"May" I?

...share some cool stuff with you to welcome a brand new month?

There’s something about May…

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When I was a little Catholic schoolgirl back in the day, we had a procession to crown a statue of the Blessed Mother with flowers every May 1st. It was really a lovely thing, and something I kind of miss now that I’m Lutheran. I confess to still saying many a “Hail Mary” when danger lurks (driving in the rain at night, etc.) and so far they’ve worked like a charm. I figure God hears all prayers anyway, and I still feel a certain closeness to Jesus’ mom, so it’s all good, right?

There’s a hilarious story about May processions in one of my “comfort” books (you know, the ones you re-read every couple of years and know by heart). Life With Mother Superior, about hijinks in a Catholic girls’ boarding school, is a real gem. It’s out of print now, but if you can get your hands on a copy, I think you’d love it. The book was made into a movie eons ago called The Trouble with Angels, starring Rosalind Russell and Hayley Mills (and partially filmed just up the road at St. Mary’s in Ambler, fun fact).

Speaking of spirituality, here’s an essay I wrote for Living Lutheran about the MANY blessings of being a Nana…

ESSAY: “The Spirituality of Grandparenting”

ART: The Glass Art of Chihuly

When I was in Seattle last week, Evan and I visited a most amazing museum, dedicated to the art of Tacoma, WA native Dale Chihuly. If you, like me, were not familiar with the man and his genius, do look him up (www.chihuly.com), and by all means go to the museum, which is filled with astoundingly beautiful pieces of glass art, truly how-the-heck-did-he-do-that stuff.

MOVIE: “Ripple”

I am not much of a TV viewer these days; when I do I am profoundly annoyed by the huge amount of commercials (and how lame most of them are). Now, if I lived in Thailand, it would be a very different story. In that beautiful country, many of their ads are charming, touching short videos; the name of the product or service is shown only briefly at the end, if at all. One of my favorites is “Ripple,” tracing a simple act of kindness from person to person. It’s just terrific, and I do not in any way feel pressured to purchase a Thai life insurance policy…

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will evade you, but if you notice the other things around you, it will gently come and sit on your shoulder.” —Henry David Thoreau

Wishing you a week of letting happiness find you!

Space Needle, Seattle 4-27-23