JOY With New Eyes: 2008 - With New Eyes

How do I recap 2008 from the perspective of January 2014?

With new eyes, of course…

When I let go of the illusions of the past, my entire life began to shift and change in ways I could never have imagined. The best choice during this tumultuous time was to focus on creating not only a stable life for us, but a happy one. Writing in my journals helped because I could quiet my mind, clear a path, and pay attention to what was happening in the present moment.

My first journal entry for 2008 was your12 year old self's description of your "Dream room”

“A carpet green so it looks like grass, lots of pots for plants, the ceiling fan would be like a sun, and of course, the walls and ceiling would be blue like the sky, and the air bed mattress would be floating in a real pond surrounded by rocks and anchored to the bottom so it could not float away and there would be real goldfish or koi. That’s it!” This lovely vision was inspired by an episode of a Discovery Kids: Trading Spaces Boy vs. Girl. We were house sitting for our friends and later that same day: “It makes you want to step back and enjoy the finer things in life.”

2:30pm “I’m having a perfect day” camped out in a big comfortable chair in pjs and a big fluffy bathroom, with a bowl of popcorn and Discovery Kids' Saving a Species: The Great Penguin Rescue.

I had been feeling a little guilty, having just taken a nap, but with a knack for saying just the right thing to brighten my day, my mood shifted. Reconnected to what is real.
I took this picture that same evening as it began to snow and they remarked:
"It looks like Narnia out there." so we went out.

January 19, 2008 - "Narnia"

Back home, tossing around what was left of the snow the next day.

February 15, 2008 First school dance.

Picnic at Meredith - with the geese

Feb 26, 2008 Wonderful having this kid back HOME. I love the way we wake up and the sweetest, purest things like are spoken: “Mom, when you hug me you fill me with so much love I like my heart will burst” While doing homework Monday – went upstairs to computer to do what was assigned, but got a bit frustrated typing in the web address, but! asked for help and was very appreciative.

Pretty happy with the new bike too :)

March 11, 2008

Sometime between March 6, 2008 and March 13, 2008

The first words this morning: “I can feel my heart filling up.”

3/15/08 7 am – A clean new page in my journal, perfect for thoughts about our spontaneous trip to Wrightsville Beach. We stayed at a nice hotel near Lumina station. Not on the beach, but they had other amenities we enjoyed. We arrived Friday evening just in time for sunset.
Saturday, we enjoyed everything about our day together. How quickly you went from choosing one of everything at the buffet, to playing on the new playground you spotted to running up to the room to change to bathing suit. The maid was in there, so you came back and visited with the bird in the lobby and bopped back to where I was having coffee, all in about 15mins.

March 20, 2008

Carlyle Campbell Library Meredith College announcement of Meredith sport teams to be called "Avenging Angels"

April 27, 2008

May 5, 2008 "I want to know the origin of every, single word."

May 12, 2008 Museum in Durham

May 14, 2008

The next entry in my Gifts from the Sea journal is about new growth - garden therapy... And then… reminders to “linger over” the two new books I got about gardening and spend some time dreaming and creating an enchanted garden, creating scrapbooks of memories and future visions, cooking and movies and life...

“Because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true” ~ Wicked

To quote Ronald Dahl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: “Remember what happened to the man who suddenly got all he ever wanted… He lived happily ever after” ~ Willy Wonka

“Be careful what you wish for / cause you just might get it all / you just might get it all and then some you don’t want / be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it all.” Home by Daughtery

Finished 6th grade and would begin 7th grade in just 3 weeks - crazy, but that's how it worked with your track in year round school. Spent the day with me at work, but we arranged for part of the time outside helping grounds which included being "spritzed" in what you called the "topical rain forest," and climbing one of my favorite trees on campus, the catalpa by the tennis courts.

It was about this time that dean of the Meredith College Library introduced the staff to a project involving 23 things that incoming freshman would probably know, that we did not. My favorite was blogging and I began creating "Cartwheeling through Life" http://lunawings.blogspot.com

As I "finish" reviewing my old journals and to create this final post, I realize will most likely find ways to link the two and flesh out, or refresh/change those first blog post to better reflect this beautiful, bright, shining star:

June 12, 2008

June 16, 2008

Tradition: morning dew on each of our noses on the first day of summer:

June 21, 2008

Tamarix ramosissima pink salt cedar

June 24, 2008, Water Street walk in Stonington Village, CT

Cousins!!! One of those all too rare chance to be together in Connecticut

Apples to Apples with Nick and Amanda

Both of us needed to get ready for the start of 7th grade so, we left

Connecticut and...

Drove back to NC on June 27th

Expressive Eyes

First day of school in July... look at that

Great Grin!

July 7, 2008

Happy at Home

"I enjoyed the breeze before attending open house at Salem Middle school, and a few sprinkles as I walked back to the car afterward. 9:08 pm needing a nap to nourish the soul … must go snuggle with my girl. I heard this song recently, and like so often has happened, heard it differently now that I am your Mom:Elton John's "Something About the Way you Look Tonight" Journal entry: July 2008

July 8, 2008

On one of the many Meredith College adventures when noticed a bird's nest, nestled into a particularly interesting spot in this dress sculpture an art student had created and place between the

Library and Martin Hall.

Kendul and you sleeping. Probably the last picture I took of you sleeping

August 5, 2008

Special cake for my 47th Birthday

Aug 17, 2008 Belt testing

TaeKwonDo may have been "fun" for awhile, but not something one should be forced to keep doing. Unfortunately, but bravely, kept going for as long as you'd promised you would Deputy Black Belt.

Very one of the many struggles she endured in her attempts to be true to herself and please others at the same time. Some pretty hefty life lessons.

Love this beautiful smile

New haircut, same great smile :)

Sept 16, 2008