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Celebrate The Ordinary: A Blue Moon

I know, I know, my title contradicts itself: how can an astral event that only occurs every two or three years be ordinary?
It is predictable, we can count on it, even plan our calendars for perfect viewing. What is the big deal?

It's not that I'm jaded--quite the opposite. Let me explain.

Steve Allen once said that if the world knew that there would be only one sunset--EVER--the news coverage would surpass the Royal Wedding, the Olympics, and the Super Bowl combined.  People around the globe would be glued to their TVs, monitors, and cameras, just to behold the spectacle.

Yet every day, without fail, and without fanfare, the sun sets, and rises, often unnoticed.
and sublimely

So here is my photo tribute to our dear old moon: Posted by Jamie at 5:52 PM 9 comments Tags: blue moon, celebrate, ordinary, special


Celebrate The Ordinary: Day Three (or four if you're counting) Those are my antidepressant pills, and every morning for thirty years I have swallowed them.  Gratefully.
It was not always so--gratefulness, that is.  Not at first
I resisted for a long time because I thought it meant I was weak,
or crazy
or pathetic
or a failure
and a disgrace to God.
That couldn't be me! I was a cheerleader, for crying out loud; voted "girl most likely to succeed!"
And now I wanted to kill myself???
I took the pills: they went down easy compared to my pride.
Slowly, with great effort, I came to my senses
Three steps forward, two back, I found my right mind.
The pills alone did not give me my sanity, but they made it possible to regain it.
Taking the pills was one of the kindest things I had ever done for myself.
Thankfully, it is now a daily,
ordinary thing.

Posted by Jamie at 6:25 PM 27 comments Tags: depression, gratitude, ordinary, suicide, survival


Celebrating The Ordinary

A friend of mine in the fight against breast cancer blogged about an experience she had as she drove along a familiar road. The cloud formations caught her eye, and rather than zipping along to her important destination, she stopped the car, climbed out with her camera, and beheld the staggering beauty. Just another puffy-clouds-on-blue-sky day became a soul-renewing celebration of the ordinary.

She was so moved by this surprise that she challenged her sisters-in-arms to look for the treasures hidden in our daily lives and photograph them, just for one week, and share them in our blogs.

Seven days, seven photographs celebrating ordinary things. Simple enough.

I sipped my morning coffee and pondered how to make my selection when my cat assumed her post at my side, purring and tapping my arm for her morning scratch. I rubbed under her chin and around her ears, both of us lost in reverie.  So of course, my first photo would be of this sweet ritual. That was Saturday morning, and I fully intended to post my second photo the next day, but food poisoning laid me low until late Sunday afternoon. As soon as felt a wisp of energy I wandered into the garden to soak in the beauty and fragrance. My hands can never pass by a weed or a faded bloom without pinching or snipping, so soon I was digging and planting in a cloud of clippings and dirt. A couple of hours later I rolled up the hose, dusted off my hands, and surveyed my domain. The flowerbed looked good and I felt good, too.
In fact, I felt all better. DAY THREE will arrive on the fourth day. Simple is not necessarily easy.

Posted by Jamie at 8:44 PM 2 comments