It is the long-awaited May 1 and I can now say, "BRAE WILL BE HOME NEXT MONTH!"

I have been waiting to be able to say that. Damien, find a picture for this. just the right one-a little kid doing a cartwheel or something...like I have to give you an idea!

ALSO, it is the official countdown to my sister's son's wedding..."10!"... All my Chattanooga kids have 9 days to get it together and land here! I believe in you guys. You can do it.

Also, my best friend in the seventh grade-Jane Gallagher-I always remember that it is her birthday today! I wish I knew her number. She is in Annapolis somewhere. Gotta go sub.

Mutual attraction on a Greyhound bus.

While Chalice was traveling by bus for 14 hours from Jackson, Miss. to Chattanooga, Tn., I was slightly concerned that an unknown male might notice her beauty and perhaps watch her from a distance. Just as I suspected, this indeed was the case, but my daughter was responding with her beautiful eyes and eyelashes and smile to this stranger's attention - even pulling out her camera to capture his gaze. Here is the picture she sent me (using only her cell phone) while on the bus!

Serious gardening.

Damien told me on the phone that there was a big tractor in the backyard. Yep, I found the tiller man and hired him to come "till". Since then I have tapped the posts in with the sledge hammer. You should see me wrangling with the chicken-wire fencing. How to unwind the roll without it wrapping me up in it...now that is the challenge, but I prevailed. The garden is where the playground used to be so I am finding old toys in the dirt which is quite dear. I have made those mounded rows and have put in so far: broccoli, collards, brussel sprouts, cabbage, onions, spinach and lettuce. Other vegetables have to wait till it's a bit warmer. I'm a real Eastern Shore woman now...sore chapped hands and all.

A prayer with Brae in mind as she flies to China this morning

Actually, this prayer fills my mind with thoughts of Kyrie as a little girl. Gathering her art supplies, she would copy this prayer and illustrate it with her trusty colored pencils until I would exclaim, "Wow, we need to find a frame for this!" But, that said, this is still for Brae-Brae.

God be in my head, and in my understanding.
God be in my eyes, and in my looking.
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking.
God be in my heart, and in my thinking.
God be at my end, and at my departing.

Counteract.

More on aging! Damien has become a cross-word "puzzler". It is actually very good for the aging brain as we all know. On American Idol one of the "rockers" said he does cross-word puzzles in his free time which Simon laughed at and retorted "That is boring and will do nothing for your american-idol image." Paula quipped back, "I beg your pardon, women like smart men!" I thought that was a great reply and so true.
Anyway, on a program last night on the brain it was explained that when an older person starts looking down as he walks, he is actually replacing the brain's job for balance with the eye-which is a poor substitute and will not work. Older people, keep looking up when you are walking just as you always did! Kids never look down even when they gallop down steps.

At 50, everyone has the face they deserve.

-At 30. your bones are the strongest they will be and you have the most stamina and endurance you will ever have.
-At 50, peope start to act like their parents even if they had been very rebellious.
-Good news ladies! At 55, we start to lose weight. The bad news is that it is bone, lean tissue, muscle and water.
-Wrinkles do not come from aging. They come from sunlight.
-The years between 50-57 are the hardest because we are still being asked to do things but we are not decrepit enough to say no.
-At 60, saliva decreases, lessening digestion which is why heavy meals don't seem like such a good idea anymore.
-I end with good news. At 90, you have a very slim chance of getting cancer. Hungry, mutant cells are not going "there".

This came from an article I read that I thought was most amusing for some reason,

City girls!

High energy Brae and her super-spirited artist friend Eleanor came for the day and left me totally wiped. Out to lunch we went, window shopping, visited Pax and Chalice at school, made cupcakes, dinner, coffee, and looked for things Brae left at Christmas. We realised Lowen gave some of these items to Jonlyn. How did that happen? It didn't seem to phase Brae in the least. That attitude comes from being young and big-hearted. They raced off at 6pm because Brae had to get the rental car back by 9. City girls are fun! Thank you Brae for starting off our week with hearty laughter and buckets of fun.