megan mortarboard

 What does the word, "wings," bring to mind?  This word is associated with the parental-child relationship, at times.  We envision a child's separation from the home environment, such as going off to college, or getting a job and living  on one's own, as the child's advance to putting on their own "wings." But, more closely, I associate this term with the bird kingdom.  Recently I volunteered to help with one of the conservation projects at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC).  The project monitors the progress of the Wood Duck that migrates to this area.  The Center has constructed and planted over a dozen Wood Duck nesting houses to accommodate the safe breeding of these birds. They commonly find natural cavities, such as a hole in a tree to set up their nesting space.  These birds may choose cavities that are very high off of the ground.  The female lays, normally, over a dozen eggs to be hatched.  One day after the hatchin...

I began thinking of "caring thoughts" in somewhat a cynical sense.  We may have caring thoughts, but our real actions of care for others seems more important.  Yet when someone expresses, "I'll be thinking of you," it stirs up within us a feeling of gratitude for their support for whatever crisis we may be experiencing. When people have caring thoughts for you it is transmitted in various ways.  It may be simply  a touch, a gesture you receive.  A teary eye conveys those inner thoughts.  Perhaps an invite to be included in a group expresses a concern for your isolation.  A gift of prepared food for you to enjoy shares those caring thoughts, too. Our caring thoughts are mixed with interior sentiments and outward expressions.  Sometimes the most difficult part is to accept this from others, their intentions.  But whatever direction our care for others comes about, it is truly a support that we know is valid and appreciated. "Unless someone like...

The covid crisis really cut back on our fun times.  What can we do for fun when you are on lockdown?  Well, when covid took away our fun , we had to invent or explore new fun. During these times we set up our cardboard table to construct a 1500 piece puzzle of the map of the world.  We got the edges intact, and then the hard part was finding all the connections to the blues of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  At times it was tedious and frustrating, but to finally fill that last spot was quite an accomplishment. Covid took away fun activities with our extended families.  Instead of personal contacts, we turned to Zoom meetings.  We played a card game called, Oh Hell.     As we cast our bids and took our tricks, we chatted and visited with family. Having fun, at times, is part of our needed emotional balance.   When fun activities were taken from us, we had to explore alternatives.  Perhaps there is lesson here.  We must n...

 The most direct approach to this phrase would be to refer to the biblical accounts such as, walking on water, restoring sight to the blind, virgin birth, feeding the five thousand, resurrection, etc.  Perhaps this would lead us down a blind alley. We could think of a miracle as a totally unexpected event.  This could be both large and small.  Meeting an acquaintance in a foreign country, unexpectedly, while traveling is an example.  We would exclaim, "What a miracle it is to meet you here!"  On another level we observe a friend who had been diagnosed with a terminal disease.  As we observe his/her unexpected return to health, we can claim that seems to be a miracle. As to blessings, they are also those unexpected moments where we realize that they are unearned, but rather given.  As a couple celebrates their wedding anniversary, they come to realize the blessings that have been bestowed upon them.  These blessings do not simply flow from the...

 Often life's little pleasures are encountered with our taste buds.   I started to reflect on this and recalling some of my favorite foods. Every Christmas my parents took the family to visit Aunt Bess, at her farm. She made the best  bread that I ever tasted.  That taste still lingers in my mouth, and I have not experienced anything near its divineness from the regular bread shelf at the grocery store. In North Manchester, Indiana, where I grew up, there was Clark's Root Beer stand.  Here you could purchase the best Spanish (chili) hot dog on the planet.  That taste has not left me either. On my birthday, Peggy serves up my favorite banana cake for dessert, along with my request for a Sloppy Joe to consume.  Every year that taste desire seems to return, even over the option of dining out and having an exquisite meal. These little pleasures are not limited to some remembered tastes. At aunt Bess' farm I enjoyed not only eating her delicious bread,...

 I remember, as a kid, when I really was confronted with pain.  I had been playing,  in the park across the street from my home, and I stepped on a bee.  That bee took revenge on me and I ran home screaming to Mother.  She applied a home remedy, a salve made with baking soda, over the wound and I quickly calmed down. Another encounter I had with the insect world, was an attack from an angered wasp, while helping paint our house.  Apparently I disturbed the wasp's nest and that precipitated an attack.  That wasp's sting was really a few degrees more intense than the bee sting I got in the park.  This time I had to go into the house, lie down and rest.  Eventually a fever ensued, but in a few hours I was ready to continue with my job, albeit much more cautious about getting too close to a wasp's nest. Physical pain from a bee or wasp sting is immediate and evident.  But psychological pain can match the intensity of a bee sting over longer ...

 Not a Smiley Face sunshine, but the rays of the sunshine really did find me.  After many years , in my younger days, unbeknownst to me, the sun really did catch up with me.  Not being aware of the damage that UV light has on the skin, my friends and I used to aspire for a red-burned skin, acquired at the beach,  that turned golden.  It was the state of mutual acceptance and pride to wear the golden brown. Now I have, at my doctor's office, a thick folder holding many sheets of paper describing the appearances of skin cancer, of the basal cell type.  One of the first of these was located on my shoulder.  Numerous other growths came along, on my nose, my ear, my face and, recently , my neck.  It is certain that the sunshine found me. I am grateful to my doctors who have been helping me to identify and excise these cells before they become a problem.  Having training in chemistry, I've personally experienced the global threat of a thinning laye...