momtothezoo's blog

http://www.squidoo.com/laus-deo

The nation's best-known memorial to the first president of the United States is located in the city that bears his name.

Laus Deo! Two seemingly insignificant, unnoticed, Latin words. Out of sight and, one might think, out of mind, but very meaningfully placed at the highest point over what is the most powerful city in the most successful nation in the world.

One detail that is never mentioned is that in Washington, D.C., there can never be a building of greater height than the Washington Monument.

http://www.squidoo.com/an-hour

How many of you have spent time in large hospitals, wandering around glass eyed, as you try to find your way from point A to point B? It doesn't take long before you discover you have sympathy for the poor little mouse who is placed into a maize by some high school science student preparing for the Science Fair! And, to further complicate their many halls and doorways, the older hospitals have been "revived" numerous times, blocking halls, adding elevators and doorways, and soon even those who work there give directions that are less than vague.

Christmas is seen in tiny faces
Of children passing by.
Each one carrying dreams,
Hoping, Santa, they will spy.

I see Christmas in tired eyes
As seniors reminiscence.
And quietly tell their stories
Of long ago and childhood bliss.

Can you catch a glimpse of Christmas?
Can you feel it in the air?
Does it reach out to tickle senses
Or touch your heart, with need to share?

This year, I feel Christmas
Much stronger than recent years.
I find it hiding ‘neath the smiles
Of people filled with fears.

Our need, this year, to believe
In a world turned toward despair.

In this article, I plan to touch on a subject that brings discord to both sides of the picture.

For years, I have watched adults tear away at the enchantment of childhood, a childhood I hold very dear. It was a childhood of mystery, excitement and learning to dream and believe in the impossible. We had faith that, if we were good, we would be rewarded.

http://www.squidoo.com/the-pot-bellied-stove
Insert:
He told us of his childhood when all they had was an old wood stove and lanterns for light. They didn't have electricity in their home and his mother always cooked and heated their rooms with the old stove. Sometimes, when it was very cold, their mother would first warm their blankets by the stove and then wrap the blankets around them to keep them warm through the night. My mother had told me about her father doing the same thing for her as a child.

http://www.squidoo.com/christmas-gift-transcending
Oh my, too old to believe in Santa Claus? Well, maybe we are. However, are we too old to remember when we did and the wonder that still lies there, napping within our memories?

Take this time, this moment, to go back to the innocence of living in a world that is bright, filled with fairies and sugar plums and tin solders, dancing and marching across the dreams of your childhood.

http://www.squidoo.com/twenty-first-century-thanksgiving
We must first reconnect with our childhood and the innocence of the world we find there.

Research in Positive Psychology has shown that expressing gratitude and appreciation to the special people and relationships in your life can significantly increase levels of happiness and life satisfaction. So being thankful for, and expressing that thanks to, the people you care about, to your friends and family, and to the special people who have made a difference in your life, is a great way to build and spread happiness.

Christmas in South Carolina, where I grew up, was usually cold. However, though we children prayed for snow, we seldom saw any before February or March, if then. So, to have a white Christmas was very rare indeed.

Christmas Eve was the most exciting night of the year. It was so very hard to go to sleep. The anticipation of the coming morning and the awaited events were unbearable. For weeks, we had shared and planned and visited Santa Claus with our lists of hopeful gifts.

New Lens Just Published
http://www.squidoo.com/dogs-point-of-view

Did you ever wonder what the dog is thinking? Well, come with me and get it straight from the dog's mouth! He can't wait to talk to you!! I promise a giggle or two! :o)

New Lens just published
http://www.squidoo.com/reap-your-destiny

"No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our lives are made. It comes silently, sometimes not even noticed, as choices are made daily by all of us. The day we are born, nature is at work. Character and destiny are her handiwork. She gives us love and hate, jealousy and reverence. All that we possess is the power to choose which impulse we decide to follow."