Cathy Burnham Martin's Blog, page 110

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.    My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”

— Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

American statesman; 16th President: 1861-65; assassinated following Civil War

(Photo by Caleb Fisher)

“I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it’s only a choice of attitude.”

— Judith M. Knowlton

American Author

(Photo by Damian Siodlok)

“Don’t ever lose hope. Every time it appears the world will stop spinning it turns on for another millennium.”

— Cathy Burnham Martin

Author, voiceover artist, and dedicated foodie

Sometimes it’s more challenging than others to see the humor in a situation. But I do believe it helps us to step back and take a deep breath. And if we can find our happy place, we can be healthier. As a great believer in attitude over aptitude, I also believe in never squelching anyone’s ability to think happier.

“Funny is an attitude.”

— Clerow “Flip” Wilson, Jr. (1933 – 1998)

American comedian and actor

“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”

— Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900)

Irish poet & playwright

Thank you to my dear mother, Glenna Burnham. You have been my role model, my guiding light, and my rock. You celebrated my successes and caught me whenever I fell. You have been a great blessing to me and so many others! You have beautifully touched countless lives. You have led the way to successfully choosing to live a life based on faith, family, love, service, and a positive attitude.

I was honored to build a “thank you” video for you, for you deserve every possible accolade and blessing. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMXf4C_R6qUwmpBE4CpT_Hg Words and photos do not begin to express my love and gratitude. Your impact will be fabulously felt for generations yet to come. Enjoy every bit of your blessed 92nd birthday celebrations… your birthday week… your birthday month! YOU are the best!

“My parents blessed me with directives to think, to be aware of my choices and their repercussions. They were always trying to teach me how to think, rather than what to think.”
― Cathy Burnham Martin, from 2019’s “Encouragement: How to Be and Find the Best”

They enjoyed over 70 years together. This day marks their wedding day in 1950. My mother is still with us. In fact, tomorrow, we celebrate her 92nd birthday. I have been amazingly blessed. May we all aspire to be a bit more like those we admire most.

(Photo is from my parents’ garden wedding reception on June 24, 1950, at 44 South Mast Street in Goffstown, New Hampshire.)

Each year, people celebrate the anniversary of our graduation from high schools and colleges. The high school commemorations are, perhaps, most poignant for we may well have spent 12 years in school with many of those students… or even 13 years if we also went to kindergarten together.

This is the year for my high school class to celebrate our 50th. We graduated nearly 200 students from Goffstown High School in New Hampshire. We were the Redskins (now the more “PC” Grizzlies), enjoying success in everything from athletics and academics to theatre and music.

Upon graduation, our chosen Class Motto was “We go forward to a great perhaps,” from a quote by poet Francois Rabolais. Rather than celebrating where we had been, it referenced the start of a great adventure with great unknown results. Interestingly, as adults we learn that each decision, each step, and even each day carries the same opportunity.

Our class song now seems even more appropriate, indicating how slowly we humans tend to evolve. While we represented the generation championing independent thinking and encouragement of diversity and differences, we were in the midst of great social change, many protests, and the Vietnam War. Heralding from the 1968 Off-Broadway musical revue, “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris,” the lyrics of our Class Song seem every bit as poignant 50 years later, as Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine reminds us of man’s inhumanity to man.

“If we only have love
Then tomorrow will dawn
And the days of our years
Will rise on that morn

If we only have love
To embrace without fears
We will kiss with our eyes
We will sleep without tears

If we only have love
With our arms open wide
Then the young and the old
Will stand at our side

If we only have love
Love that’s falling like rain
Then the parched desert earth
Will grow green again

If we only have love
For the hymn that we shout
For the song that we sing
Then we’ll have a way out

If we only have love
We can reach those in pain
We can heal all our wounds
We can use our own names

If we only have love
We can melt all the guns
And then give the new world
To our daughters and sons

If we only have love
Then Jerusalem stands
And then death has no shadow
There are no foreign lands

If we only have love
We will never bow down
We’ll be tall as the pines
Neither heroes nor clowns

If we only have love
Then we’ll only be men
And we’ll drink from the Grail
To be born once again
Then with nothing at all
But the little we are
We’ll have conquered all time
All space, the sun, and the stars”

So, as with all of us, the Class of ’72 has endured 50 years filled with love and losses, successes and failures, magic moments, and much mayhem. Many of us are gone. Many of us remain. The paths that we followed and the trails that we blazed still remain. The lives that we have touched reflect the ever-widening ripples of time. While we humans still have a long way to grow, we can and should celebrate the great ride we have and do experience… always.

Bravo, many thanks, and much love to all.

(Photo from Goffstown’s 1972 Nisa’tin yearbook)

How lovely to be able to spend the weekend with family! Adam, Caiti, and little Adaline are all merely marvelous! At just 20 months she truly has grown into a conversant, comprehending, and intuitive little person!!! And come this October, she will grow into a beautiful big sister! Blessings must always be counted. Gratitude should always be expressed. Papa and Nana most assuredly count them among our richest blessings, and we are eternally grateful for the love and happiness they bring into our lives daily.

National Seashell Day is celebrated on the first day of summer every year. This is a time to admire this remarkable aspect of Nature. I do not recall a time when I didn’t collect seashells when I visited a beach somewhere. My grandfather had made jewelry from seashells. I adorned various items with seashells… from baskets to picture frames. I enjoy large ones and small ones… neutral shades and vivid colors. I have marveled at the artistic talents of folks who turn shells into fantastic works such as realistic-looking cakes and tortes to a massive, sprawling octopus. Such a pleasure to walk along a beach on a peaceful day, pausing to pick up and examine some precious shell the waves have tossed ashore. Sure, there have been times when a storm may have cast clusters of live starfish or live scallops up onto dry land, and I gleefully take some time to gently cast them back into the sea.