Just 40 Days

I constantly remind myself of these things.  Thanks #behappyenjoylife

Life is easy most of the time...and then it's not, most of time.  It's a constant!  A constant that has variations.  The definition of ebb and flow is a recurrent or rhythmical pattern of coming and going or decline and regrowth. Life is constantly moving, changing, and yet the same. I've been out of balance for a while.  I'm trying to figure it out.

Best pans ever! Shortly after graduating from high school, I purchased china, crystal, silverware and pans from a door to door salesman! They were for my 'hope chest'!  I remember making payments throughout college.  I used these pans for over 30 years.  I bought others to supplement, but these always hung in for the long run.  Today, I take these to the donation center.  I hope the new ones (Calphalon) last nearly as long.

Saturdays have always been the day to get weekly chores done.  Like cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry and running the vacuum. I used my new Norwex mop and cleaned my wood floors with water.  I must say, it really does a great job! I also used my new dust mitt in my bedroom and the pictures hanging in the hall. I fixed the frame of my old full size bed in the basement as the box springs were not centered on it and was falling through. I went outside and managed to get to poop patrol, before the rain but I never did make it to my morning workout. Unless all those chores count!

Not as bad as it could've been. Yesterday, on my way to the YMCA, I was stopped at a red light in a residential area.  As I was sitting there, I noticed that the person living there was trying to leave.  She had her car in reverse, then changed her mind as the light turned red and traffic was blocking her, she put her car into park.  I was last in the line of cars waiting when a bus came up behind me. As the light was turning green up ahead, I noticed that the car was put back into reverse.  I started thinking to myself, she knows I'm here so she'll waiting for me to move. The car started backing up, and I wasn't moving yet.  It was light slow motion: Really, does she not see me?  Is that car really backing up?!  ----- BUMP!!  And my car moved. I couldn't believe it.  I was in shock.  I rolled down the passenger window and said to the driver as she pulled back up in her driveway; Really?  I mean really?  You didn't see ...

Or just a Sunday Drive I missed by usual exit off the highway as I was on my way to work today.  Yes, I had to work on a Sunday. So I took a Sunday drive through the city. As I followed the river south, snow was lightly falling.  People were walking to the corner store and traffic was moderate. It was before noon. So I drove through town and along the river.  It's interesting that along the river in south Toledo you will see $100,000+ homes next to $30,000 ones.  As you get closer to edge of the city limits, they are all expensive.  It makes me dream to live on the river someday.

Putting on the Irish It's the first weekend in March, time to put away all of the snowmen I decorate with for the winter.  At first, the house looks so bare.  All of those smiling snowmen faces, that make me smile are missing. Looking out the window, the trees are still bare. It's an uncomfortable feeling. Then I change my point of view, seeing beauty in the bareness.  Simple decorations allow for more space.  Space for thought and imagination.  Space for creativity. Space for prayer and relationship. I look around at now, I've added a lot of green and family photos. The green gives promise of new life.  The Irish accents remind me of my heritage. And when I look at all of the faces in the photos that I have displayed around the house, it's a pretty good feeling of love.

The greatest gift we have is our ability to make choices.  Many of us, myself included, take that for granted. A week ago, I decided that I needed to take better care of myself. One of the easiest things I decided to do was to decide to be 'dry' the entire month of March.

Memories My family is everything.  Even though they continuously and I sometime believe, intentionally, drive me nuts.  I don't always agree with them, and they don't always agree with me, but I love them no matter what. I think that my parents are/were my greatest love.  They loved me no matter what I did.  Then I had my own children and I learned of a different love.  I understood why my parents loved me know matter what.  I think that is how God loves us. Sometimes you're lucky enough that your family is also your friends. It'll be 21 years this March since my sister Barb died.  I miss her so. She was the one sibling who also was my friend.  We were in high school together.  She was the first of us to become a mom, followed by me. Having seven brothers and sisters, with fourteen years between them, it's impossible to be 'friends' with them all.  I love all of my siblings, no matter what. 

They say awareness is the first step.  My question is how long can I be aware without taking that second step?  Am I lazy? Am I depressed?  What is keeping me from taking care of me?  These are questions I ask myself as I procrastinate!

Survival - continuing to live or exist. Is that what we are all doing here, surviving? That's an interesting topic and one that deserves more thought. I've always thought that living was different than surviving and it is.  Survival is continuing to live.  Choosing to grow or change is living. When you stop doing that, you're just existing.  I'm pretty sure, no one wants to just 'exist'.  Continuous improvement = living My goal is to help my body become more flexible.  It takes little stretches each day to improve.  When I skip a day, I lose what I gained the day before. The key is knowing that every little change helps!

With the winds gusting at 40-50 mph today, I'm grateful that there is no ice so that the trees can bend. I think the greatest definition of flexibility is: the quality of bending easily without breaking. This is something that my physical body is not very good at. Now, my body isn't going to break but it certainly is not bending easily.  In the past five years, I've hardly spent any time at all stretching.  This has got to change. I do not like being out of shape.  I don't feel good. I have pain.  Extra weight makes it harder to move and to keep on moving. All of these things take a toll on my well being.  My thoughts about myself may lean away from the positive that is necessary for survival in this world. With the approaching 40 days of lent, I am preparing to make my body more flexible.

I've been working on my prayer life.  What does that mean?