incredible

Today I got to do what I love to do and get paid for it...how incredible is that! I spent most of the day either taking photos or editing them. And I got some really nice shots if I do say so myself. I took some baby photos of little 4-month-old CoraLynn. She was so sweet. Have you ever noticed the innocence, and at the same time the wisdom, that radiates from the eyes of the young? It's such a dichotomy. They look like they have seen everything and have the wisdom of the ages, and yet at the same time their souls seem to shine with a pure unadulterated innocence-untainted by anything that might have clouded them. Now that is truly incredible!

sickness

My friend and I took the kids to the zoo on Sunday. Now her whole family is afflicted with a serious stomach bug. I am crossing my fingers and seriously praying that we don't get it. Knock on wood, we all seem to be fine at this point. No barfing at our house yet, and if we are very lucky it will stay that way.

I can handle being sick. I don't like it of course, but I can handle it. Now seeing the little ones sick, that kills me! I would so much rather take it on myself than see them deal with it. Of course, when Riley was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes, none of us knew how we would handle it. But being the amazing little girl that she is, she has taken all the struggles in stride and shown us what grace under fire is all about. It is quite incredible and I sometimes marvel at how something so traumatic at first, now seems common and mundane-just another part of our everyday life. I guess we all play with the cards we are dealt. Today I'm hoping that some aces are coming our way!

a process

After my blog last night I had the great idea that I would try to spend one whole day without saying anything negative. So this morning I woke up with that intention. Then the first thing out of my mouth to my son found me falling short already. It was the truth. He asked how I slept. I said not very well, I kept waking up. But how could I have answered in a more positive way. I could have said, "Not great, but despite that I feel well and rested" which was also the truth. Why is it so much easier to blurt out the bad stuff? Maybe it is conditioning. Maybe it is my personality. And I surely don't want to feel like a spin doctor in my own life always having to edit what I say. But I would like to be able to look on the bright side-to see the silver lining instead of the dark cloud. I suppose it's a process just like everything else. Every time I bring my awareness to that intention, the intention to be positive and uplifting, I give it new life.

moving

"The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, but where we are moving" Oliver Wendell Holmes

This is one thing I can say for myself. I may not be perfect, but I am always striving to move in that direction. I am always trying to improve myself and the world around me. I think that's a great way to be. So many people just make it through life without thinking about growing. It takes thought and it takes work and it's completely worth it.

I had a great conversation today with a friend about the power of our words to create our life. And I realized I need to grow in this area. How much of what comes out of my mouth is ultimately negative ie: a complaint, gripe, negative comment, whining etc...! How much better would my life be and the lives of those around me if I were more careful and more positive in my speech? I think I would see many things coming to fruition that I have only dreamed of till now. So today I begin moving in that direction. What direction are you moving in today?

Eyes of a child

Today was an incredible day. I took the kids to the zoo. The weather was perfect-sunny and almost seventy degrees. But what made the day truly special was the chance to see things through the unfiltered, uncluttered eyes of a child; where everything is new and exciting. I loved the way their faces lit up when they saw an animal move or make noise, swim or slither, fly or crawl. Nate loved the goats in the petting zoo and thought the Leopard was a wonderful big Bubba. (our kitty) I'm sure he would have walked right up and pulled her tail if he'd had the chance. How would the world be different if we as adults could preserve just a little more of that sense of wonder? If we could keep ourselves from becoming so blase to all the beauty and diversity of the world around us. If we could get excited about all the small miracles we seem to pass over as we navigate the grown-up world of work and finance and struggle. It might not change the physical world, but it would surely change us.

Goodbyes

Goodbyes. I hate them. Especially the ones at airports. Even if I know they are not permanent, they still provoke some sadness in me. Maybe, they just remind me of other times that the hug has been the last I'll ever experience with that person, the last time I'll see them face to face, or hold their hand. Life is always changing. We can't cling to those things that we've left behind, yet at times we still mourn them. Sometimes they still linger in the recesses of our memories and bring us sorrow when something in our present reality shadows them a little to closely. So today I am sad and happy. Happy that this goodbye is not of the permanent variety, not even of the lengthy variety. And sad for all the goodbyes that have been. And perhaps even more so for all the ones that may be in the future.

love the one you're with

I think that love is centered around finding that someone who sincerely likes the person you are. You don't have to pretend to be anyone other than who you are at that very moment. And of course, you must like and love and enjoy the person they are as well. If you are very lucky, you are both growing in the same direction so that as you grow and change, and we all do, you grow in the same direction and ultimately end up closer as time goes by. Unlike those unlucky souls who are growing in opposition to each other so that at some point they are so disparate they no longer enjoy the person the other has become. They are different people and too different from each other to have any harmony.

Do you truly love the one you're with? Do you love their weaknesses and their strengths. Do you love their darkness and their light, their quirks and their frailties as much as their finer qualities. Then you have found what most people only dream of, I think.