Magical Moment 502, "Longest Day"

It began before sunrise, when I awoke in a nervous fret. I often awake in nervous fret, for as soon as my brain wakes up, it begins to list all the things I need to do that day. The next day. In the next 5 years. What are my long term goals for life?! What about my future?!?! Seriously, I think about all this within the first few minutes I'm conscious while still lying in bed. It gets to be a problem sometimes.

But on this particular day, I had an important audition to worry about. One that I had been preparing for and hoping would go smoothly. Every minute until the scheduled appointment seemed to tick by in slow motion as I anticipated all it would entail. And then suddenly, for as long as I've dreaded today's audition, it was over in a matter of minutes. Or what seemed like mere seconds.

Instead of relief though, I felt like a deflated balloon. It didn't go bad, it just didn't go great. I was hoping for raving reviews and a job offer...or at least a word or two of positive feedback. Instead I got a "Thank you, we'll be in touch." I immediately had to drag myself to work where I played for ballet rehearsals, but my mind was elsewhere. The class seemed to drag on. The drive back home took forever. And even though technically the day was over, I still had to wait for Eddie to finish his shift at midnight.

For the first day of summer, I didn't feel the care-free things you're supposed to feel today. Instead, I felt that it was very literally, the longest day of the year!

But the nice thing about a long day, is when it's over. The sun goes down. My mind shuts down. And when I wake up in the morning, the days will go back to being normal.

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

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