Thankful...

I am ever thankful on this day for...
-My body which is healthy and strong and allows me to enjoy this beautiful life.
-My two ladies who bring me smiles and inspire me with their words and creativity.
-Food!  Having enough, being able to spend time feeding those I love, and knowing where it came from.
-Music.  It inspires, it comforts, it is a gift...thanks to all who share their talents.
-Farmers who provide healthy, responsibly farmed foods for my family to flourish and enjoy.
-My home that I am ever thankful to have.  The security and warmth it provides us all.  Sanctuary.
-Water, being able to share the love of it with those I love, being fortunate enough to be on it in some way.
-My Irishman. He nourishes me and lifts me up.  His talent and artistry astound me and how he captures
  our little place in this world and this life we are making.
-Books.  Sharing this love with my family is a gift.
-Kindness of strangers.  Every now and then people show you that there is good in the world still.  This
  year that came in the form of apples.
-Laughter and giggles.  Silliness and the lightness that brings is the ultimate blessing.  There is nothing
  more beautiful than the sound of a fit of giggles!!!! 

May you all have a day full of those things that make you grateful and never forget how amazing life really is!

Life

I have been busily flying along living a life. Intentions being to write, intentions being to read, intentions being to connect, intentions being to rest, intentions being to breathe... I find in my unending quest for balance I am not meeting any of my intentions. So unarmed with a great picture for this post I find myself at a keyboard and ready to type.

So many thoughts in my head, biggest and foremost is news my friend received yesterday that his twenty something daughter has been missing for 7 days. Being a mom to two girls, I cannot physically imagine the feeling of news like this and hope to never, ever, ever know how it feels. Then I sit and wonder what do you do for someone who has had a rug yanked from under them? How can you support them and say the right things when you are giving thanks it isn't you at that moment? All I can think to do is light my candles and send all the good energy and good juju to him and his family I can. And hope upon hope that she contacts them and that this was her decision and that she is healthy and all will be well. Meanwhile, there is a young boy, who fortunately is safe, wondering where his mama is and a father crying himself to sleep with worry and helplessness...

Then there is just the unsettled world I find myself in everyday. The world I should be grateful for because it is called employment. The place that allows me and my gang to be together and live the life we enjoy...that does get eclipsed though. All the days of rage, angst, accusations, distrust, seething, worry, covering your backside, and holding your breath, is exhausting. Completely and utterly mentally finishing. I feel like I somedays can't take one more step or think one more thought. I am drained. I need to breathe and escape but the weekends go by in a blink and then there is another week to take hour by hour and survive. At some point it has to come to a head...it can't keep building there is no more room for that...I am waiting for the final fallout and if you have ever sat waiting for the worst to finally be over you know how that feels! My only comfort is that yoga starts up again on Sunday and I have one day a week to remind myself I really need to keep breathing and just ride the wave.

On a happier note, my friend and I bought a boat. I am calling it my therapy right now. It was like the universe knew my world was going to get rocky and that I had longer to be in the muck before a real escape can happen, the universe heard all my whining and sighing over being on water and said well you can't move but here try this. And now I just have to shovel the week till the weather says yep come on out then I float and rest and breathe and soak in all that is good and return ready to keep climbing the hill. Thank you universe! I didn't know I ever wanted a boat but you are right I really, really did!!!

So if you find yourself with a moment, send out some prayers, or juju, or energy to my friend and his family, and heck to our little workplace. May peace and safety find you and yours as well.

Good Days

We have been making some good days here. We have been keeping it simple and visiting places nearby. We have been making simple things seem more like an adventure. We all mount up the bikes and wander out into our little world. We have been swimming at the Community Center, sketching at Dow Gardens, planting in the yard, and riding downtown for shakes and iced coffees. Our days are good. They bring us together as a family. They give us time to relax and breathe and feed each other. There is reading and cooking and chatting and movies...yep I think this time of summer practice is good. Summer you are welcome we are almost ready! A week and a half of school to go and a porch to clean and we are all yours!

Guess what....

I got to spend the whole day with these people!!! The ever incredible Irishman (who likes me said all giggly and teenager like), the little monster baby (who is not so much a baby any more), and my very wise elderstatesman... It was nice to just be with them. No agendas, no timelines, just no hurry. Exploring the world as a family. Sometimes life just gets in the middle of all this and I forget just how very lucky I am and just how very much I like these people I live with. They are each very unique and each such a very important part of my story! It is so good to reconnect and remember exactly why and how much I love them! Hoping everyone gets a day to reconnect with the people they love soon!!

Fortunate...

We first took B's picture in this tree when she was a baby and now...
they can get down themselves...

We found a turtle hanging out on the bank of one of the ponds...

The girls call these Teletubby hills and roll and run down them...

Ella takes a pause to watch a wedding. She was hoping to see the

kissing part...

And our Bronwyn of the amazing eye, took this awesome photo of a poppy...

We are so very fortunate that at the end of our street is Dow Gardens. We can go there any old time and have a wander and an adventure and wander the trails and pretend we are someone and someplace else other than at home. It feels like we are always making some sort of discovery when we are there. So today I feel very grateful and fortunate that I live where I do and that my family enjoys simple days together.

Things that come...

My Aunt Ethel, Uncle John and their daughter Joyce (a couple of weeks ago)

There are good things that come from something so very sad...like seeing cousins you haven't seen in eons and their children... Memories rehashed and laughter heard...so out of sadness can come laughter and renewed connections. Why it takes something this big to find each other again I will never understand but maybe now that those connections have been remade we can move forward and see each other more often and in happy times not just sad...

Also as a side note, I found a link to a very sad story about a beautiful family who have suffered a horrible plane accident. They have four young children and need help financially with care and medical expenses. So if you are able there is a donation link above on my site and if not then take time to light a candle and send some healing their way...because no matter how hard life feels we have it pretty darn good!!