Exploring and Encouraging a Healthy Life Marked with Joy

Posts tagged ‘Playful’

The Bear and the Unicorn

For my recent suxteee-seckth birthday, I celebrated with my big ole’ modern family …

… at Savannah’s Tequila’s Town restaurant in Sandfly.

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(Seriously?  Can you believe they come hooting “Happy Bday” laden with tequila for the celebrant!  Even though I had my large head prepared for an oversized sombrero and some flan.)

Post-tequila I received some neat gifts, but perhaps my Favorites came from five-year-old grandtwins Madison (inappropriately pictured above next to the tequila) and Matthew. Their mom let them pick out their gifts for me.  Madison gave me a pink unicorn in a love mug …

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…while Matthew opted for a brown bear that actually smells like chocolate when you rub it vigorously!

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(Matthew is in an over-smiling-for-the-camera stage.)

Oh, they also each got me a large skein of yarn–yellow from Madison and green from Matthew.  Not that I knit (who has the patience for that?!), but because they like to unravel the yarn, make giant spiderwebs and throw it all over the furniture and each other.

Thus, inspired by the tequila, when I got home I opted for a quick photoshoot to document my suxteee-seckth.

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Moral of Story:  the strangest little gifts ofttimes make for the biggest shots of … Joy.

 

 

 

Category:

Humor, Neal's Writing, New, Savannah Joy, The Joy and Wisdom of Children, Transition, Uncategorized, Where Happiness Finds You

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Rainbow Joy

Last evening I went to a fun but bittersweet farewell party for good buddy Ellie Covington (who is Texas-bound, Galveston).

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After a torrential downfall forced the party onto the carport, the late-stayers ventured out onto the dock by the marsh and saw this …

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(Do you see the second one to the right?)

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Of course, we all had to get a little silly.

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I quickly texted the pic to my fam and got this response from daughter Emily (mother of grandtwins Madison and Mathew) from the other side of Savannah:

“We can hold it too!”

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The joyful promise of a rainbow!

May the excitement and happiness of children be with us all, especially Ellie as she makes her move to the next successful stage of her life!

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In Our Own Backyard, The Joy and Wisdom of Children

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Don’t Tell ME You Can’t Tell I Teach at an Art School!

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(Van Gogh)

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(Michelangelo)

Last evening, I grandson-sat Daniel (8) and Gabriel (5) while daughter Amy and son-in-law Orte went fancy gallivanting around town.

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First, we played a quick game of basketball in the 110 real feel (Neal feel!) Savannah heat, quickly realized we were idiots and ran back inside.

Then we ate a hasitily prepared supper (I like the word “supper” in the summer south so much better than sometimes-pretentious “dinner”), consisting of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and scrambled eggs and microwaveable bacon.  (Okay, so maybe not the healthiest Savannah summer supper choice.)

Afterwards, I broke up a third fight over what level to play a video game (Skylanders?  Huh?) and threatened pain if they didn’t stop.  (Do grandchildren anywhere take grandparents’ threats seriously?)

Finally I suggested drawing pictures.  Daniel immediately bought into the peace ploy, quickly pulling out the tools.

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We went to work.

D and G:

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D:

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G:

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Me:

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To be honest, I think I felt more pressure since I teach as an adjunct at an art school (SCAD–Savannah College of Art and Design).  Allright, so maybe I teach ESL (English as a Second Language) there.  But still, it’s an art school.

Daniel’s first (of nine pieces!) finished work of the evening:

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“Spyro Super Fire Balls.”

Gabriel’s first (and only): “Morning Apple Orchard” (which looks a little like “Spyro Super Fire Balls”):

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(“This makes my hand hurt,” he exclaimed, upon completion–and immediately lay down under the dining room table to rest.)

My first work, “Spotted Dog with a Bad Attitude”:

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The muses inspired, and the art continued to roll out.

Daniel:  “Let me brainstorm on what to call my next one.”  (Two second pause.)  “Sharp Tooth Spyro!”  And so it was.

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“Mega Bolt Cynder”:

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“Destroyer Horn Spyro”:

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Daniel wasn’t the only one the muses attended to:

“Green Tree Circle of Life”:

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“Self Portrait”:

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When we finished, Daniel and I curated an art gallery in the sun room.  (We barely heard Gabriel as he kept yelling from the playroom:  “Stop drawing!  Stop drawing!”)

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At one point Daniel looked at me and said, “This is SO much fun!  Don’t you agree, Abu?”

My artistic heart melted.

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Category:

Humor, The Joy and Wisdom of Children

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Five Friday Happy Bringers — 6/26/15

What a Joyful June Week!  I hope yours has been too.

1.  Lucking onto the COOLEST tour of Piedmont Park (in Atlanta) the other day.

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Here’s wonderful guide Lauren of the Piedmont Park Conservancy:

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I learned all about The Cotton States Exhibition which was held there in the late 1880’s and Booker T. Washington’s famous Separate but Equal speech delivered in the park.

2.  Cooling Rain outside my study window yesterday afternoon.

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3.  The Supreme Court Decision a little while ago:

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4.  Appreciating this s0-true affirmation by Bernard Jordan from his book, The Laws of Thinking.

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Yes, we live at the address of our thoughts!

5.  Our beautiful sky.

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May you experience a supremely beautiful weekend ahead!

 

 

 

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Five Friday Happy Bringers

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Five Friday Happy Bringers — 5/22/15

MAY — an incredibly joyful month, don’t you think?

Five Reasons for Happy:

1.  An early morning walk along the McQueens-Tybee Island trail (between Savannah and Tybee Island–10 mins from my apartment).

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2.  Grandson Daniel in his end-of-year Who Am I? Research Biography presentation.  (He was Paul McCartney, btw.)

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(Okay. okay, maybe I helped him a little with the tri-board.)

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(He could only get such coolness from his grandfather.  Seriously.)

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The kids had to explain their research, poster-board-presentation-style, to the folks in attendance.

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They do that kinda stuff nowadays in 2nd Grade?!  Research?!  All I did in 2nd grade was spend a year of trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to stop crying for mama.

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3.  Being a judge for the 2015 Savannah Authors Anthology.  Such fun!

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(I want to be a judge … full time.  And get paid.  Exorbitantly.  Call me if you or yours need high-end judging.)

4.  Getting 2015 Beach Ready.

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5.  Seafood at Safe Harbor in Mayport, FL.  (After taking the ferry across the St. John’s River on the south end of Amelia Island.)

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Safe, Joyful Weekend ahead to you all!

 

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Five Friday Happy Bringers

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Five Friday Happy Bringers — 5/8/15

I love the month of May.  There’s something hopeful, potential, expectant about its very name, “May.”

And here come a few more of my Joy Causers this week:

1.  Granddog Spyro.

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2.  The difficult (for me) but truthful freedom of this declaration:

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3.  Incredible sand art outside one of the classroom buildings at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design).

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This is a collaborative class project called “The Art of the Spectacle.”

4.  Loving every moment of Grandson Daniel’s performance in the Savannah Children’s Theatre Dance Program Recital, “Dance Around the World” last weekend.

Can you see D in the lower right hand side of the dance teacher’s selfie?

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(Shouldn’t that really be called an “usie” or a “themsie”?)

5.  Coffee and beignets at Huey’s on River Street this morning.

Okay, I LOVE New Orleans, but our beignets here in Savannah are fritters better than theirs at Café du Monde.

YOU SIMPLY MUST KEEP READING BECAUSE I HAVE A FEW MORE THAN MY USUAL FIVE HAPPY BRINGERS.

6.  Enjoying the simple beauty of the community Trustees Vegetable Garden (across from my place on East Broad Street here in Savannah).

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7.  Daughter Amy’s birthday celebration (with a lil help from grandson Gabriel).

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8.  Robert’s homemade (first time ever) egg rolls.

Yum!

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9.  Rejoicing in the incredible ability to breathe deeply.

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MAY you have many reasons to smile this Mother’s Day weekend!

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Five Friday Happy Bringers

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G

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I have FOUR grandchildren.  (Yes, you’re right, I’m FAR too young.  We all know that.  It’s a given.  But sometimes Mother Nature has a way of bypassing her laws of when people should have grandchildren–and presents them in, well, early, early middle age.)

Anyway, the second-from-the-oldest-grandchild is Gabriel, 5, a rambunctious bundle of pure little boy-ness.  He’s often affectionately referred to simply as “G.”  In his most recent pre-K school report, the patient-as-a-saint and give-her-a-raise teacher wrote that Gabriel is “smart, funny, with many friends … and has a touch of naughtiness.”

Here’s G (on the far right) with a few school buddies,

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And here he is the other night with older brother Daniel (8).

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Today I received this text from my daughter/G mom Amy:

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The brutal honesty of children.

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Category:

The Joy and Wisdom of Children

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