"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Hump day . . .

“Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul.” —George M. Adams

An autistic opera singer -



Thinking of music today _ I was looking at my old files - gee I have so many thoughts and songs and stories etc. . . . I could write forever. lol

This song kind of felt right to play for me today -

Life's a Dance that you learn as you go -



Isn't that the truth?



Happy Birthday Martha Washington - Wikipedia

Born Martha Dandridge on her parents' plantation Chestnut Grove on June 2, 1731.

Martha was the eldest of three brothers and five sisters. Her younger illegitimate half-sister was a slave, Ann Dandridge Costin, who was one-quarter African, one-quarter Cherokee Indian, and half-white; there is further evidence of an illegitimate half-brother Ralph Dandridge, who was probably white.

At the age of 18, she married Daniel Parke Custis, a rich planter two decades her senior. They lived at White House Plantation on the south shore of the Pamunkey River, a few miles upriver from Chestnut Grove. She had four children by Custis. A son and a daughter, Daniel and Frances, who died in childhood, but two other children, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis survived to young adulthood. Daniel Custis' death in 1757 left Martha a rich widow, with independent control over a dower inheritance for her lifetime and trustee control over the inheritance of her minor children.

Martha Dandridge Custis, aged 27, and George Washington, aged nearly 27, married on January 6, 1759 at her estate, known as the White House, on the Pamunkey River northwest of Williamsburg. It seems likely that Washington had known Martha and her husband for some time. It is not known why Washington had waited until such a relatively advanced age for his first marriage. In March 1758 he visited her at White House twice; the second time he came away with either an engagement of marriage or at least her promise to think about his proposal.

Their wedding was a grand affair. The groom appeared in a suit of blue and silver with red trimming and gold knee buckles; the bride wore purple silk shoes with spangled buckles. After the Reverend Peter Mossum pronounced them man and wife, the couple honeymooned at White House for several weeks before setting up housekeeping at Washington's Mount Vernon. Their marriage appears to have been a solid one, untroubled by infidelity or clash of temperament.

“I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.” —Martha Washington

13 comments:

Angela said...

Hey Sandie!

I didn't know that Martha Washington was a wealthy woman when she married good ole George! I have been to their house many times when I lived in Maryland. Their house and grounds are just gorgeous! It was one of my favorite places to visit. We actually bought season passes one year! I would love to go back sometime.

Hugs,
Angela

Susan said...

I love the disposition quote, Sandie. It's true that our attitude determines or altitude! Autistic opera singer video was inspirational, too. Have a great day, Sweetie. Sincerely, Susan

{Bellamere Cottage} said...

Good morning Sandi!

I loved seeing the little girlie singing her heart out. How amazing....and what a GIFT she is.

Now, I had no idea Martha had been married before....it's true, you do learn something new every day. I had heard that George and Martha were happily married.....And, 27 does seem OLD in the ideas of that era.

The little boys are just about finished with school....Brett was sad when I told him he only had 10 more days to go. He LOVES school now. What a blessing his teacher has been. Finally!

Huggies to you!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I am with you on Life's a Dance! It is and I'm tap dancing away right now!! So interesting about Martha Washington. I didn't know so much of that either!

ClassyChassy said...

I love Martha's quote at the end of your post. She is 100% correct!

Mollye said...

Disposition,,,,,,,, one of the things within ourself to change. Happy day sis, Mollye

Simply Debbie said...

GOOD AFTERNOON SANDIE,
I WAS CATCHING UP ON THE POSTS I HAVE MISSED.
CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THE BEAUTIFUL JOURNAL.
I LOVE THE STORY SAYING GOOD BYE TO MOTHER...WHAT DO YOU THINK THE TAXI CAB DRIVER THOUGHT WHEN HE HEARD HIM SAY, HE THREW MOTHER INTO THE BACKYARD.
I ESPECIALLY LOVED THE HIPPO AND THE TURTLE...LIFE IS AMAZING...JUST LIKE MY CATS AND DOGS LIVE IN PERFECT HARMONY AND THEIR ARE SOME HUMAN BEINGS WHO LIVE IN DISDAIN...GO FIGURE.
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY TO SEE ME.
HAVE A LOT OF FUN WHEN YOU GO TO LA...SEND ME A POSTCARD
HUGS AND BLESSINGS
SIMPLY DEBBIE

Melanie said...

Very interesting information about Martha Washington.
I like her quote at the end. :)

Jojo said...

I loved reading about Martha Washington!!! What a great post Sandie.

Marjorie (Molly) Smith said...

Very interesting details about Martha, I so love history and try to imagine myself in that time period. It was a different world.
Molly

Whosyergurl said...

dug & I have been watching the life of john adams series- dug got it on netflix and it has some about George Washington. we have watched several dvds and it is fairly interesting!
xo, Cheryl

betty said...

I too didn't know that Martha Washington had been married before. I would have liked to see her wedding dress to George, sounds very colorful indeed! we toured Mount Vernon when we were visiting the area, lots of history there indeed :)

betty

Rose said...

the young woman singing just shows that even though someone has autism that anything is possible. thanks rose