My children

I am thankful that I have all my children here to help me endure this terrible storm and power outage. They are the light in my life. So blessed!! 

Give the children love, more love and still more love – and the common sense will come by itself. 

- Astrid Lindgren

Forgiveness

“True forgiveness is when you can say, "Thank you for that experience.” 

~ Oprah Winfrey

Health

“Eat healthily, sleep well, breathe deeply, move harmoniously.” 

~ Jean-Pierre Barral

Blessings

A full and busy weekend surrounded by all three of my kids as we supported Alyssa, by traveling to Oswego to see her perform a dance she choreographed.  It was full of some beautiful moments...and some that were less than stellar.  I was feeling quite under the weather, we had some car concerns as we traveled part way home, out of Oswego last night...in rain, and Cara, who is trying to pick a health plan is very stressed about how much she needs to pay out of pocket....money that she does not have in her pocket, and I learned some disturbing news from 'home'.

But we made the most of it, enjoyed Alyssa's beautiful dance and dancing, spent some happy time together and began to anticipate the holidays.  We made it home, thankfully, and the car is still running, though a trip to my mechanic is in order sooner than later.  By grace, we were brought home safely.  Because I was not feeling better, I spent hours waiting to be seen at an urgent care facility, and while waiting, noticed a poster discussing help with health care costs....a glimmer of hope for Cara.....maybe. I now know that the little cold I thought I had....might be a little something more...but now, with the correct medication, will soon be on the mend.  The disturbing news, I have decided, is a way for me to reach out to someone.

And so...even though there were circumstances that I may have considered to be curses...perhaps they were blessings in disguise....and the best blessing of all....as always.... is these three...whom I love with every fiber of my being and whom I am proud of individually...but also as a family who continue to make being there for one another a priority.

“When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.” 

~ C.S. Lewis

Journey

   “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end.” 

               ~  Ernest Hemingway

Warmth

“It is very important that we have the capacity to love many different things or people at the same time. Our love should radiate like the sun, warming everything it touches.” 

~  Peggy Toney Horton

Being exactly who I am

Every once in awhile amidst all the self doubts, you are given a gift.....a kind word, a helping hand....something that lifts you up and lets you know that as imperfect as you are...you are on the right track.  Today was such a day for me.

I, like many of you, tend to beat myself up about the things that are not perfect about myself and my life.  Yet I tell myself, I am living life the best way I know how....what am I doing wrong, then?  Why do I often struggle financially? Why do I often doubt what I am doing and how I am doing it? What defines me?  What does success look like for me? The list goes on and on and on....

Yet today, I feel like I've been given some kind of message, another hand on my own telling me that I am on the right track.  Affirming that right now I am where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing. So for today, I will cast aside the questions and doubts and I will trust and follow my heart and enjoy being exactly who I am.  I will be thankful for this life...for all the people that surround me.  I will be thankful for all the blessings I've been given.

Tomorrow, I am sure those doubts will creep back in.  Tomorrow I will go about the business of life and continue my evolution...but for today I will cast them aside and just be thankful for today.

“If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.” 

~ Masaru Emoto