Mother Nature, Mother Teresa & my Mother

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those in Irene's path. She's proving to be quite angry. Mother Nature has been on a roll lately. My parents and middle sister live in Chocowinity, NC on the Pamlico Sound. It's getting spanked. 

Mom described their backyard today, "It looks like we are right on the ocean. I've never seen anything like it." Mom is videoing a lot of it, so I hope to share some of that later this week. I'm sure she'll have a post as well. Please keep them in your prayers.

Yesterday was Mother Teresa's birthday. She was an amazing gift to this world, full of grace and dedication. In the wake of Irene and Mother Nature, I wanted to share some Mother Teresa:

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it."

"What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight; build it anyway."

"There's nothing more calming in difficult moments that knowing there's some one fighting with you."

My parent's backyard yesterday afternoon, just before Irene

Mom is taking pictures, and I'll post some later. I'm worried sick. My family turns to humor when we are worried or upset, so I have to share a story. I've only evacuated once with my parents. We were living in Wilmington, North Carolina and I was in high school.

It was scary. We were taping windows and glass doors and vacuuming. Yes, vacuuming. Mom decided we weren't leaving the house unless it was clean. My sisters and I were frantically cleaning and hysterically laughing. We knew we'd be on the news: "Wilmington family rescued after storm hits during their hours of cleaning." We thought they were insane.

Mom and Dad chose not to evacuate this time. I asked Mom if she was paying me back for all the teenage years by making me worry! When I checked on them this morning, Mom was cooking. "20 pounds of barbeque for pulled pork," she bragged. She has a gastop stove. She was anticipating all the people who will need to be fed when Irene finally leaves town. That's my mother in a nutshell.

She admitted the cooking was also calming her nerves. Maybe the vacuuming was intended to do the same. Guess my nerves react differently!

Again, please say prayers! Let me know if you have any loved ones in the path, and I'll send good thoughts and prayers their way as well.