barefoot in the orchard: Mid-Week Pause ~ Reflection

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Mid-Week Pause ~ Reflection

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. John Muir ~

6 comments:

Je m'appelle Cynthia said...: I agree, Sabina - wonderful quote and beautiful photo. I am ready to go outside and enjoy the day before it starts to be rainy and miserable here in PA. Have a wonderful mid-week day, too.; September 21, 2011 6:36 AM
Dancing Branflake said...: This is such a beautiful and true quote. Thanks for this- very refreshing post.; September 21, 2011 7:22 AM
Jo (Pieceful Afternoon) said...: It is a good thing to take a midweek rest - thank you.; September 21, 2011 10:57 AM
Roselie said...: So true, when there's no beauty around us we just exist,we do not truly live...; September 21, 2011 1:18 PM
Paula said...: Gorgeous image and true words spoken. Happy weekend, Sabina x; September 22, 2011 7:54 PM
Meg the Wild Child said...: I can't believe it's been since September that I last read and commented on your wonderful blog :( This is a beautiful photo, and a beautiful quote Sabina - thank you :); October 12, 2011 4:29 PM

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A Special Phone Call From - Now - President Obama

I had the wonderful honor of speaking with Senator Barack Obama (now President Obama) in March of 2007. He had seen a note I had left on his website with a small donation - this was at the very beginning of his campaign -and called as he was leaving his office for the evening.

I still have the original recording of the message he left for me. I actually missed two calls from him -- if you can believe that -- before we were able to talk on the phone a few days later.

That amazing moment in my life is one that I will always treasure -- as was the night he was elected the 44th President of the United States of America!! Go Obama!!

Barefoot in the Orchard

One of my favorite memories was walking barefoot in our apricot orchard. That was some 30 years ago, and it's still one of the first things that comes to mind when searching my life's memories.

Now it is unbearable for me to think about how that orchard, and the others that surrounded it, have long since been replaced with homes. I prefer to keep those images in my mind as if it were only yesterday...

It's a beautiful summer morning. I'm 12 years old. Outside my cat Peewee, a big yellow tabby with a bobbed tail, greets me. I head straight out into the orchard. The branches overhead hang low, and heavy and the sweet smell of apricots fill the air. Running faster and farther with each step - the seemingly never-ending rows of trees stretch out before me. I can feel the warm sun on my face and the cool feel of the dirt under my feet.

A Few Facts About Me

I am a stay at home mom with five children - six if you include my husband (all the women will immediately understand this joke). You really could not call my oldest two sons "children", since they are 23 and 21, but there are days when it seems as if they are. Both are in college and I am very proud to call myself their mother.

My other three children came to me courtesy of my sister in law, who developed a problem with methamphetamines, and lost them all to Social Services (of course there is more to the story than that but in a nutshell that's what happened). Their ages are 13, 10, and 9.

The oldest one came to us at just shy of 3 years old, the second one at 3 months old, and the third at 3 days old. These three little people in my life - despite all the work, and dealing with social services for 3 years (three does seem to be the magic number here) until we were able to adopt them - have taken my life on a turn I never would have expected. Now I can't imagine a day without their smiling faces - even if some days they aren't smiling as much as I'd like. Occasionally someone will tell me how lucky they are to have me, but I know that I am the lucky one.

I guess you could say I feel blessed even if things aren't perfect. I've been married to the same guy for 23 years (Mark Couchot) but I like to count all the time we have actually been together, 26 years (I think I deserve the extra credit for those years too), and we were friends before that for few years. We both went to the same high school, but he was a couple of years ahead of me. We actually met because my first boyfriend had known my husband since kindergarten. That's the simple version of the story - as the actual version could fill many pages. He is simply "the sweetest guy with the best heart that I've ever known" - even if I do take him for granted now and then.

We picked up the keys to our house 17 years ago on my 31st birthday, and we love it more than ever. It's become a lot smaller over the years, but it's our home, and we wouldn't trade it for any other. Our kids heights are recorded on the inside of the pantry door, and each time we measure - " just one more time" - because maybe someone has grown in the last few days -- I just can't imagine having it any better than this.

Favorite Quotes

_
"It's never too late to be what you might have been."
George Elliot ~

"To effect the quaility of the day, that is the highest of arts"
Henry David Thoreau ~

"Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinetly rich and beautiful life is in every way and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever."
Isak Dinesen ~

"Motherhood Is Not For Wimps."
A Very Wise Woman ~

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new doorway for the human spirit."
Helen Keller ~

"What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you."
Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
_
"Choose well. Your choice is brief, and yet endless."
Geothe ~

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Mid-Week Pause ~ Reflection

6 comments:

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