If You Follow Me Today

If you follow me today you might see…

…me wake my sons up from their warm beds

…me bring my husband breakfast in bed

…me stare out the window as the clouds move in over the mountains

…me sell a tv

…me prepare a meal for my family

…me drive all over town to and from schools

…me pray for my family and friends

…me stare at a blank page and wait for inspiration

…me pet all my cats on the head

…me hope for a letter in the mail

…me check my lottery numbers

…me pick over the apples looking for just the right yellow

…me pick out paint colors

…me eating healthier

…me singing with my windows down in the car

…me read in bed

…me laugh with my kids

…me light a candle

…me chatting with my neighbors

…me donate clothes

…me sharpen pencils

…me check e-mail

…me smile for no reason

Thursday Tidbits

I have a 4 foot circle strawberry patch that blooms and looks beautiful, but can’t enjoy any of the strawberries because the birds and squirrels eat them all.

Quiet is one of my favorite sounds.

Is it ok to be envious of your neighbor’s beautiful flowers when you can’t grow a thing?

How does a handprint appear on the window by the front door EVERY DAY???

When the wind blows I hate it and when it doesn’t, I hate it!

We just ordered wood blinds for the house.  I’ve been waiting almost 15 years for this and can’t wait to sit and admire them!

How can an ant smell a crumb on the kitchen floor and make its way into the house to eat it?

I don’t bake.   As a mom, I think that’s a negative thing.

Why do the cats have to sleep on my side of the bed?  There’s plenty of room on the end of it for them to be comfy and NOT on my legs. 

We’ve recycled for almost a year now and barely have one bag of trash a week.  I feel awful about all the trash we didn’t recycle.  I probably have filled a landfill on my own over the last 20 years.

I love smelling fresh mowed grass.  It makes me sneeze, but it’s so clean and fresh.

I'm Going To Get The Mail

Where are you going?

...I’m going to get the mail.

How will you get there?

…I’m going to walk.

How will you know which door to open?

…I have the key.

What are you expecting?

...A surprise from a friend.

Do you know what the surprise is?

…Not now, but I’ll know when I open it.

  

Where are you going today?  Do you know how to get there?  How will you know you’ve arrived?  Do you need directions?  I think we all want to know where we are going and many times we act as if we know, but inside we are just following along the trail that everyone has trod upon. It’s easier.  It’s safer.  We do what is expected so not to disturb the natural flow of things. 

Why take a risk? 

Why question the always-accepted answer?

We don’t want to seem different or unique.  Somehow these traits are lost on us as we get older.  The child who asks all the questions in kindergarten gets it.  You have to ask to learn.  Why is the sky blue? You have to question the standard answer to understand for yourself.  Why can’t we have our snack outside today?  The child isn’t afraid to ask or make mistakes or try it again or get dirty.  They risk everything to learn and understand.

So, if you don’t know where you’re going, it’s ok.  Ask questions, learn, get dirty.  Do the work to find out what you want to know.  Sitting back and doing nothing will leave you in the same place you started.  Make prints in the clean sand and don’t worry if the line isn’t straight.  It’s part of the process of knowing where you want to go.

Where are you going?

…I’m going to learn.

How will you get there?

…I’m going to read, love, try, pray, tap my toe to the music.

How will you know when you’ve arrived?

…I’ll want to sit for a bit.

What are you expecting?

…A little voice in my ear to whisper and a calm to wash over me.

Do you know what the whisper will say?

…Not now, but I will when I hear it.

We Forget

It’s easy to forget.  I forget all the time and go about my day without a care in the world. We drive to the grocery store. We open our windows to listen to the birds and to welcome the cool breeze in.  We sort through the mail, both paper and electronic.  We sip our tea on the deck and read a good book. We drive to soccer practice. We talk with friends about their new house.  We forget sometimes.

We do.

We forget.

I turned on the news this morning while I was folding towels and the picture that filled the screen was a black smokey sky and armed young people walking around a 15 foot cement wall smiling because they might be free from a world that has not been kind to them their entire lives.  Rebels in Libya have taken control of Gadhafi’s compound.

Can you imagine?

I cannot.

We live in such a beautiful country and yes, we have our many problems; homelessness, veteran care, healthcare issues, unemployment, and the list goes on and on, but, we are generally safe and secure in our homes and everyday lives.   We have so much to be thankful for.  We, as a society, follow the rules, have clean water available at any moment, walk the streets with our families without fear or worries and have luxuries so many other nations only dream about.  

photo credit

I feel for countries wanting their freedom to come and go, to enjoy sitting by the lake  with their family and friends, to educate their children, to buy the food they need, to read the books they want to read.  The list is long.

It’s easy to forget all that we have in this wonderful country.  The surplus of everything.  We get upset when we can’t download the school supply list on our iphones in an instant.  We complain when we have to pay more to fill up our luxury cars.  We forget.  

We forget there are people waking up to gunfire, to no running water, to a five mile walk to the nearest school that only has dirt for a floor and one soccer ball for 56 children.  We forget there are people who cannot download their favorite book to their e-reader.  We forget there are people who don’t even know what an e-reader is.

  

We simply need to be more gracious, more grateful, more kind, more giving to those we come in contact with every day.   We cannot forget.  We cannot.

Quiet is Not Overrated

The summer has come to an end here at our house and the boys are happily back at school with friends and textbooks and red felt tipped pens (which were quite the difficult supply to find, I’ll have you know.)   They’ve been in class for a week now and today is the first day that I have had a few moments to myself to, well, do nothing.

I’ve taken this morning to unwind a bit from the school supply shopping, hair cuts, doctor check-ups, orientation days, ice cream socials and clothes shopping (which is a whole other blog post for another day).   It’s been a quiet morning to say the least.

I’ve chatted with my neighbor from our decks, I’ve caught up on e-mails,  read a few of my favorite blogs, had two cups of tea, made chicken-salad for lunch later and am having a wonderful time.   Not a sound in the house.   It’s refreshing for me and has given me a chance to recharge my battery, so to speak, and refresh my thought filled mind.

photo credit

Quiet is one of my favorite sounds.  Is that possible?   It’s necessary in my life.   I’ve found that I’m in a better mood; feel happier, if I’ve had some quiet around me.  It doesn’t have to be a long span of time, but a good hour (or two or three) doesn’t hurt either.   In my book, quiet is not overrated.  It is a layer I desire throughout my week and so appreciate it when it makes its way into my calendar.

The candles can be smelled, the dishwasher hums, but no talking can be heard and no music is being played, just the pitter-patter of quiet.  Can you hear it?  I hope you can find a few moments to enjoy the breeze and listen to the quiet today.  Enjoy the peace.