Celebrations

My how the time flies in this world of "retirement." Life continues to move at a rapid pace with yet a somewhat busy calendar along the way. But that calendar has included some wonderful times of celebrations over this last month.

Me, Sisters Catherine, Janie and Bernadette - Daddy and Brothers Donnie and Bill

Jonathan, Luisa, Granny Moody and Eddy

We had three fun-filled (and I might add, food-filled) baby showers for the Cabrera and Moody families (and extended family and friends) honoring Jonathan and Luisa and the upcoming arrival of our little Sofia. There is nothing like family time and I enjoyed seeing so many of Luisa's family members from Guatemala and others from out of town, especially her siblings and their families. I'm including a family photo of Luisa's family (below) and also one of me and my siblings/Daddy as well as three generations of Moodys. Other photos can be found here (two different albums - Cabrera family shower here and the Moody/Schober party here). Thanks also to Mrs. Lucrecia DuBois and her daughters for hosting a very relaxed and enjoyable shower for Luisa as well. Lots of pix shown as a slideshow here. We are so blessed and I can't wait to meet my first granddaughter somewhere on or about June 12th.

Dr. and Mrs. Cabrera, Jonathan/Luisa, Allison/Juan/Diego, Sarah/Martin, Jose/Susie and Lucas Cabrera

Proud Mom Catherine and Bert

I just returned from a memorable trip to New York City where I witnessed the graduation of my nephew, Bert Forsythe. Bert attended Boston University for his first year of law school but decided to transfer to New York University and finished there. The graduation was held at the Beacon Theatre and I think there were nearly 500 graduates! It was a beautiful theatre and after we dined on some great New York pizza and calzone, Bert took us on a tour of his school in the "village." Although it was very rainy during our first three days there, we finally got to see the sun (and a little more warmth) and "did New York." That included going to the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center), walking down Fifth Avenue, eating at a very fancy restaurant in the Trump Hotel, strolling through Times Square (well, actually, trying to get through the massive crowds!), taking in a Broadway show (Chicago), and walking through Central Park to name a few. I suppose my highlight of the trip (outside of Bert's graduation) was attending Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral which was just a walk away from our hotel. Despite the scaffolding inside and outside the church toward the multi-million dollar renovations, it was still a very moving experience. It was a special time altogether and I enjoyed spending time with my sister, Catherine, over those few days. I will publish pix of this trip soon.

On May 12, my oldest son Matt and his beautiful wife Sarah celebrated their first wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been a year! We saved a bottle of wine from their wedding festivities and visited with them in their home to toast to many more years of wedded bliss. It's wonderful to see my children so happy and I am very gratified that two of them have found their soul mates for life.

More celebrations to come.....

As you may recall, we had an unfortunate shooting incident across the street at the pastor's house. At that time I vowed to organize a block party so that we as neighbors could get together to get more acquainted with each other and to put this incident behind us. So we are having that block party next week. And Jim 'n Nicks in Gardendale has been kind enough to facilitate food for our gathering. Invitations are out and I'm excited to meet and learn more about the community of family around us here at Moody Manor!

I look forward also to three additional celebrations at St. Patrick's.

• Our young adults will be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation today inferred by Bishop Robert Baker.
• The even younger children will be receiving their First Communion in a couple of weeks.
• And, Father Vernon Huguley will be celebrating 20 years as a priest with a large party in our Family Life Center at church.

A Special Celebration

Celebrations are special and I'm glad that this post includes so many of those. There is one more celebration that I have just now decided to share with you. And that was an amazing party last October in Perdido Beach to "Celebrate Doris." This is a night that I will never forget when co-workers, customers, family, friends and even non-customers of SCHOOLinSITES came together to celebrate my upcoming retirement. I was both shocked and humbled as the evening went on. You can re-live that moment with me in this photo album. A special thanks to Shannon Whitt and Jim Cox and their peeps for organizing this event and for keeping such a huge secret. Thanks to my family and friends for taking time out of their busy schedules to be with me on this special night. And I will always be grateful for the support of Gabi Constantine and his family for finding the perfect time to make this happen, and for funding the most phenomenal retirement celebration I could have ever imagined.

Even in times of sadness and despair, we can still hope to experience cause for celebration. I came across this video of a gal named Amy reuniting with her dog, Bambi in Oklahoma. It literally made me cry. Just goes to show you that with a little effort and hope, reunions can happen. And what a celebration! (Video courtesy of CBS News.)



So I suppose my next post will most likely be the announcement of our new addition. Stay tuned.....

Learning What's Important

I know I've been away from posting lately. I suppose the old adage is true. I've heard it so many times from family to friends --"I don't know how I had time to work!" Apparently one busies oneself with the the things one deems most important.

Over these past weeks, I have learned many important lessons. They have come in many forms - from sadness to happiness and everything in between. To quote a co-worker, some are more wildly important while others are just becoming more apparent to me as I look toward the Next Chapter of my life.

Without going into a lot of detail, I will try to bullet them below.

• On March 22, I lost a very special lady in my life. Elizabeth Duchock (better known to everyone as Aunt Libby and my dad's youngest sister and only remaining sibling) died very unexpectedly. You may recall that I had recently set up a computer for her and gotten her back online again using e-mail and Facebook. Spending that time with her was important back then but today I realize just how important it was. She was my Godmother and a very special person in my life. May God give you eternal rest, Aunt Libby. You are now home with the love of your life - Uncle Albert - your siblings, parents and all those who have gone before you.
• I suppose the most important topic is that of anticipation of the birth of our little Sofía. We were so blessed to be able to see her sweet face recently viewing the amazing technology of a 4-D ultrasound. She is so beautiful and is growing right on target. Looking forward to upcoming parties to celebrate her impending birth with the Cabrera and Moody extended families.
• Family time is so important. We had a wonderful Easter celebration combining the Moody and Schober families. Although we missed some of the family, we certainly didn't miss having enough food. I am so thankful to still have my dad and Eddy's mom with us for another year.
• My faith took a front seat in these last weeks as I attended the final weekly classes with the RCIA candidates at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Seeing the excitement on these peoples' faces helped me realize how important my faith is to me. I was so blessed to sponsor my friend Vivian Drake as she received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Easter Vigil Mass. Congratulations, Vivian! To Randy, A.J., Angie and Vivian -- may your faith continue to inspire and support you in the days and years to come.
• Among the wildly important in my recent weeks is the genuineness of my true friends. I was the guest of honor at a "Nana Shower" given by many of my high school girlfriends in anticipation of the birth of my first grandchild. Sofia will be a very well-dressed young lady and I have so many wonderful gifts to help take care of her. I was so humbled and had no idea that this "lunch with the girls" would turn into a wonderful surprise celebration of new life in the Moody family. God bless these gals for their thoughtfulness! And then there were the 20+ classmates who supported our recent Foundation Strike Out event. What a great time! Thanks so much for your support.

I thought I'd share a few pictures from the surprise shower below. Now you can see why I'm always behind the camera (just can't keep my eyes open in a photo!).

Just way too cute!

My girls

"Like" haircuts....

Glass Angels

In this "retired" life, many things rise to the top of the priority list. Especially when one has been out of town. Get back to the gym, going by Foodland and checking out the marked down meat (today’s selections were beef tips and a roast), followed by a visit with my Dad and mother-in-law. Then there’s going outside to peruse my domain in the yard. The wall covering plants I planted last year are now blooming even more than when I left. Of course, I had to pull a few weeds along the way, and then it was time to water. That took quite a bit of time but it was wonderful to just listen to the birds and visit each plant as if to say, “I missed you! Here, have a little drink.” While going through all the plants, I was reminded of my long-time friend, J. Larry Hardin, who provided me with many of his angels to place in my flower pots. He made them from scrap pieces of glass. Larry is with the angels now. Thanks for the reminders, Larry.

I recently learned the importance of one's words and actions when interacting with people. Suffice it to say that I literally helped to change someone's life by something I said or did. And I wasn't even trying to influence them -- rather, talked about how certain habits I had developed had helped me. The tearful conversation that we shared helped me realize just what is important in life. Every day that we're given is an opportunity to give back and make a difference.

In my last post, I mentioned that would have news from one final accomplishment of my "working" life. Well, it actually happened. I signed up the largest school system ever in my career with SCHOOLinSITES. So proud to call the Hamilton County Department of Education family now. Too, I am so excited that I was able to provide the last two days of training for my friends at Jefferson County Schools in Tennessee. I may be retired but I am still looking in my rear view mirror marveling at all the wonderful things going on with this company. More examples in my next post!

As always, I like to share some fun and informative links within this blog. So here are a couple that you may want to check out.

• One never knows what blessings honesty will bring. Check out this man's story.
• If you haven't seen this commercial, you just gotta click below. It will definitely bring a smile to your face. I really need to find that window?

Hoping that each day brings a new lesson in learning what's important in your life!

You Can't Put a Price on Memories

Well, it's been some time since my last post. I really never imagined how busy I could be in this transition to "retirement." Yes, in quotes. I was told during my early discussions with the boss, Doris, you'll never retire. He couldn't be more right. I have been inclined to keep much of the same routine. I go to the gym every morning; then, come home to my desk. It's instinct that prompts me to greet my co-workers (we use instant messaging to communicate) in other office locations just to wish them a good morning or check in with them on something I may still be working on. Old habits are just hard to break. But I'm getting there.

In my first post, I had 10 items that I listed as my primary focus. The first item was about family. That has been my focus over the last few weeks; more specifically, the notion of preparing for and conducting an estate sale at Eddy's mom's house. Mr. Moody passed away in May of last year. She is very much alive folks, but is no longer able to live by herself. So for the last few weeks, I have been at the house trying to organize and price the furniture and items that remained in the house. We have taken much of what was there from furniture to keepsakes and the grand kids have done the same. But it was time to clear out the rest. My sister-in-law Margaret joined me in this effort and in time, we got it done. We took out an ad in the paper and posted the sale on Craigslist and the sale happened on Friday and Saturday (March 8/9). By the time we got through those two days, we were physically and emotionally exhausted. Thank God for those who helped us facilitate the sale (my sisters Janie and Catherine, cousins Patsy and Cecilia, and of course, my husband, Eddy and his brother, Steve). We had a few goods left but we felt that the sale was successful and that so many items "found a good home." Now the house is still for sale but the exposure we received was very good. I am including a photo or two of some items I came across as I went through every area of that house (including the attic). There was a bottle of "gum turpentine" too but it sold and I didn't get a photo of it beforehand.

I had many conversations with my father-in-law as I perused old bibles or hung up his clothes or cleaned out his workshop. The whole experience was filled with emotion but it is done and for that, I am thankful.

Yesterday I had a much needed day of rest. It was difficult to even get out of the bed, much less go to the gym. I was glad when my phone went off at 5:30 with a message from my workout buddy saying not going to the gym. Brushing my teeth at that time, I pondered what to do. It didn't take me long to make that decision. One can sleep very well even after one's teeth have been awakened.  :-)

As for today, I am still playing "catch up" but I am continuing to pursue the unclutter effort in my own house. Why, you ask? Well, there is a yard sale like no other coming up to benefit the Laura Crandall Brown Ovarian Cancer Foundation. Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 6. If you have contributions, let me know. I can assure you that you won't be sorry for making the trip to this sale. All proceeds benefit the Foundation. There will even be remnants of the Moody Estate Sale there as well! Oh, and I must give a shameless plug for our next event called Strike Out Ovarian Cancer. The event is scheduled for April but registration is closing on March 15 (as of today's writing). Learn more about both of these events by visiting the Foundation website.

I would be remiss if I didn't report on the status of our little Sofia scheduled to arrive on June 12th. All seems to be going well and she is growing and bouncing around already. Luisa and Jonathan report that she likes to wake up about the time she goes to bed. Maybe she'll get her days and nights straight before she makes her grand appearance. I have been doing a little shopping and am looking forward to continuing to enjoy the role of expectant grandmother. I suppose I need to decide just what I would like to be called as a grandmother. That's important because she'll be "setting the standard" for all future grandchildren (God-willing).

Congrats to our oldest son and his wife (Matt and Sarah) who have purchased their first home and moved in this past week-end. It is the perfect home for them and we were so glad to be able to visit already and try to help in small ways. It so brings me back to the days of our first little 4-room house and how exciting it was to get out of the world of apartment living. We are looking forward to spending time in their wonderful back yard soon! (I understand there are pix on Facebook but since I gave up Facebook for Lent, I'll have to wait and look at them later.)

Daniel is continuing with his school work and should be on track to graduate in August in Therapeutic Massage. I am so proud of him for maintaining his focus while also working during his "off hours." If he can ever find me sitting down, I might be able to benefit from his knowledge and expertise!

I wait with great anticipation today as the Conclave begins in Rome to elect a new Pope. I continue to pray for these men of God and for the Church. I pray also for our country. Technology being what it is, I thought I would provide you with your own bird's eye LIVE view of the 'smoke-cam'. Wow!

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Hopefully my next post will bring with it some exciting news having to do with one final accomplishment of my "working" life. For now, I will close and wish you all a very meaningful Lent and a blessed Holy Week. 

Giving Up or Picking Up?

As most of you know, we are now in the holy season of Lent. If you didn't know, I am a cradle Catholic and attend St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Adamsville and so Lent has deep meaning for me. I understand that many other faiths observe Lent so I thought it might be a good topic to begin with for this week's post.

Our pastor, Fr. Vernon Huguley, has the same approach to Lent that I do. Shall I give up something or should I pick up something? The idea of giving up something is to be reminded of the ultimate sacrifice made for us in denying ourselves something. My approach in recent years is to pick up something as well as denying myself something. So this year I am giving up Facebook. Admittedly I spend way too much time digging through the news feed to keep up with my 600+ friends and posting random thoughts or photos. So far it has been hard but I find that I have more time to do for others or maybe enhance my spiritual life. There's a second part of my Lenten observance -- that is, some random act of kindness; a card, a phone call, a good deed for someone in need, etc. It's going pretty well so far but I am busier than ever these days. It's a good kind of busy though! So how's your Lent going so far?

Since my last post, I have participated in yet another funeral service. Terri Smith Adcock left this world way too early but suffered for many years from cancer. She had left specific directives which included me playing the organ for her funeral and our pastor delivering her eulogy. Terri was so near the end when I left for my trip to Texas and our pastor was also traveling on a long-planned vacation. But she held on and got her wish. What a beautiful celebration of her life as Fr. Vernon delivered a heartwarming and personal message answering the question, "who is she?" She was a wonderful mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, cousin and parishioner. I was honored to be a part and continue to pray for her family.

Cheers!

I had a delightful experience on Saturday as I joined with many of my high school classmates in providing an "instant housewarming and moving ambush" for Teresa (Terri) Johnson Brown. Engineered by a close friend of hers, about a dozen of us all arrived that morning with bags and boxes of goods and even a much needed piece of furniture for her bedroom. She was very overwhelmed but grateful for the help. Terri is a very giving person and we were thrilled to be able to give back to her. Here's to you and your new beginning, Terri. We love you!

Speaking of classmates, some of us got together than night for dinner at Zea's (Brookwood Mall). It was a great day but I was a very tired puppy that night!

I have to give kudos to my classmate, Pete Hill, who ran the Mercedes half marathon as a "Bellrunner" supporting his granddaughter, Karly. Pete, you humble me with your devotion to raising money for the Bell Center and for your fortitude in running this race. We're so happy you finished and even happier that you exceeded your fundraising goal. By the way, if you're a runner, check out this cool page about different ways to tie your shoelaces. It just could be your ticket to successfully running a half-marathon like Pete. (Well, I'm hoping that will be MY ticket!)

Pete and Karly

As for family time, I was fortunate to be able to get tickets to the Jim Brickman concert at UAB's Alys Stephens Center for a successful "sisters" gathering. Unfortunately one of my sisters lives out of town and I knew she couldn't be with us but we sure missed her. We will most certainly plan another gathering when she is back in town. Meanwhile we had a wonderful time and a very relaxing evening having dinner and attending the concert. These times are so rare and I am thankful we found the time to connect.

Here's a big "shout-out" to all who supported the Foundation's Teal Taco Tuesday last night at El Gringo's in Homewood. So many came out to enjoy the food and music. We appreciate your support and hope to see you again in a few months.

Luisa and Jonathan

Eddy and I are getting so excited about the upcoming arrival of our new granddaughter. We have an official name (Sofia Estella) and an official nursery! We visited on Sunday afternoon and spent some time with the future mom and dad. Luisa is doing well and looking great, don't you think? I continue to pray for our new arrival (due June 12) every day!

So we all know that February is the month of the Valentine. I had a wonderful visit with my dad and Eddy's mom on Valentine's morning. My Valentine sent me a beautiful arrangement of roses and they are still beautiful sitting on my desk. Shortly after Valentine's Day, I was visiting again with my folks and got to also visit with my niece's little girl, Claire. She was so dressed "in theme" that I asked her to let me take her picture. She always obliges and even added a special pose when I took her picture. So I will close with my sweet Claire wishing you all a wonderful Valentine's Day. After all, what's in your heart is the most special gift you can give to those you love. 

Thanks, Claire! I love you too.

Reconnecting

I'm a bit late in writing but as you read on, you'll understand.

In these past few weeks I have attended a viewing, funeral or memorial more than I care to think about. This past week was one of those occasions and it reconnected me with a dear sweet young girl who was my oldest son's first "relationship" when he was a very young man. Lisa Self Carboni's sweet grandmother went home at the age of 93. I was so touched by a photo that Lisa posted of her holding her Nanna's hand as she neared the end of this life. She wrote "I feel so honored that my Nana chose me to be by her side when she went to heaven this-morning." Indeed I truly think she fully comprehended these last moments she shared with her. Oh that we can all be so close to those we love when they say their good-byes. During this visitation I also saw my former neighbor of 20+ years and other friends I haven't seed in quite some time. It's amazing how death brings folks back together. I guess it's all in God's plan and this has to be the good that we often hear of coming from what is perceived to be bad. But our call home will certainly be a good one and one day we will perhaps bring together others on that day. Lisa, it was so good to finally reconnect and we are definitely going to keep that lunch date promise. Can't wait to meet Ellie Kate and Mollie! Praying for you and your family.

I also visited with my friends from church, Pam, Bobby and Ed Black, at the viewing for Pam's grandmother. It's so important to me to try to both pay my respects to the decedent but more importantly, to let the family know that I am there for them to try to say something that could help to lift them up at this difficult time. If you don't know Ed Black (Pam and Bobby's son), he is a very special guy. Ed is autistic and so expressing himself verbally is somewhat difficult. However, Ed knows me well as he sees me week after week providing music at the piano and organ at our church. I know Ed relates to music especially well and so I think he is attracted to me because he relates to me on that "musical" level. As I sat next to him at the funeral home, he eventually grabbed my hand to hold it and then began to hug me. I just loved the moment and I look forward to spending more time with Ed and exploring expression through music together.

This week brought a familiar adventure but one I never thought I would experience again. I was asked to help exhibit at the TCEA annual technology conference in Austin, Texas. After working to help prepare for a successful exhibit (preparing a marketing Powerpoint, packing a few giveaways, and making sure we had supplies that I thought might be missed), I left very early on Tuesday morning for Austin, Texas. My co-worker, Skip Platt, did a nice job of interacting with customers and prospects at our exhibit. Skip is a fine young man and the biggest bonus for working this conference was that I got to spend a little more time with him. I also got to reconnect with customers like Mary Jo from Hondo ISD, Mike from Red Oak ISD, and Kyle Berger from Cedar Hill ISD. I met Kevin Beaty from Calallen ISD, one of our newest customers. It's folks like Kevin who make me love what I did for the company all those years. He came to the conference specifically to find our exhibit and thank us for all the support while rolling out his new website.

Kyle Berger and Skip

Mary Jo Peters and Skip

Kevin Beatty and Skip

Amy Birdwell, his Account Manager, was 'the bomb' and really helped him beyond the call of duty as he found himself in this new position of having to energize his web presence. Our whole team stepped up and made his experience the best he could have expected. He even wrote a letter to the management about his experience. Perhaps this one story will help you understand why I agreed to work this conference. I loved this part of my job and hopefully one day will have the opportunity to help again in future exhibits.

Aunt Libby is really enjoying her computer and is quickly learning how to use Facebook and her e-mail. I may have to tweak that machine a bit (it's not a new one) but I'm hanging with her until everything is working just perfectly. And the best news yet is that I have my dad's favorite computer (yes, he has more than one) back up and running, restored with all his files and ready to use. I will be setting that up for him in the next day or so and seeing if I can reconnect him with all his old e-mail friends. I am so hopeful that he will latch on to this world again. Recently I took my iPad over and put it in his hands to see if he would play Solitaire like in the old days. He seems to be getting the hang of it again. I remain hopeful.

More family time last week as we met Jonathan and Luisa to celebrate her birthday. We dined at Nabeel's in Homewood as we caught up with their progress of moving into the "expectant" world of our new little bundle of joy. We are so looking forward to the world of grandparenthood in June and pray for a wonderful pregnancy and healthy arrival of this baby girl. Also, we had a wonderful time celebrating Margaret Moody's birthday last Sunday ("Meme" to all who know her). That included some real special time with her newest granddaughter, Peyton. I so enjoyed getting to hold her and play with her. She is just a joy!

Switching gears a bit, we are pleased to be able to spend a little time with our grandcat, Hagrid.
Although he's a bit finicky at times (what cat isn't?), we're glad he's back at Moody Manor for a day or two while his mom and dad are away for a couple of days of R&R.

We had a great experience last Thursday night as Cecilia Crandall once again presented on behalf of the Laura Crandall Brown Ovarian Cancer Foundation to the Ladies Auxiliary group from St. Patrick's Catholic Church. The good folks at Jim 'n Nicks were so gracious and we had a wonderful engaging and interested audience. Cecilia does such a good job of enlightening women on the symptoms of this dreadful disease and I am proud to be a part of this aspect of our mission. I look forward to continuing to work with her and all the important aspects of this Foundation as we carry out our mission.

As always, I leave you with a couple of interesting web discoveries I came across recently. Yes, I was having my nails done again and while there, I enjoyed a program on daytime TV about one person making a difference in the world. Hannah Brencher is trying to bring back the old-fashioned concept of letter writing. Yes, real, snail-mail, put-a-pen-to-paper-and-write-a-letter letter-writing. She appeared on a syndicated daytime TV show and shared her efforts with the host. It is a remarkable concept. Everyone yearns for a love-letter and this young lady is making it happen She actually wrote letters for everyone in the studio audience and some of them stood up and "testified" as to how that letter affected them when they read it. In this world of Facebook and Twitter and e-mail, it was refreshing to know that good old fashioned letters still exist for those who care to value that art.

Finally, a dear friend shared this video with me. It's called I Like Adoption. I believe it's worth a few minutes of your time. It's amazing how generous this couple is as they bring together such a family, and what love exudes from each and every one of them. Get out your tissue and take a look and listen. You'll be glad you did.

So here's to connections and reconnecting to the ideas, people and life experiences that make you the happiest.

With the beginning of Lent coming up this Wednesday, it's time to think about ways we can draw closer to the Lord through sacrifice, a more profound prayer life and almsgiving. So my thoughts steer in that direction as I close this post.

Until next time, I hope you have a wonderful, blessed and safe week.