

I think that the life cycle is all backwards.

You should die first, get it out of the way.

Then you live twenty years in an old-age home.

You are kicked out when you are too young.

You get a gold watch, you go to work.

You work forty years until you’re

young enough to enjoy your retirement.

You go to college,

you party until you’re ready for high school.

You become a little kid, you play,

you have no responsibilities,

you become a little boy or girl,

you go back into the womb,

you spend your last nine months floating.

And you finish off as a gleam in someone’s eye.

Gone Camping...... Will Be Back On Blog Next Week

SunshineDaydream

Grandma Benjamin

This is my Grandma Benjamin and Mira at 4 mos. old.
My grandma died on 9/16/94 about 4 mos. after this picture was taken.
My grandpa died less than 2 weeks later....
they were married almost 60 years.
My Grandma was a big part of my life.
She kept her opinions to herself and did not try to change anyone
or want them to be anything other than who they were.
My favorite thing that she ever said to me is a phrase that I use often.
She said it to me when I was in college when Mark and I were dating.
Mark had just grown a ponytail and I asked her if she ever noticed
Mark's new ponytail
and she said yes, I most certainly did. Then I asked her why she never
said anything about it.
She said," There are a lot of things
that I notice that I don't say anything about."
I often feel my grandma's presence with me.
It is a very comforting thing for me.

"If you knew who walks beside you on this path that you have chosen, fear would be impossible." A Course in Miracles

Nobility

Mira last week when we went to Geauga Lake......and partially Macy and Marko.
I love this Hindu proverb below.
have a great day!
Love,
Michele


There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man.
The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.
Hindu proverb

Punishment??

The closed gate by me


Wow! I loved the note below!! Had me thinking that what if when someone committed a crime (ie: drug use, stealing, beating up someone), we loved them unconditionally and built up their self-esteem and told them what we liked about them instead of reinforcing the negative.......
............by calling them a bad person........what would happen to them???
Would they learn to love and appreciate themselves and not want to harm themself or others???
read below!
Love, Michele

In the Baemba tribe of South Africa, when a person acts irresponsible or unjustly, he is placed in the center of the village, alone and unfettered. All work ceases, and every man, woman, and child in the village gathers in a large circle around the accused individual. Then each person in the tribe speaks to the accused, one at a time, about all the good things the person....has done in his lifetime. All his positive attributes, good deeds, strengths, and kindnesses are recited carefully and at length. The tribal ceremony often lasts several days. At the end, the tribal circle is broken, a joyous celebration takes place, and the person is symbolically and literally welcomed back into the tribe. - Alice Walker

I've learned

Mark, Marko and Marko's baseball team at the Akron Aeros game.
What a beautiful poem below. Love, Michele

Written by Andy Rooney, a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words. Enjoy.......

I've learned....
That the best classroom in the world is at the
feet of an elderly person.
I've learned....
That when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned....
That just one person saying to me, "You've made
my day!" makes my day.
I've learned....
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is
one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned....
That being kind is more important than being
right.
I've learned....
That you should never say no to a gift from a
child.
I've learned....
That I can always pray for someone when I don't
have the strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned....
That no matter how serious your life requires
you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned....
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to
hold and a heart to understand.
I've learned....
That simple walks with my father around the
block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an
adult.
I've learned....
That life is like a roll of
toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us
everything we ask for.
I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.
I've learned....
That it's those small daily happenings that make
life so spectacular.
I've learned...
That under everyone's hard shell
is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What
makes me think I can?
I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the
facts.
I've learned....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you
are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
I've learned....
That love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned....
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person
is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
I've learned....
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted
with a smile.
I've learned....
That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with
your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.
I've learned....
That no one is perfect until you fall in love
with them.
I've learned....
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
I've learned....
That opportunities are never lost; someone will
take the ones you miss.
I've learned....
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will
dock elsewhere.
I've learned....
That I wish I could have told my Dad that I love
him one more time before he passed away.
I've learned....
That one should keep his words both soft and
tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I've learned....
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve
your looks.
I've learned....
That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose
what I do about it.
I've learned....
That when your newly born grandchild holds your
little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
I've learned....
That everyone wants to live on top of the
mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs
while you're climbing it.
I've learned ...
That it is best to give advice in only two
circumstances; when it is requested and when
it is a life threatening situation.
I've learned....
That the less time I have to work with, the more
things I get done.