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Don’t worry she said.  To no one but herself.  Her mom had recently passed away and-but Everything’s going to be Okay.  Everything always has a way of making itself into okay. Everything has a way of being okay.   After all, is life about suffering? Is life about worrying  or  is it about wondering? My head’s been in the clouds lately.  The turmoil has been like a thunderous night.   Waiting.  In anticipation for the rain.   You can’t buy love, but you can buy handmade, and that’s kind of the same thing. Is this fiction, or is it fact?  She had always taught the importance of giving from the heart.  Hold on.  I gotta sit down, she thought. Everything’s going to Come Up Rosie. That’s how life is. A bowl of consequences. Things always have a way of working themselves out, though. There are trials. There are tribulations. There are triumphs. And there are failures. She had taught her a lot.  Wisdom.  Respect.  Integrity.  Patience. And

I have an "inspiration" binder that I keep on a shelf in my office at home where I’ve collected pictures of things I've found in magazines.  There's a few priceless treasures of artwork that my kids made me tucked in there too.  I only add super special stuff - things that I know I'll love for the long term.   Anyway, we were talking about a project at the house when I suddenly thought of a photo I wanted to share with Russ and brought the binder out.  As I was flipping through these pages of images that I'd saved over a good decade of time,  I found this little quote Mom had sent to me.  I don't know when she sent it, but I had liked it so much.  There it was, this two sentence quote that SHE must have cut out of a magazine.  The words were highlighted in what was now a faded yellow marker and she’d written four little words above it on a hot pink sticky note in her beautiful cursive writing.  A note just for me. Reminding me to believe in myself.  

People fleeing from all over the world and begging entrance into other countries due to fear, starvation, persecution and worse has made immigration more prominent now than I can ever remember.  Take away all of the political chatter and you realize that immigration is simply (people) who leave their own home and country of birth to go live permanently in a foreign country.  Their reasons for doing so are probably as long as their list of names?  Whether to pursue a dream and/or to find better opportunities for themselves and their families, human migration has been going on since the dawn of time. Alongside my own personal research, I've been having some intriguing conversations with my Dad the past few years regarding a certain immigrant we knew who has long ago passed and was so very loved by many.  Due to circumstances beyond his control, and in hopes of having a better life, this man immigrated to a foreign country all by himself, when he was just sixteen years old.  He ha

The day before had been nothing but gloomy and cold.  The Magpies had been occupied the whole day with grooming their abode.  The snow that had fallen during the afternoon had accumulated on the roof so Marvin had spent much of his time out in the cold lifting and securing while Mavis had been up to her beak with buttoning and mending on the inside.  Being a homeowner was a lot of work! Today, as a slight bit of blue skies peeked in through all the loose ends, they decided to take a Sunday stroll.       "Where shall we go, my dear" Marvin pleasantly asked as Mavis finished getting ready to go.      "Let's circle around and see who is new in the neighborhood, shall we?" Mavis replied.  "I'm wondering if anyone decided to take that man-made house we saw?  Do you remember that one?  It had the copper chimney?  It was available a few weeks ago."      "Shall we go and spend some time on the live wire as well?" Marvin inquired

They had just spent their first real night in the new place, the one they had built together.  It was a great starter nest!  They had worked side by side to find the perfect twigs and tufts of winter grass to stitch it all together just right.  There were no adornments, just a nice roof over their heads, and it would most definitely survive the typical spring and summer time weather a neighborhood at 7200 feet could expect! As the sun began to rise behind the gloomy clouds and morning showers, the slight breeze swayed their high rise just a bit and Marvin whispered,      "Nothing to be alarmed about, Mavis, trees of this size will shimmy and shake, especially this far up from the ground!"      "Mamma always told me there was no time for worry" Mavis replied, "besides, it's time to get up and get going with our day!"      "Yes!  Indeed it is my fine lady" Marvin smiled and with that headed toward the door to go find something to eat.

We got some new neighbors this year.    "This isn't really their hood" I thought as he shooed them away.  The first time was out in the east grove, right when you come around the corner.  They were tucked in toward the house, so passersby on the road may not have noticed, but we did. A few days later they were back, it is Springtime after all.  Not in the exact location, but a few trees over.  Those darn magpies!  The next morning they returned to find chaos instead of their finely woven structure, but they were determined that this was the place - only to be foiled once again. We didn't see them for a few days, but then one morning there they were, out there talking.  How could all of their hard work keep tumbling down?  They hadn't noticed it to be too windy when they'd left the night before?  They hadn't seen any creatures lurking about that would create such havoc! A few mornings later they arrived for yet another visit.   Being very persi