All in the Family

This is why we have children. (Keith, 3 years old)

Back in the trenches

It's been a long time since I've posted anything on my blog, actually since September 2010. You see, I have returned to the Orange County Register. I'm now the editor of the Laguna Woods Globe. So I haven't had a lot of time to sit at my computer and write on my blog. I've been busy trying to improve the Globe and it has taken most of my time.

Publishing a newspaper for a community of 19,000 people where the median age is 79 has its challenges. It's tough keeping the readers happy, getting all their club news in each week and still maintaining the truth that we are a newspaper. Some were unhappy when we published their "secret" that part-time employees receive perks. Nothing wrong with that; I believe that the residents should know where some of their homeowners fees are being spent. In five years, $400,000 has been paid in perks.

I have learned some valuable lessons and secrets about aging: We must take care of our bodies, have enough money to be able to travel and take in concerts, etc., stay active, and stay connected to our families. Loneliness is a major problem with aging. If one is active, and I mean physically as well as mentally, one can refrain from being so cranky. The smallest things appear to set some aging people off. For example, one woman calls every week to complain about the paper and says the most horrible things to me. This week she didn't like the business story. "So what are you going to do? Write about every store that opens in Laguna Woods?" I said, "Yes."
She freaked for the next 10 minutes. One old guy threatened to "take me out." Thankfully security is just around the corner from my office. Many of the people are so kind and that's what keeps me smiling.

Although returning to full-time employment can be a drag, this job has had some fun times. Last week I was interviewed for their cable channel by two TV talk show hosts. The program is "Write Now." I was asked questions about my career and my work now at the Globe. Every other Thursday I also do the news with the TV anchor; I'm learning some great things about TV work.

My biggest news, however, hasn't been my return to work. The Royals are getting married on my birthday! On April 29 they will say their vows and throw a huge party at Buckingham Palace or one of their other castles. I'm still amazed that they didn't call me to see if I minded that they were taking the spotlight off my big day. As Andy said, "Mom, did they not know it was your birthday?"

I will be babysitting Keith that day so we will watch the wedding on TV. Then while Kate, William and the family have their post wedding dinner, I will celebrate with my family, probably with hot dogs, beans and cake on paper plates. But I can assure you, I will have just as much fun.

Many years ago I watched William's mother Princess Diana get married on TV and dreamed about how wonderful it would be to be a princess. Of course, we know how that fairy tale ended. Anyway I watched it while my two youngest ran around in diapers. This time I will watch it with my grandson who is in diapers. Where did those years go?

Whole lotta shakin' goin' on

Just to let you out of towners know we survived the 5.3 earthquake yesterday. Alan was cooking dinner and I had just arrived home from work. I was thankful that the 'quake didn't spill my wine. I felt another, smaller one, in the middle of the night,but it could have been Alan just turning over.

Back on track

When I set out to write a blog a few months ago, my intention was to post different content every other day. But as you see I missed the entire month of June. Where did it go? I know I've been busy writing, teaching, working at the newspaper, babysitting, working in my garden and visiting with my oldest daughter, but that's not entirely all that has kept me from writing. I've been reading fiction.

Just finished two great books: The Weight of Shadows by Alison Strobel and The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (If you don’t run out and get a dog after reading this, then you’re cold, cold, cold.). I also have devoured two nonfictions: Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman, Love Always, Petra by Petra Nemcova, Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert and other entries in Interstices: An Anthology of stories, memoirs, essays and poems, of which my story is also included, “Knitting Us Together,” a story on finding Marilyn. These are only the books I can remember reading; I have probably read a few more in between.

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14, I will be the 5-10 minute “sharer” at the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley in San Juan Capistrano. My topic will be on how affirmative prayer is in the details. In other words, be careful what you pray and ask for - it always comes true. I’m anxious to try the skills my mentor Rev. Geoff Layng has been teaching me.

Today Alan and I had lunch in South San Clemente at an outdoor café. Talk about feeling blessed. While we munched away, six dolphins frolicked right in front of us catching those huge waves that are gracing the shoreline this weekend. “Our” dolphins jumped out of the water over and over and rode the waves like the best of surfers. Beautiful! A reminder as to why we live here in paradise.

Three decades plus six

And on my wedding day, my Dad said it would never last. Oh yeah! Well, OK, so Alan and I had only known each other for six weeks! But we proved to Dad that we could make it last - wish he was still around to know that we are still married! On May 25, Alan and I celebrated 36 years of wedded bliss. So what did we do? We visited a winery and got drunk, well I did - Alan said he didn't. I'm not sure about that, because he was really happy buying those nice bottles of wine. For our birthday gifts, Andrew and Mike gave us a private wine tasting at the Leonesse Cellars in Temecula. The tasting included speciality cheeses and chocolates served with seven excellent wines with a really cute guy who presented the wines. To know more about the winery go to:

http://www.leonessecellars.com/

Remembering Laurel Burch

Darrolyn and I have for years shared the joy in shopping for and wearing the designs of Laurel Burch. We love the colorful art; it makes us smile. Last year when we learned that Laurel Burch had passed away, we dressed in the artist’s finery - shirts, socks, purses, earrings, scarves - and had our own memory service while having lunch. We also sent condolences to her family. This year they asked that those who had sent notes to the family, to please this year honor their mother’s spirit by sending photos wearing her designs. They would post them on Mother’s Day on their web site. So Alan took a photo of Darrolyn and I wearing our Laurel Burch stash and we sent it in. We are on the web site, www.LaurelBurch.com quite a ways into the slide show. Anyway above is the photo we sent in.

Magical Mother's Day

As in the past four plus decades, last Mother’s Day I wondered and I wondered if I would ever hear the voice of my oldest child. Would I ever meet her, touch her, hold her? Would she want to meet me? How would her siblings react in knowing that they had an older sister? This Mother’s Day I don’t have to wonder, the Universe has taken care of everything and our reunion has been whole, complete and perfect.

Today I received a card in the mail, a Mother’s Day card, from Marilyn. I feel so blessed that I know her and that I have held her, my beautiful daughter. Her wonderful three brothers and sister are also over the moon to know and love her. I am so grateful for the support of my children. Our family circle is now complete. This is a different Mother’s Day for me – one with an abundance of thanksgiving; I am finally at peace.

One of many favorite memories this past year is the time when all of us were sitting around the family room talking and Juli said, “Can you believe it, in this group of five kids, there have been three fathers.” I almost croaked, so embarrassing. Then Marilyn piped up and said, “I just want to know who my father is.” Such ungrateful children, but I love them all equally and fully. This is the perfect Mother’s Day weekend!

For all you mom’s out there, on Mother’s Day celebrate, kick back and take it easy. And just think in another 364 days, you’ll get to do it again. (I stole this from Hallmark.) Happy Mom's Day!

Celebrating life

“The butterfly counts not months but moments and has time enough.” Rabindranath Tagore

What wise words from the poet, playwright, novelist and musician. Did you know he was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature? Love that.

Today I am celebrating 62 years of living on this planet.

To begin my day (after being served coffee in bed by Alan) I heard via the telephone the lovely voices of Darrolyn and Hans singing “Happy Birthday” to me – in harmony!

Next Juli had all of her third grade students at Robinson Elementary School sing to me their rendition of the famous birthday song. What sweet voices - fabulous.

I also had text messages from two of my kids. Marilyn was first at 6 a.m., Andrew second at 6:30 a.m., then calls from Juli at 8:45 a.m., Ben at 10:30 – still waiting to hear from Craig. No competition in this family…

As I celebrate my birthday, what I am most thankful for is all the love of family and friends. Rev. Bruce said it beautifully last night at Wednesday Wisdom that love is all we need. When we have love everything else falls into place – our minds are at peace, we have more creativity, we are healthier, more focused…

I am so abundantly grateful for all of you; each one of you has made a difference in my life.

Life is so good these days that I can’t stop smiling, and I plan to keep smiling as long as I have teeth!

Everyone have a great day! I’m off to have a mani/pedicure.

Why Alan didn't go to church today

Just as Alan and I were about to climb into bed last night, I said, “Maybe we should sleep in the guest room; it’s too crowded in here.” Plus there was just too much hissing and fighting going on for sacred space in the queen-sized bed.

So, instead of retreating to the next bedroom, we moved one of the “peeps” to the tree house next to the window, one between us and one on top of me. Snuggled in, we laughed. For about 15 years with four kids we usually had a kid or two in bed with us, waking us in the middle of the night with, “Mommy, can we sleep with you?”

Now we were in bed with some other critters.

This weekend we have been sleeping with one cat and two Yorkie pooches - our dog “Sarah Jessica,” and our granddog “Parker” and our cat “Amanda.”

And during the day we have found ourselves returning to the dilemma of should we stay home, take them with us or get a babysitter?

We have had options of things to do. We could go to a bead show, a play at the Cabrillo Theater to see our friend Wade in the play, “Rumors,” the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books or to dinner at a friend’s home, but we don’t want to leave the dogs home alone. Sarah is still into chewing electrical cords. And we feel highly responsible for taking care of Parker, whom we are babysitting while his daddies are in Los Angeles celebrating their friend Matt’s 30th birthday. (Say, isn’t Matt still in fourth grade with Andrew plotting how to get out of class – like faking illness from a toxic classroom?) By the way, Parker is so well behaved, we are hoping she will teach some valuable lessons to Sarah today – like how not to poop in the house.

Juli came over with Keith and visited on Saturday and offered to take them home with her so we could go out, but we worried that the dogs would escape through her cat door and run away. Besides I think her husband hates Sarah - he might open the cat door for her. (He gets annoyed when she occasionally poops in their house. Hey, I do clean it up.)

Well, those are just excuses. We really don’t want to go anywhere because we are having too much fun. The dogs are hilarious, playing around us, running on the greenway, eating each other’s food, snuggling in our laps, digging up the seeds in my garden and tearing through the house chasing the cat. When we took a drive to get some pizza, the two pooches sat regally together in the baby car seat looking out the window, like this was the biggest treat of their day.

Sometimes it’s relaxing to be trapped at home – a good excuse to finish reading a great book or watching a movie. Alan is using it to stay home from church today.

Perhaps one of you might like to have that feel of being stuck at home, if so, just let me know, I’ll bring the animals over.

A Runaway Success

Congratulations to Jackson Kee Maxwell, my grandson, for running 13 laps at Robinson Elementary School’s 7th annual Jog-A-Thon on April 16. The fabulous fifth grader raised $259 for his school. For his fundraising efforts and fast footwork, he will spend an evening at Boomers with the school’s principal, Mr. Snyder. They will arrive by limo. Other prizes, too numerous to mention, were also awarded to Jack. Way to go!

This weekend: two golden picks

Ah, a rose and a friend - what a great way to celebrate author Louise L. Hay. We recently learned that a rose has been named in the author's honor, a beautiful apricot Hybrid Tea. An ad on the nursery's website reads that it is guaranteed “to produce enormous round petals that provide a lovely fragrance." On Friday Alan and I stopped by the Mission Hills Nursery in the Hillcrest area of San Diego and bought one to grace our rose garden. For information and to see a Louise Hay Rose, go to http://www.missionhillsnursery.com/

For those of you who want more information on Louise Hay, she is the author of many books including the ever popular, “You Can Heal Your Life,” and the founder of Hay House, Inc. a publishing company in Carlsbad. http://www.louisehay.com/

“A single rose can be my garden…a single friend, my world.” Leo F. Buscaglia

And now a word about food

There is something special about visiting San Diego. Every time I go there I feel as though we have been on vacation - my spirit just soars. It probably has a lot to do with hanging out with our son Andrew and his husband Mike. They are always amusing, intelligent and such great hosts. Of course our two dogs, Sarah Jessica and Parker, love to play together too. Anyway, the next time you are in Hillcrest have dinner at Buonissimo2- the food and the atmosphere – fabulous. Word or rumor has it that all the furniture in the restaurant has been shipped over from Italy. Patrons are handed menus in red paper bags, cute. And if you just happen to meet the waiter Andrew, tell him that another Andrew and his mother sent you! http://www.ristorantebuonissimo2.com/

We also dropped by Costco and they are selling a champagne cheese – oh my gosh, it is delicious!

Butterfly Six

Firepit Players on YouTube

Hey we’re on YouTube! This is probably as close as I’ll ever get to performing on TV. Many years ago I was occasionally on a news channel when working in Pennsylvania as a reporter – with a notebook in hand and a poised pen, but this doesn’t count. Now we’re in the big leagues - on YouTube, singing and acting. Who knew?

This presentation of an original one-act play written by Wade and Kimberly Wooldridge could be coming to a church near you – someday. The Firepit Players (The Butterfly Six Plus Two – shown above on a cruise last year) performed this staged reading in February at Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley in San Juan Capistrano. “To Tell the Truth” is based on the old TV show of the same name, but is a search for a more Universal Truth. It features Karyn Allen (Mao Zedong), Rick Dale (Pope John Paul II), Darrolyn Fennelly (Betty White), Alan Potter (Bud Collyer), Barbara Potter (Dorothy Kilgallen), Hans Smith (Carl Jung), Kimberly Wooldridge (Emma Curtis Hopkins) and Wade Wooldridge (Charles Nelson Reilly).

Check us out on YouTube. When you get to the site, type in “To Tell the Truth Wade Wooldridge” – you will be able to see two segments of the show.

Any day now we could be in demand, so let us know if you want us to perform at your church. I will let you know our next performance date.

A hairy situation

There are just some things I don’t care to see, like others having sex.

Last night Alan and I went to the San Clemente pier to have dinner with friends. Getting out of the car in the pier parking lot, I glanced to the car parked next to ours. To my disbelief, a man and woman were engaged in sex in the front seat of the car, right there in broad daylight for anyone to see. Now, I can’t get the image out of my head of this guy’s ugly backside, covered in curly black hair, pumping away.

Traumatized, I told our friends while we were eating dinner. One of them, a very wise woman, said, laughing, “Yes, it’s always important if one is going to have sex in a parking lot, it should be in a van with covered windows.”

Thank you, thank you

What a fun week this has been! I am so grateful for all of your comments regarding the launch of my blog. I love that you have celebrated with me – what a blessing to have such wonderful, caring friends and relatives. Rev. Geoff Layng e-mailed a poem to me after reading my blog. He said I could share it with you. What a special gift; it makes me smile.

“Tis a wonderful blog I see.
A master of mind's liberty.
A love so glad and greatious,
It stimulates God's voracious.”