Knitting and crocheting are skills I admire – but I’m afraid that counted cross stitch is the “fanciest” needlework I have managed for any period of time. Ever. So it was that when my mother brought a package to me, its contents took my breath away. I love knitted sweaters, knitted scarves, knitted winter hats… but the shawl in the package was different. How so? This wasn’t just a knitted or crocheted shawl: it was a “prayer shawl.”

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Looking at this blog’s theme of “invisible issues,” several topic ideas come my way. The simplest for me to write about are those from personal experience – rambling comes rather easily to me. I keep a list of topics, but others are added as I read an article, friends make suggestions, or something happens that I simply can’t get out of my head. The latter is sometimes simple, but at times it is quite tough. Issues can keep me awake at night, they can strike at the heart, they can make me cry… and those are the ones that will usually not find their way here. I know there are depths I have not reached – and don’t wish to – and I fear that I won’t do justice to some of the experiences of those I love. But this topic is one many friends and relatives have experienced, and I feel that the only way I can do justice to their feelings is to write about what they might be facing.

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I admire our nation’s First Lady for many reasons. For one thing, she is proof that a mother of twin girls can indeed retain her sanity. This gives me hope! But another thing that impresses me is how “together” she always appears. She looks sharp in bold colors, and I’ve occasionally seen her wearing a red dress or suit. It wasn’t until I read an article last month in Family Circle magazine that I saw the significance of the red attire. Laura Bush, along with many others, is a spokesperson for The Heart Truth campaign, symbolized by the red dress. And the reason behind this? “The Heart Truth” is that heart disease, not cancer, is the number one killer of women in America.

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Being married to an Eagle Scout definitely has its perks. One is certainly his adherence to the Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared.” With cold January leading to thoughts and preparation for the warmer months ahead, this preparation often includes travel plans, tickets and reservations. When one has needs for increased accessibility, planning ahead can be the difference between a wonderful vacation and a time of frustration.

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One of our family’s favorite parts of vacation times is definitely food. I enjoy eating food I didn’t need to prepare, and we all like picking things we may not otherwise get the chance to consume. But within the past few months, I know at least three people who had a diagnosis that would make food a struggle, not a fun diversion.

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Prince Edward Island will host centennial celebrations this year for Anne's publication.

I’m not sure why, but the authors I’ve grown to love are all people with “invisible issues” of their own. As I wrote a few months ago, Madeleine L’Engle’s most well-known and awarded book, A Wrinkle in Time, was rejected by publishers eight times before it was put aside to collect dust (until it was resurrected by another interested publisher). It is hard to believe that one of the most celebrated and well-known books of a century ago had a similar history. Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, was handwritten then typed on her “old second-hand typewriter that never makes the capitals plain and won’t print ‘w’ at all” ( from volume 1 of Montgomery's selected journals). Ms. Montgomery had several short stories and poems published before that time, but this was her first full-length book, so Maud, as she went by, decided the manuscript must not be worthwhile. And she put it aside.

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One beautiful thing about the New Year is that it holds paths to the unknown – there is so much possibility for so many things! On the other hand, one frightening thing about a new year is that it holds paths to the unknown, so much possibility for so many new things. I am reminded more of this fact at reflective times of the year like this week.

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The green ladder and multicolored twisty slide extend from our poinsettia, there for any flower fairies who wish to stop and play.

When our daughters received pipe cleaners as one of their Christmas gifts, you would have thought they had been given something of great value. To them, these ARE valuable – you see, the girls had just about finished using the current collection of pipe cleaners (all hundred, purchased just two months ago), and pipe cleaners were the main building material for flower fairy furniture. Our poinsettia has a ladder and a slide protruding from its side, ending at the counter below, and the girls check each day for signs of use. They are certain the fairies visited last December, but they are concerned that the early December cold snap and the pre-Christmas winds might have kept the fairies away from our flowers for the season.

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Some might do a double-take after reading this title – how can Monday be seen as a good day? Karen Carpenter sang of how “Rainy days and Mondays” always get one down; the Bangles let us think of how “Just another manic Monday” made us wish for Sunday, our fun-day; the Mamas and the Papas sang depressingly of “Monday, Monday.” So why, again, is this a gift? What is it about Monday that would make it any different?

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Last night, our family had the chance to experience what has become a tradition. After a day of school cancellation, the roads seemed a bit clearer and we headed to Marion to view the “Christmas Walkway of Lights.” We enjoy viewing the lights each year, and we all have different favorites: the 12 Days of Christmas, which we sing as we pass each display; the gingerbread houses and beautiful castle; the moving displays, like the water wheel and dragon reflecting on the river; even the prancing penguins. But there is one display, introduced several years ago, that makes me wonder. Our “older” daughter’s favorite lights are the dinosaurs. Yes, you read correctly: the dinosaurs. The T-rex with the red mouth and sharp teeth, whose jaw opens and closes, is the largest, but there are many others. The dinosaurs are not holding wreaths or candy canes, they aren’t pulling a sleigh, they are just there. And they’re rather large. When the dinosaur display was first added several years ago, my big question was WHY. Why do we have light-up dinos right by the other displays? What does this have to do with December or celebration or Christmas? Then a few years later, I received an answer. When she was just three or four years old, you could ask our daughter what her favorite display was, and her answer was clear: “The DINOSAURS!!” Each year, the answer would be the same, and she’ll now ask each year, “When do we get to go and see the dinosaurs?”

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