Book Review

 Recently, I had the chance to read my first book as part of the reviewer program for  The Catholic Company.  It was titled Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship.

When I was in high school, I remember Mother Teresa visiting New Orleans.  I cannot remember the reason for her visit but I will never forget one thing she chose to do during her time here.  She wanted to address the youth of our city.  Free tickets were given to all the Catholic high school students and we dutifully filled the college arena.  It was the same arena where we saw the latest, popular singing groups and rock stars of the time.  Now here we were to see this diminutive lady in her cotton sari, a far cry from the glitz and glamor of 80's pop stars.  I can't remember anything in particular she said but I can vividly remember her tiny frame which seemed almost to shrink before us against the enormity of the venue.  She was quiet, calm and spoke in her familiar thickly accented English.  I also clearly recall the hushed awe that fell across our normally rambunctious crowd as she walked out to address us.  We all knew what an honor it was to be in her presence.

Donna-Marie Cooper Boyle was very fortunate to have met Mother Teresa and further blessed by ten years of personal letters and other encounters with the lady we now call Blessed.  We have the opportunity to see Mother Teresa through the eyes of someone who had a relationship with her.  I liked that Donna-Marie put photographs of the actual letters she received at the start of each chapter.  It was lovely to see the old typewriter print as well as Mother Teresa's signature at the bottom.

Through the course of the book, you follow the friendship of Donna-Marie and Mother Teresa while learning about what was going on in the author's life at the time as well as gaining a closer look at the spirituality of Mother Teresa.  Most of us know something about this world famous missionary but we can all benefit from a closer look.  Donna-Marie makes the message of Mother Teresa quite clear and shows how each of us can put her lessons into work in our own lives.  We are not all called to minister to the poor and dying in the slums of Calcutta but we are called to minister to those around us.  Mother Teresa herself said,  "There is Calcutta all over the world for those who have eyes to see."

I enjoyed learning about what and how Mother Teresa taught her nuns.  It is wonderful to know that the powerful love she showed will continue after her death through the Missionaries of Charity all around the world.  Lessons in simplicity, the power of love and the value of taking time to silence ourselves are all lessons we can use right away to live a better life and begin to build God's kingdom on earth.  In writing this book, Donna-Marie lets you into her life for a closer look at Mother Teresa who in turns gives you a closer look at Jesus.  You will see those around you in a new light and will be armed with tools for loving Jesus Himself in those around you.  Mother Teresa said,  "Holiness does not consist in doing extraordinary things.  It consists in accepting with a smile what Jesus sends us.  It consists in accepting and following the will of God."

I highly recommend Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.  I also recommend The Catholic Company as a great resource for Catholic books and gift items.

Dina

Exciting Updates

I have two updates on the writing front.  First of all, I have signed up for a writing course online.  It takes about 18 months to complete and by the end I will have completed two manuscripts ready for publication as well as character sketches and outlines for several other works.  They help you narrow down a genre of writing based on your interests and talents.  They also teach you how to contact publications and get your work published.  I am thrilled to be able to do this because I know the deadlines, direction and guidance will be invaluable.

Second, a friend suggested that I take part in a Reviewer Program using my blog.  The Catholic Company is an online store that sells many books and gift items.  If you have a blog, you can sign up to be a reviewer.  You choose from a selection of materials which they send you to try or read then you review it on your blog.  I was excited to be approved and will be posting my first review shortly.

Last but not least... Happy Fall!  We were fortunate to have a cool front blow through last week and it has really put the feeling of fall in the air.  Each day it has gotten a little warmer but that's okay.  I think I speak for everyone here, that fall has been ignited in our hearts.  It also helps to know that another cool front is just around the corner.

Today I am doing something I have never done and it certainly has me in the fall mood.  I am cooking a turkey.  We are having a good-bye dinner for the Mexican girl who has been living with us.  I was trying to decide what to cook and my aunt's green bean and artichoke casserole came to mind.  When I asked my daughter what she thought she said it would only be a tease because it reminded her of Thanksgiving.  Well then, I decided, turkey it is for the main course.  So when you walk into my house today, the first thing you smell is the pumpkin candle burning in my foyer.  Next comes the smell of turkey (and a packet of onion soup mix) wafting from the slow cooker.  As you move further into the kitchen you can smell vanilla and apples from Apple Crunch Cake cooling on the counter.  I am feeling so warm and cozy.  Never mind the 80 degrees outside.  In my heart, certainly at least in my nostrils, it is a cool, crisp late November Thursday.  What a treat!

Happy Fall Y'all!
Dina

The Sweet Spot

This morning I had a chance to hit the tennis ball around with Mark.  I love tennis and I love Mark so it is a winning combination.  I haven't ever had lessons and had hardly picked up a racquet until we lived in England.  There were public courts in the park behind our house there.  Since the kids weren't in school we could play during the day in the middle of the week and had the entire place to ourselves.  We could hit until our hearts' content while Elise ran around with whichever kids were sitting out for a bit.  I wasn't nervous about how I looked or what I wore because it felt like our own private court.  That's not the case at the New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club.  It is quite intimidating to play at the second oldest court in the country with all the tradition and etiquette associated with tennis.  I am not letting that stop me but that's only because Mark is comfortable with it all and I just follow his lead.

On the ride home, I was analyzing my hitting with Mark and going over things I did right and what I did wrong.  I love the mental challenge of figuring out your opponent's hit and where it is headed.  When you guess correctly, you are prepared to be in the right spot.  When you are lined up correctly and swing at the perfect moment, there is a satisfying THWACK the ball makes as it hits the racquet.  It's the sweet spot.

Life is full of sweet spots.  Lately, I have been focused on physical ones.  I have been going to tai chi classes for about three months.  I have been wanting to blog about it but can't seem to put my amazement of this Chinese form of martial art into words.  Me, speechless?  Imagine that!  There is so much to share about tai chi but I am bringing it up now to illustrate my point.  In tai chi, the movements are done rhythmically and very slowly.  In practicing the movements you are trying to find the best way to perform each sequence.  The instructor explained that when you find that one right way, you can freeze at any point and remain completely still with no problem.  In tai chi, the goal is to always be balanced and in complete control of your muscles.  You know the feeling when you get the move right.  You hit the sweet spot.

I am taking a dance class this year.  This is something I have been wanting to do for some time and it is finally possible with Elise in school.  I danced from the time I was five until I left home for college and have even gone back as an adult.  Physically in dance, the sweet spot is when you have practiced the combination of steps enough you could do it in your sleep.  That's when you get to fine tune the technique and bring out the emotion of the dance.  It is a very sweet spot indeed.  Combining music with the movement adds an emotional level to the activity for me.  The first class, the teacher mentioned the name Bob Fosse and started playing All that Jazz.  I grew up learning his style of jazz choreography and dancing to the music of his works such as Sweet Charity, Pippin and Chicago.  Talk about the sweet spot! 

In August we had the luxury of a last-minute get-away to the beach with my in-laws.  Sitting on the beach with my brother-in-law, listening to the perfect beach tunes on a picturesque day, we both marveled at the moment.  It was just the right combination of relaxation, family time, sand and sun.  The sweet spot is always about just enough, never too much.

We all are given sweet spots in life, both physically and emotionally but it is learning to recognize and appreciate them that brings such satisfaction.  Of course, these moments are nothing more than a glimpse at the sweetest spot of all...

Here's hoping you hit a sweet spot soon and get a little glimpse of Heaven.
Dina

Happy Girl, Happy Mom

It has been WAY too long since I have written a post!  My last one was so cathartic and expressed what I was feeling perfectly.  It was like a tough act I didn't want to follow.  But...I miss posting so I thought I would start with a short follow up.  Simply put:  Elise loves school and I love being a mom who has her kids all in school and still gets to stay home.  The hours and days fly by.

I'll end with a funny Elise quote.
When asked at the dinner table to share her favorite part of the day, after a long, thoughtful pause Elise responded,  "It was brushing my teeth."

Gotta love four-year-olds!  They sure make life fun.
Dina

Endings, Beginnings

I was sharing the bed with Elise tonight.  Smoothing down her hair.  Watching her stretch.  Then the water works started.  She is starting school in 14 days.  I'd note the exact hours and minutes but that would be down right embarrassing.

Lately when I look at her, I gaze long and hard, taking in every detail.  I want to pour her in a cup and drink her up.

Did I read enough stories?  Do enough puzzles?  Have enough tea parties?  Tickle enough?  Laugh enough?  It's all slipping through my fingers like sand.

Wasn't five children and fourteen years enough?  Right now, it doesn't seem so.

I loved the gentle rhythm of the days.  Mealtimes, nap time, baths and bedtime with walks, playgrounds and toys sprinkled in.  I can still remember the reality of three children under the age of four.  Mess and chaos.  The gentle rhythm felt more like waves crashing on the shore threatening to pull me under.  But looking back that mess and chaos seem now as sweet as the jam I didn't have time to wipe from the counter.  As sweet as the syrup Anne always managed to get in her hair.  Sweet as bananas and cereal dribbling down baby chins.

The expanse from 8-3 has never looked so vast.  I remember the days when I would dream of time and space for myself.  To think.  To breathe.

It is quite a coincidence that Winnie-the-Pooh is in the movie theater again this summer.  If ever there was a romantic view of childhood and the magical years before school, this is it.  I was thinking about taking Elise to see it.  Actually, I guess I want her to take me.  I don't know if I can make it through the end without completely losing it:

And so we come to the last chapter, in which Pooh 

and Christopher Robin go to the 

enchanted part of the forest, and we say goodbye. 

Winnie-the-Pooh says, "Goodbye? Oh no, please. 

Can't we just go back to page one 

and start all over again?"

Sorry, Pooh, but all stories have an ending, you know.
 

"Oh, bother."

Right now, turning this page and ending a chapter seems so hard.  I have never been good with goodbyes.  Ask my mom.  If I stay in one place for five minutes, I am emotionally attached.  Being in this "place" for fourteen years, It is only natural to be sad.

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an
end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
~T.S. Eliot~  

So.  This fall, first, I will cry.  Then I will breathe.  Then I will think.  Then I will begin.  What?  I don't know.  Stick around and see.

Dina 

Right Here, Right Now

Here I am, up way too late, reading and reading and reading.  Then I realize- HEY- I had picked up the computer because I was wanted to WRITE a post.  Amazing how quickly one can get sidetracked in cyberspace.

Well, I am happy to report I am officially enjoying summer.  It takes me some time.  The transition is always difficult.  My ideal summer and my REAL summer need time to melt into one another.  The past few days there have been times when the ideal has become reality.  Actually, I think that probably happens more often than we realize.  Being aware of it is the trick.

On Sunday after several days of rain, Mark was determined to take the kids to the pool.  The gray clouds were sufficient warning this was not a good idea but he persisted and I helped the process along, dreaming of reading and writing alone.  I transported everyone and ran an errand.  Then I went back to the club to check on everyone.  Big mistake.  I should have run for cover.  Instead I found myself rained in at the club with the family.  As luck would have it everyone else took the hint (and a strong one I might add) from the menacing gray clouds and stayed away.  The Women's World Cup Final was on the big screen tv and we had the place almost to ourselves.  Lifeguards and workers alike joined the party.  One kind gentleman kept us supplied with freshly popped popcorn and pretzels.  The rain drenched the tennis courts and splattered against the wall of windows.  The kids were watching the soccer match, munching on snacks and playing with tennis balls.  It was an impromptu party and a cozy one at that.

No place else I would have rather been.  Right there, right then.

Last Thursday I went to the midnight premiere of Harry Patter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  We sat in line for hours and watched the parade of HP fans in their costumes while my daughter Anne read to us from The Idiots Guide to Harry Potter.  The excitement was palpable by the time they let us into the theater.  From the very first scene we were drawn in.  The two hours and fifteen minutes passed so quickly.  The movie was stunning and came to a satisfying conclusion.  In the theater packed with die hard fans...

No place else I would rather have been.  Right there, right then.

Today I took some of the kids to the pool.  It is stressful to me to watch Elise at the pool.  She can't swim yet but wants to be in on the action.  Finally, she gave me a break and decided to splash around in the baby pool.  I found a few discarded toys for her to play with.  It was getting a little too hot so I decided to sit on the edge and put my feet in.  Ahhhhh!  Now I could relax and enjoy myself.  Next thing I know, Elise and I are having a tea party then I am watering her while she pretends to be a flower.

No place else I would have rather been.  Right there, right then.

Now here I am in a comfy chair in my quiet living room.  All the children are asleep upstairs.  I am listening to Mark snore on the sofa across from me and there is the quiet hum of the air conditioning.  I should have been sleeping long before now but there is no place I would rather be.  Right here, right now.

If you look for those moments, you will find them right before your very eyes.  Here's to stealing a few more of them before the summer's end.

Dina

Lucky Me

I have been dreaming of writing for some time now.  Hesitantly, fearfully but dreaming none the less.  I have not been sure just what shape my dream would take and I certainly didn't commit to following it in any way.  To commit would require action which would require decision.  Decision?  Did I just mention the "D" word? 

If you have been with me on this blogging journey for some time you will remember the post where I couldn't decide on my hair color.  Small decisions are paralyzing.  Every time I am almost out of flavored coffee creamer, I approach the dairy aisle with high anxiety.  Recently, a friend described this heavenly liquid as "Christmas in a cup".  How perfect!  Of course, bringing Christmas into the picture only made things worse.  Christmas means peace, joy and love in just the perfect combination.  It means high expectations which lead to disappointment and disillusionment.  Now bring that expectation to the dairy aisle and  I am breaking out in a sweat.  Now Dina, you may think, are you seriously stopped in your tracks by this tiny insignificant decision?  I am embarrassed (however slightly) to admit it.  You would think I was marrying the darn creamer!

Big decisions are easy.  Move to England.  Sure!  Now what color suitcases to buy to go to England is another story.  You get the picture.  So my dreaming of writing is stalled by trivial decisions such as computer vs. notebook.  Do I write in a notebook by hand or tap away on the keys of the computer.  Certainly a big enough choice to derail any dream!  Well, the computer has been at my disposal all this time and hasn't spurred any great feats of writing so I decide to try the notebook.  You guessed it.  There I am in Office Depot deciding which color notebook to MARRY.  Ridiculous but true.

Enter fate, muses or the Holy Spirit (which I prefer to call it).  Over and over again, I am guided and shown glimpses of a possible writing life.  Lucky me for each of those guides and glimpses.

• Lucky me that my brother-in-law has a desire to write and is armed with a fabulous book to lend me on the subject.  Not to mention that he actually is willing to answer his cell phone when he sees me calling and knows he may be attacked by a bout of inspiration which I ramble about incessantly.
• Lucky me that I have a mom who loves reading and introduced me to the love of story at an early age.  Lucky me that we still share this love and recommend books and chat about character and plot.
• Lucky me that I met my alter ego online a few weeks ago.  She is a blogging, knitting, Harry Potter-reading, British-Royalty loving mother of five.  Blows the mind, doesn't it?  She came to New Orleans and we had a three hour coffee chat that felt like five minutes.  She has worked as a writer/editor and is willing to help me along this path.
• Lucky me that I have many friends like you, dear readers, that openly encourage me in my writing.
• Last and most importantly, lucky me to have a husband who understands.  When I explain that I want to write his answer is, okay so write.  When I protest that this will require hours of doing nothing else he responds, okay so write.  When I worry that all this may come to nothing he responds, that's okay.  Just write.  He gets it.  Not only will he not stand in my way, he will wholeheartedly support me.

So, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  I did decide on a notebook color.  It is the perfect shade of black that says, "Write damn it!".  On to steps two, three, four...

Dina