The Days of Day

I've never really cared much for horoscopes, except to read them and laugh about how every single one of them is true for me... or else how every single one of them is true for the poor sap down the road, but not nearly right for me.  I never knew why until this week. I think I've just always been repelled by the idea that anyone can read MY stars but ME.  How can anyone else know what the stars are conspiring to teach me?  And right now, Baby, those stars are aligned and shouting to me with all the power they can send my way.  The message is clear: When I decide what my dream is -- when I listen to my heart to unravel my vision --  the Universe and all the people in it, will conspire to make my dreams come true. The message, though, isn't just for me.  It's for everyone who needs to hear it. So, how do I know the stars are aligned to teach me that? Any one of these things I list here would be enough, but they are all true simultaneously: After a year ...

This summer on our road trip, one of our adventures was visiting my brother's fire station and letting the boys try on the hat of one of their heroes.  I like these photos because Jackson's nearly third grade face says, "Yeah, I'm just trying it on."  Marcus' face, though, says, "Right at this moment, I AM a firefighter."  He looks to me like in his mind the helmet fits him exactly and that Uncle Will's bunker gear has shrunk down to be fire-ready just for Marcus.  He BELIEVES. As I'm adjusting to life with several new hats, I'm struck by how much more fun it is to BELIEVE.  I love the hats of mother to elementary age boys and teacher.  I also love the old hats that still stick around, like director of doing-stuff, cooker of healthy foods, wife and best friend of Tom.  The stress I feel today is in the realization that I have to quickly shift from hat to hat about five times today. So, at this moment, I'm going to take a lesson fro...

  While looking at his daughter's room which was a mess... again... Rabbi Kula, author of Blessings, finally hears himself say, "It's just like Talia: always overflowing."  He realized he was smiling.  He wrote: "Her cup runneth over... Perhaps Talia didn't want these things put away neatly, but left out, exposed as if to say 'Here I am.'  For the first time I understood while Talia always said, 'It's not a mess to me.'" We're home from vacation.  The suitcases are put away.  The clothes have been washed.  The souvenirs seem like friendly old things already.  Now, it's time to start thinking about school starting back in a few weeks.  I'm looking ahead with excitement, but not urgency.  I'm finding the back to school sales AND squishing my toes around in these lazy muggy days. My cup runneth over. I look into the crystal ball of my own invented next year and I see school, baseball practice, grocery shopping, an...