Kathleen Botsford

Change of Plans

There has been a change of plans.

Our spring break visit to London

has been cancelled due to illness.

Victoria caught some sort of bug and has been

battleing a high fever and flu symptoms since last weekend. 

Her big sister, Alex, took a limo to South Bend very late Monday evening

and drove her little sister home. 

In a snow storm.

The good news is her professors were very understanding and have allowed her

to re-schedule her mid-terms until school resumes after break.

The bad news is.... no trip to London.

In between preparing soup and crackers and trays of

ginger-ale in sippy cups with Winnie the Pooh spoons.....

 I have been playing with my camera and lighting

trying to figure things out....

It has become obvious I need to polish my computer skills

as well as my photography skills

I guess there is no time like the present.

Especially with my un-expected as well as un-welcome

present of time....

Empty Nest for 2013

I cannot believe it is the end of January 2013. 

I remember when I was in grade school and we read 1984 by George Orwell.

The book deeply distrubed me but I comforted myself with the thought,

"At least I will never live to 1984....

that is way too far in the future...."

Ha!

Well here I am in 2013

An official empty nester~

with my son off to seek his fortune in Washington DC

working for a freshman Congressman from LA~

My sophomore daughter at Notre Dame waiting

not so patiently to hear if she will be interning at

the Cannes Film Festival this spring~

And my oldest daughter living in the city,

making her own way,

searching for that ever elusive "perfect" career~

 

I purposely took time off from blogging

this past fall

as I felt the urgent need

to be "IN" the moment.

Gratefully soaking up every last

drop of a magical

time with my family and friends.

Sometimes cameras and writing

can get in the way for me.

While they definitely capture special memories to preserve and savor,

I also find they leave me a little bit

removed from the actual experience.

I will have lots of time to relive and recount

these moments now...

Now that I am an "official" empty nester.....

 

6 or 7 of the kids are on their way for the weekend as I write

so I better get the beds changed and the Birthday cakes baked!

Endless Grief

Words cannot help

Or begin to touch

the raw and ragged

grief of these heartbroken parents.

Oh Divine Beloved

we ask for your sweet mercy

and steadfast embrace

to somehow comfort the

families involved in this

senselessly tragic event

As we their neighbors

stand by helplessly

praying, praying, praying.

New Year New Condo

Summer has come and gone.

I have been busy designing and decorating our new condo.

The last four years we have rented a condo

near the Notre Dame campus

to enjoy our family and friends

and our beloved college football team.

We finally decided to buy.

These are photos of one of the collages

I have been working on to adorn the walls.

 Victoria is back at school and snugly enschonced into her

sophomore year.

Even she thinks time is flying

much too swiftly.

Our Alexandra has flown the cozy

suburbs to experience the excitement

of city life in Chicago

as she starts a new and challenging

consulting career in the city

and a new apartment in Old Town.

Stevie will enjoy a final year working

with his father and

and cheering on his team mates

before his life takes an

adventurous and exciting turn.

*details to follow at a later date.

In the meantime,

being present in the moment

is as always,

my secular and spiritual challenge.

Wishing you and yours

a fabulous new school year

filled with appropriate challenge

and sweet success.

GO IRISH!

p.s. I think I may have to rename this post due to

all of the "challenges" I noted upon re-reading!

How about "New Year New Challenge"?

 

 

 

 

Easter Baby

We are humbly grateful dear Lord

for Holiday celebrations

filled with love and laughter

of friends and family

And most of all

this precious little baby boy

Amen

 

As Time Goes By

 

This week was my son's 23 birthday.

It seems like only yesterday I saw this cute little face

peering up at me.

Where

has

the

      
   time

gone?

I have been blessed with

the opportunity to be a stay at home mother.

Thank you Steve.  Thank you God. 

For all of the blessings in my life.

Dear friends and Family.

 

**daughter #2 who is noticably absent from this photo is

at school.  But not to worry....

Stevie drove into South Bend the next day

to celebrate

his birthday with her and his buddies.

I tried to get a couple of photos from FB

but was not sucessful :(

Saturday Night

 

Another weekend at Notre Dame.  This time with no sporting events attended.  Victoria sings in the Choir at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Saturday evenings.  This past Saturday was her first time and she was a touch nervous.  They sang in Hebrew and Latin and she had only a few days to practice.   The girls sounded like angels, each and everyone. 

 

After Mass we celebrated one of our favorite "son's" birthday with a dinner at our usual restaurant before the kids went out to celebrate Saturday night as only college kids can.  Oh, to be young and frivolous again!  Actually, I am more than happy with my current age even with my sometimes lapses in good sense and glass or two of wine too many.

 

 He who knows he has enough is rich.

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Everything is Sacred

The nutcrackers have retired to their sleeping quarters, preparing for their next holiday assignment.  The sugar plums and candied jewels are snugly wrapped in tissue and put away also.  As I wander around my home this morning and choose which elements of the holidays to re-pack and which pieces will keep us company until spring, I am suddenly aware of a shift in consciousness.  I can choose to look at my tasks as chores that need to be done in a hurry to move on to the next thing on my to-do list.  Or I can take my time and with gentle hands caress each object with gratitude for their part in our family holiday traditions.

Each and every nutcracker has a story to tell as they have been collected one by one, over the last thirty years.  Our collection started in Germany on my first trip to Europe when I was 25.  I bought a nutcracker for myself and my mother in the medieval walled village said to be the home of the earliest nutcrackers.  My collection was handed down to my son when he was young and magically enchanted with these small and wondrous works of art.  Every year he receives another for his growing collection and all the children wait in anticipation to welcome the newest into our family.  A Chicago Bear nutcracker, a toymaker, a pirate and a blue and gold horseman (from the 4 horsemen ND football legend) are among the narrators that tell the story of his changing interests over the years.

This year a Wine-maker joined the ranks.  Stevie has grown into a young man who is learning to appreciate wine and cigars as he and his father retire to our deck after dinner anytime the weather permits in our midwestern evenings.  They don their jackets and boots and gather the cushions from the basement.  Snow and bitter cold are the only determents to their ritual.  They invite me to join them but I am happy to watch from inside a warm house as they share their stories and laughter.

Now is the time to remember that all you do is sacred

Hafiz

Time Passages

In Passing

How swiftly the strained honey
of afternoon light
flows into darkness

and the closed bud shrugs off
its special mystery
in order to break into blossom:

as if what exists, exists
so that it can be lost
and become precious

~ Lisel Mueller ~

 

Christmas Card Decisions

We recently found an afternoon to take our family Christmas card photo.  It was not an easy thing to maneuver this year.  Tori is away at school, Alex is working full time and Stevie was coaching high school football which starts in the afternoon and goes way into the evening most nights.  Not to mention our "other" football schedule and a wedding in the beautiful mountains of northern Georgia for Steve and I.

There was much grumbling from everyone, espeicially our photographer, but we found a date and proceed to carry on our 25 year ritual which is a continuation of my husband's family tradition.

Now the hard part begins.  The two "boys" are in South Africa for a month working in an aids clinic.  Tori is back at school happy as a lark in her new routine.  Alex is busy, busy, busy with work, friends and working out.  The hard part is selecting a photo that everyone likes.  I only have 40 or so to go through this year so that should make it easier.   Any family members who read this post will remember our "blue" card a few years back.  I am still getting grief for that one.  Wish me luck!