Silver Sage Sisters

Mary Ann 

Do you have a word or a set of letters or numbers that keeps appearing in your life?  I have. Strangely, I have had SSS show up several times in my life, and it is not the Selective Service System. 

In college, I belonged to a local sorority.  It was Theta Gamma Phi that later went national, and we became Sigma Sigma Sigma – SSS!  The sorority was the center of so many wonderful friendships. A few of those women have remained close as the years passed. 

I never thought much of it until I joined a children writer’s group with three other women writers in South Carolina, and we met the second Sunday of each month.  We called ourselves the Second Sunday Sisters – once again SSS.  These ladies were so creative, and we watched the birthing of many books over the years. We critiqued each other’s work and pushed one another forward being cheerleaders to the group.  We would visit the first hour, share yummy treats, discuss any critiques that were pending, and then off to quiet areas of the house to write.  

One of the ladies wrote a series of children’s books entitled Down Girl and Sit, and she dedicated one of the books to the Second Sunday Sisters.  Boy, that is so special having a book dedicated to us!  We began such close friends while I lived in South Carolina.  I am still in frequent contact with one sister, occasionally with another sister, and one who I  completely lost touch.  They all hold a dear place in my heart. 

Now, we come to the last or my maybe my most current SSS.  It is Silver Sage Sisters, and you are part of that. When we were naming the blog, we originally tried for Silver Sages.  The name was already taken on Go Daddy, so we added sisters and bingo, we had our name, another SSS.  It was not planned, but I guess SSS wanted to reappear again in my life. 

Silver Sage Sisters has become a very important part of my life.  I get to work with my dear, dear friend, Cynthia making the distance between Oklahoma and Pennsylvania much closer.  We have grown so much in our writing and figuring how to do WordPress.  I can remember when it was so hard to add a picture.  I often would schedule blogs immediately by mistake and would have to correct the date so blogs would drop as planned.  We hope to add another dear friend, Lisa, as a guest writer sometime soon as she embarks on her retirement.

The blogs have given me a creative outlet for doing a bit of memoire, a bit of travel writing, some reviews of favorite books and films, articles on favorite products and services, storytelling, and lots of odds and ends like a SSS blog.  It keeps my brains nimble as I create. Cynthia and I appreciate your support and encouragement about the stories we tell.  Your feedback has meant so much as we write.  We have a small but loyal following. Thank you, Readers. Spread the word and tell your friends and relatives all about Silver Sage Sisters.  

Looking ahead, I wonder what the next SSS will be in my life.  The past SSS all revolved around friendships, my friendships with other women.   I hope that will be the case in a future SSS.  If I am still writing blogs, I will let you know.  Whatever it is, it has to be better than the Selective Service System! 

Last week was mind-numbing. Without going into too much detail, I experienced a scary situation which filled me with anxiety. My mind was constantly racing with random thoughts of what to do. I felt violated, frustrated, and distraught.  At first I could not sleep.  While I forced myself to put something healthy into my mouth, I just was not hungry – which is quite unusual for me!  I even had to tell Mary Ann I would be unable to post a blog on Thursday. She, of course, came to the rescue. I spent the week dealing with the issue.

As the fog lifted I agreed to have coffee with a dear friend locally. My daughter invited me to a mother-daughter time at the nail salon – her treat – for Mother’s Day. The weekend would be for self-care.

Friday, a special surprise was in my mailbox.  Mary Ann had sent two books to inspire my writing.  One, *Blank Page to Bookshelf*, was written by her friend Mark McNease. I read the introductory pages of *The Joy of Writing Journal* by Lisa Tener and was – well you may have guessed – inspired! I was reminded that I have always wanted to create my own planner layout. So that project may be on the horizon. Who knows?

Saturday, I got up and started moving early.  I was just about to jump into the shower having eaten some breakfast, downed the morning supplements, and read my Bible chapters for the day, when I received a txt message from my beautiful, sweet granddaughter. She wanted to stop by on her way to work. I waited in my robe for her to arrive. She brought me a lovely nighty from my favorite lingerie store as a Mother’s Day gift. So unexpected!

Then, I met my friend Karen at a new coffee shoppe. It was spacious, light, and had the most delightful Yemini pastries. She selected a pistachio baklava, and I opted for a cinnamon chip muffin to go with our lattes. After we had visited for a couple of hours (yes, hours!) she pulled out a package. She had run across a lovely stained-glass dragonfly whose body was crafted from a silver spoon at the local art festival the previous weekend. It has found its way to a window in my office, allowing the light to shine through its amber wings.

As I was leaving the coffee shoppe I received a call from one of our local UPS stores.  A package I had sent to the wrong address had been returned! Unbelievable! So, I made my way to the store, updated the address, and sent the package on its way, once again. Of course I had to pay the shipping fee again, but for some odd reason, it was less expensive this time. Hmmm.

After working at my desk for a while, I took a call from my aunt and then my grandson called to say he was coming for a short visit. Such a delight! When he left I began readying the house for night and a potential thunderstorm. I was about to close the curtains in my office when I noticed my rose bush had suddenly bloomed! Just when you think people are horrible and life is harder than it should be, others find ways to brighten your days. It’s easy to become sad or lonely or unsure as you navigate your senior years. Yet if you allow yourself to be thrilled and amazed at life’s little pleasures, you will find happiness and maybe even joy!  Just the act of smiling, even when you feel like frowning, can lift your spirits. For the mothers who are reading – happy [belated] Mother’s Day!

Mary Ann

It was love at first sight.  There he was sitting on the top shelf of the toy store display case.  My children were young as we vacationed in Petaluma, CA.  They were busy checking out at all the other toys, and I made a beeline to the gray rabbit puppet.   It was a German Steiff arm puppet with a little brass button tag on its ear. When I put the puppet on my hand, he came alive as all puppets do when you play with them.  It is magical when they become real.  

Then I looked at the price tag – $35 which was a hefty price in the 70s.   After some debate, the bunny was on the way home with me.  He was just too cute to leave behind, and as a teacher, I could use the rabbit with my work with children.  I named him Benjamin Bunny after the Beatrix Potter’s character.  I didn’t realize at the time how much that bunny puppet would mean to my life.

I fell in love with puppets after taking a weekend workshop about making puppets and writing puppet shows.  I ended up giving my own puppetry workshops, The Magic of Puppetry, to children and fellow teachers.  Puppets were a good vehicle to get the creative juices going.  However, it was always a wonder watching children truly believe that puppets were alive.  As the puppeteer, children could see that you were moving the puppet and talking for it, yet it made no difference.  The children believed and that is where the magic is.

Benjamin was always a star at the presentations, but he did not come into his own until I became a principal.  Since I oversaw very young children, I would visit the classes to read books, and Benjamin would join me.  Benjamin was a very shy bunny, so it would take him a minute or two to warm up when he gave a timid wave to the children.  Now, Benjamin ‘s mouth did not move so he would whisper in my ear what he wanted to say.  At the end of my visit, Benjamin would hug each of the children.  Little ones would love that special hug.   Occasionally, a child would not hug him – he or she was also timid.  However, as the year progressed, the child would become braver and finally hug Benjamin.  Over the years, all the children in the school knew Benjamin from his visits to their early childhood classrooms.  Benjamin became a bit of a celebrity.  He had been hugged by hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of children.  So much love!

When I moved to NYC, Benjamin came with me and visited our youngest children for book readings as well. He had a following and was a star in the Big Apple.   Again, those visits ended with hugs from adoring children.  Benjamin was dearly loved for 25 years and has now retired with me.  We did do a ZOOM visit during the Covid Pandemic, and Benjamin showed the children how to wear a face mask, and he “told” them to listen to their parents and teachers so they would be safe. 

In retirement now, Benjamin sits on a shelf in my office.  I look at him every day and he makes my heart smile.  Benjamin Bunny represents my life’s work with children and the happiness of doing that.  I have decided that I will have him cremated with me when the time comes for me to say goodbye.  No one else would ever know who Benjamin was and what he meant to me.  The little bunny epitomizes children’s love, and I want to take that love with me.  

What constitutes a gift? I guess I have never really thought about it.  I love giving people items I think they would enjoy. I enjoy doing things for others. Some would say my gifting is my Love Language. Lately, I have begun to rethink gifting.

My grands, nieces, and nephews, are all adults now in their twenties and thirties and some even older. Most of them have good jobs and are independent. They can purchase the things they want or need.  I find it challenging to select something they will want, appreciate, and use.  Anymore, when I ask them they reply “you don’t need to get me anything.”  While that is very sweet, they fail to understand that it makes me happy to give them something on their birthdays or other special occasions.

My granddaughter will turn 25 this month. I appreciate that she tells me what she would like – much of the time.  This year she told me – “money.”  She has recently moved out of her parents’ home, so money is tighter than before. She is learning that adulting is hard.  My sweet little girl no longer wants pink and frilly things. She wants to build up her savings account, so she won’t worry about having enough to pay her bills.  I appreciate her resolve.

I have resorted to gift cards for non-gift-giving holidays. Target gift cards for St. Patrick’s Day, grocery store gift cards for Easter, gasoline gift cards for Independence Day, etc.  Basically, things that help with day-to-day expenses.

Money just doesn’t seem like a very good gift. I need to rethink my position on gift giving. As I recall, my maternal grandmother always sent me a check for $5 with a greeting card signed Maureen. In fact, it wasn’t until later years that she started signing cards Grandmother Maureen. I loved her dearly and held her in the highest regard, even though it was hard for her to be a grandmother. She was more of a mentor to me. We got along wonderfully (opposed to most of my cousins!). Thinking about the cards and the checks, I suppose I enjoyed getting money from my grandmother. Mostly I appreciated that she thought about me on my birthday.

I sent checks to my nieces for a while, but it seems they would not cash the checks. I found that odd since it is easy to deposit a check with one’s smart phone – I’ve done it for years, so I imagined the younger people have done it longer. Each year I would ask them if they got the check because I noted it had not cleared my account.  Now, they get Amazon e-gift cards. Interestingly, they apparently appreciate those more than cash. (We truly are becoming a cashless society, are we not?).

All-in-all, I suppose giving a gift rests more in intent than in substance. So I will go to the ATM, or write checks, or send e-gift cards. Easy for me; beneficial for the recipients.  After all, it is the thought that counts!