Magic is in the air at the Enchanted Barn ~ a beauty of a November day, All Saints Sunday, overflowing with love, happy wishes, and forever afters offered by family and friends to celebrate the beginning for Scott and Shantalle
Marriage is a mosaic you build with your spouse. Millions of tiny moments that create your love story.
Two games into the season, and the Marymount Men's Lacrosse team is undefeated, winning its season opener against rival Catholic University and the home opener against an inaugural University of District of Columbia men's team.
As I follow my youngest son's college lacrosse career, I marvel at how sports has played such an integral part of our lives. All my kids have been involved in sports since our first cricket soccer league two dozen years ago. Soccer, baseball, cross country, volleyball, field hockey, track and field, lacrosse, basketball ~ we've enjoyed countless seasons of wins and losses over the years; countless hours of practice while involved in youth leagues, high school sports and college teams, and even more hours on the sidelines, watching and cheering each other on.
The stakes are always high. Have I played to my potential? Have I been fair and exercised sportmanship? Have I given my best and played by the rules? Have I played for the team and as a team? Have I been humble in victory? Gracious in defeat? If so, then win or lose we are undefeated despite the outcome of the game.
don't miss a crumb of what life serves us;
savor each bite, sweet or tart,
knowing that one taste complements the other;
retrieve your fork and pierce the day
I yearn for fall and the accompanying autumn glory of colors. This season has been no exception, with vivid colors splashing across the horizon as dusk approaches. Amazingly vibrant red, orange and yellow leaves dance in the wind behind a bright blue sky; pink, orange and purple streaks reflect a pink kind of October, not only as the sun sets but also with Breast Cancer Awareness.
This month ribbons of pink stream our consciousness: the White House goes pink; macho athletes sport pink shoes, shirts or socks; Facebook profiles post pink bows of hope and encouragement. It's October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. "In the United States, about 1 in 8 (12%) women will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime." Unfortunately it's not limited to females; Susan G. Komen reports about 1% of all breast cancer cases occur in men with 2,240 new cases of invasive breast cancer predicted in the U.S. this year accounting for 410 breast cancer deaths.
It's time to fight, like a girl, and eradicate this scourge. I was honored, and inspired, the other Sunday when a young girl offered to make me in between matches at the Headstrong Lacrosse Tournament my very own pink rubber band bracelet to wear. Her mom said she's been looming up a storm to make and share these bracelets for her part in raising breast cancer awareness. I love her young passion to support a cause and make a difference ~ nothing like striving to knock out two horrible cancers at one time!
So, I invite you to share ~ What are you doing to get the pink on?
In Southern Maryland the season is upon us for county fairs, homecomings and tobacco harvesting. Once the cash crop for the region, tobacco has taken a massive hit with the emphasis on smoking cessation. When I arrived in Southern Maryland three decades ago, field after field was filled with Type 32 plants. The seeds were actually supplied by the Maryland Extension to keep the strain rich as it was one of the preferred tobaccos at auction and considered the most appealing for American blends. As popular as it was, the Type 32 tobacco plant was observed as the king of crops and queen of fairs, with Charles County naming its fair queen in honor of the crop, Queen Nicotina, who was first crowned in 1933. Tobacco fields today are few and far between. Most growers have sold their rights and when I saw this field on my way to an early morning meeting, with what appeared to be a young Amish boy setting out the sticks in preparation of a day's work, I promised myself to return that road so I could try and capture some images. Sure enough, two hours later on my return, three generations were hard at work harvesting their crop. It's not an easy task, I have been told, and so I was delighted to be able to respect their privacy while capturing the essence of their manual labor.