ABUNDANCE

Where did June go? It was just here a second ago...I'd like to say I enjoyed every moment of the first month of summer vacation, but I don't know where the time went! Technically, I guess I've only been on vacation for 2 weeks, as I spent the first two weeks post-school taking classes with my colleagues. So it feels like my summer has just begun.
I need to once again take time to appreciate the abundance in my life. Abundant freedom--I can wake up and decide what I want to do with my day. Abundant food--I can cook anything I want, because I'm blessed with the resources to do so. Abundant comfort--I have air-conditioning, I have a pool, I have a crazy cat. 
This weekend, however, I'm most thankful for abundant love. I got to spend the time cooking, laughing, talking, walking, shopping, swimming with my three favorite people--my girls. The analogy I've been making in my head to describe this abundance is that spending time with my girls is like filling a water balloon--every single moment adds another drop to the balloon, until it's(I'm) so full, it bursts. But the fun doesn't end with the burst---it just creates MORE fun, more laughter. I hope we get to burst balloons for the rest of the summer and beyond.

http://syllybillywaterballoons.com/index/wp-content/gallery/gallery1/waterballoons-1.jpg

Pie, Pie, Me-Oh-My!

Humble pie, that is.  I've been whining all week, and now I'm  putting an end to it.

• I feel crumby, because I've had a migraine all week. But I don't have cancer, I'm not dying--I'm lucky.

• Work didn't go the way I wanted this week. But my kiddos are learning, I know I'm good at what I do, and I love my job--I'm lucky.

• The weather is WAY hotter and stickier than I like. But I have a pool, I have a home, and I'm alive--I'm lucky.

• My pool is a dirty, mucky mess. But I'm strong enough to buckle down and clean it, and when it's clean, it's heavenly--I'm lucky.

• My house is a dirty, mucky mess. But it's a home, and my girls will be here soon, and I'll get around to cleaning eventually--I'm lucky.

Serve me up another slice of pie. This time, make it cherry.

Random thoughts

It's been awhile since I posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't had thoughts of gratefulness daily! Actually, each day that passes, I spend time going over why I'm so lucky--I just get lazy when it comes to posting about these thoughts.

So, here are a few thoughts from recent days:

I'm so lucky to have such a strong body. Out of shape, maybe not attractive to look at, but there's SO much I can do to keep myself independent. I'm grateful for my strength.

I'm so lucky to have a pool in my backyard. I live in a climate which only allows me to use the pool 3 short months out of the year, and for much of this summer, I whined about having to constantly fish leaves and muck out of the pool. But when I'm floating peacefully, listening to the birds and squirrels scamper, I know how lucky I am.

I'm lucky that my family is healthy. The girls are, for the most part, happy; my dad is still going--maybe not strong, but--forward; my brothers are wonderful, soft-hearted guys with terrific families. I'm very lucky.

I'm grateful for the talents I've been given, and for parents who encouraged and nurtured those talents. I really can do a lot of things others can't do, and I think I would shrivel up and die without being able to be expressive in my music, my cooking, my writing. So, thanks, mom and dad.

Another day

I'm grateful for another day to live life. I guess I am of the age where this sort of "live-in-the-moment" stuff is popular; I know that I never thought I'd be one of THOSE people, but, hey, I really am grateful for so much.

It's a beautiful day, the temperature is bearable (not many of those days this summer, for sure). I have the good fortune to be able to spend the day lounging in the pool, doing some "fluff" reading, so I'm going to take advantage of it.

I know I'm lucky.