As in “The Ball Drops.”
Grandson Gabriel loving his high school basketball career. He’s a sophomore.
****************************
With B Balls often Dropping …
G plays tonight in the championship game of an area holiday tournament.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. This little golden tree I saw on a walk the other day.
2. Robert’s Christmas Morning Breakfast …
Apple and Bacon Sundae Cups
Okay, maybe now it seems more like Christmas Breakfast/Dessert.
3. Holiday Joy.
4. Benny’s favorite gift …
Kitty Stocking Scratcher.
5. Granddaughter Madison … a beautiful gift.
Maybe a few more than Five Happy Bringers this Holiday Friday.
May you show up in Holiday Joy this weekend.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. Sweet Tea, or as Dolly Parton calls it in Steel Magnolias, “the Champagne of the South.”
2. Walking by this “wall of green” covering a building near us here in historic district Savannah.
3. Toenail clippers.
4. The absolute, joyful contentment that kitty cat Benny finds in (literally in) cardboard boxes.
5. Grandson, Daniel and his “Senior Bike Ride” this morning at his school.
On the last day of school (for seniors), Country Day has this tradition for their soon-to-be graduates to ride bicycles onto campus, where they are over-enthusiastically greeted by their families and loved ones, holding up posters and pictures and joyfully cheering (probably because those soon-to-be graduates will also soon be leaving home).
May you have something this weekend to scream joyfully about. (If not, just scream anyway.)
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. Heavenly smelling Strawberry Blossoms and Fruit on a visit to Sonrise Farms near Dublin GA.
2. Reflection
3. The ability to walk up a staircase and to walk down a staircase. (Though it’s getting to be more of a challenge these days with my creaky knees.)
4. Grandson Daniel‘s 18th birthday dance at Miyabi’s Kyoto Steak House here in Savannah.
(You can hear Robert in the background, egging Daniel on.)
5. The amazing spectacle I often see when I step out my front door here in historic district Savannah, a few blocks from the Savannah River …
… and pause before I head to wherever I’m going … to take in a gargantuan cargo ship heading to the Savannah port.
The purple through the oak trees? That’s a cargo ship!
I hope this weekend brings you a Cargo of Good.
Marveling this morning at my grandson Daniel‘s convincing performance as a REALLY messed-up teenager in his latest play, this time at the Tybee Arts Association Black Box Theater on Tybee Island near Savannah.
The play: Marvin’s Room.
Daniel’s character: Seventeen year-old Hank. (D is also seventeen.)
Here’s what Google’s AI says about Hank:
Whew!
Hank, onstage, with his psychiatrist on the right and his emotionally distant mother on the left:
As a grandfather, it was actually (and probably foolishly) somewhat difficult to see the normally exuberantly positive and usually smiling Daniel portraying such a severely damaged young man. (Hank doesn’t smile very much in the play.)
For a moment, I forgot what actors actually do. Act.
Daniel’s now been in over thirty plays, and his specialty seems to be the romantic lead in musical theatre (Prince Topher in Cinderella, Marius in Les Mis), Raoul in Phantom of the Opera.)
Sitting in the audience for Marvin’s Room, I kept having a bit of conflict between watching that mentally challenged CHARACTER I just met and denying to myself that the young ACTOR I knew so well could have ANY of Hank’s negative qualities.
But, uh oh. Maybe we haven’t burned down a house, but haven’t we all pushed a button or two to provoke a reaction from someone else?
Haven’t we all occasionally struggled to express our emotions openly?
Haven’t we all used sarcasm?
And haven’t we all felt (or acted) a little … crazy from time to time?!
The play ends (thankfully) on a positive note with Hank seemingly on his way to a better life.
And here’s Hank — I mean Daniel (!) — smiling his usual smile with HR and me after the performance.
Chatting and joking about his crazy character, we asked Daniel what he was going to be doing after this play ran its course.
“Oh, I’ll probably burn down my high school.”
O
Marveling at the World’s Cutest Girl Scout …
… Cookie Seller …
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. The amazingly resilient beauty of Savannah’s Resurrection Fern.
The green plant growing on the live oak tree behind me, Pleopeltis polypodioides, commonly known as Resurrection Fern, is “a native plant known for its ability to survive extreme dehydration and revive when exposed to water. Appearance and behavior: During dry periods, the fern shrivels and turns brown, resembling a dead clump of leaves. It can lose up to 97% of its water content, while most plants can only tolerate a 10% loss.”
“When it rains, the fern uncurls and turns green within hours.” National Wildlife Federation
(I need a little of what it has!)
2. Recognizing that two out of three isn’t bad.
3. Going on a fascinating Savannah Port Tour this week.
Savannah has one of the busiest ports in the nation. We live a few blocks from the Savannah River, walk along it often but have never toured the port.
Fascinating!
There’s also a massive yacht repair facility …
What a fun couple of hours.
4. The joy of simple, delicious food.
I love being able to pull my grandmother’s large cast iron skillet off our cool, little rack …
… and toss in a couple of seasoned chicken thighs, along with whatever vegetables are on hand (cherry tomatoes, carrots and onions this time).
5. The truth of this little placard outside a business on a recent morning walk here in Savannah.
Whatever your definition of “good” may be, may you have it this day … and this weekend.
Grandson Daniel, along with his mom, are up in New York this weekend for more musical theater auditions for college next year.
After auditioning for NYU, Juilliard and Pace, their flight back to Savannah got canceled tonight because of winter weather.
So what to do?
Run outside and try to grab a snowflake or two, of course.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1.My fragrantly delicious holiday roasted rosemary nuts.
2. Granddaughter Isabelle, aka Santa’s Little Helper.
3. The gift of Appreciation.
4. Pink camellias saying hello from behind a downtown Savannah garden wall near us.
5. A couple of HR’s dangling Christmas pins.
May you have a Merry Weekend-Before-Christmas ahead!
NealEnJoy 