The Goose Looks Over Her Shoulder

Mother Goose is not the kind of person who goes around honking her own horn. I prefer to perform my good deeds and random acts of kindness with a great degree of anonymity and humility. My accomplishments come and go as swiftly as the wind, and like the wind, I remember them not.

However, I’ve been blessed with a beautiful daughter who not only has the memory of an elephant, but the heart of an angel. On the recent celebration of the birth of this goose, she gave me a gift which will last a lifetime — a love letter listing all of the goals I’ve met in 2012.

It is not my intention to brag about my achievements, but to encourage you to believe in your own selves in the coming year. When we allow hopes and dreams to grow, they bear fruit of great sweetness. If a goose such as myself can do this, that and the other thing, imagine what YOU can do? Please allow me to share excerpts with you.

From Jessi:

“You continued your blog, gaining friends, followers and support for your hilarious and inspiring stories.

You trained for months so you could run and complete a 5K race. And even after, when your ankles hurt so bad, you cared for us.

You brought new life to Blue Star Banners; bringing a very tangible symbol for people’s love and pride in their military sons and daughters.

You Mystery Shop now! And while some interactions seem small, people get a sense of purpose from helping another find the soy nog!

You were hired to tutor kids in west side schools!

You maintained amazing friendships and closeness with your friends and your family — including fostering a closer relationship with Grandpa.

AND…on top of all this, you encouraged your husband and kids to never give up, to set goals, and to always believe that the best outcome is possible.

Thank you for a truly inspiring year, Momma.”

Isn’t she a fine and loving daughter to write all of that sweetness about Mother Goose? I love her very much…

We could also spend some time today reflecting on a few of Jessi’s own 2012 achievements and accomplishments:

She graduated from Columbia College Chicago with honors!

She worked a bad job for a year so that she could pay off her credit card!

She applied to the graduate school of University of Illinois in Chicago, and was one of eleven candidates selected for their Urban Planning and Policy Program.

She spent three hours behind the scenes at the Brookfield Zoo Marine Mammals department, working as a guest trainer for the seals and the dolphins. Here are some pictures from that wonderfully amazing event this past Saturday:

There she is squatting down next to the water. She got to KISS a dolphin!

In the course of her Wild Encounter, Jessi interacted with a leopard seal who PAINTS as therapy for her neurological disorder.

An unforgettable experience with the trainers and marine mammals at the zoo.

Dear readers, Mother Goose wishes you and your families a new year full of hope and dreams, joy and peace. But mostly I wish you a new year full of love. God bless you all.

Please Pass the Joy Butter

Quite recently, I was asked the question that all authors, bloggers and ordinary people love to answer:

“Why do you write?”

Those four words are deeper than you can imagine! To even begin to answer the question requires much thought and soul-searching. Most writers would toss it back and forth between their ears, and mull it into a warm autumn drink. They would then consider the options; they would weigh the outcomes and pontificate on the ramifications.

It took me about three seconds to answer…

I write to spread Joy Butter over the toast of ordinary, everyday life.

Eric needs a little Joy Butter on his rye bread.

The Lord said that we should pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Toasting the bread is good — getting it warmed and crunchy is a fine morning tradition — it’s completely palatable and nourishing. However, dry toast can be…well, dry! It can be just crumbs in your mouth, pretty bland and ordinary. But omigooseness when you spread a pat of butter over the toast….why it just makes a world of difference.

Do you have “toast” days?

Kinda of dry, kind of boring, kind of crumby…

Mother Goose is here with her Joy Butter, ready to add some flavor and smiles to your day. Please pass the Joy Butter!

The Autumnal Garden of Mother Goose

Mother Goose Surprises Her Sister

The sister of Mother Goose lives “up north” in the land of 10,000 lakes, northern Minnesota. It’s an eleven hour drive from the home of Mother Goose — unless, of course, she is speeding and getting pulled over by the Wisconsin State Patrol in which case the ride can take up to fourteen hours…

Mother Goose does not to see very much of her sister — just a couple of visits each year because of the extreme distance.

My lovely sister, Leslie, aka Bunn

Not surprisingly, we don’t like “good-byes”. It’s a trait we inherited from our mother — quite normal and natural in our goose family. However, my sister has taken that dislike to the extreme by simply avoiding the “good-bye” time altogether! She and her husband, Allen, have begun a strange new tradition of disappearing in the middle of the night to avoid the painful, tearful farewells and so longs. This in itself has become a source of great sadness and frustration for Mother Goose who, despite the hard emotional content of a good-bye, does treasure every moment spent with her beloved, long-distance family.

Hence the surprise…

Last Friday morning, Mother Goose and her three youngest goslings loaded up the Goosemobile and set the cruise control and the auto-pilot for “up north”. Eleven hours later, we arrived unexpected, uninvited and unannounced at Bunn’s doorstep. A great big round of applause for AnnaRose who filmed this surprise for us all! Grab your tissues and enjoy this video!

But this was only the beginning of a GREAT surprise weekend! You won’t want to miss tomorrow’s “up north” adventure…

Love your family and friends today! M.Goose