tiny surprises

Stopping on the way home from Chestnut Ridge,
we got the usual drink at Speedway.

What my kiddos weren't expecting
was that I had little cups
and an ice cream scoop stuck in my adventure bag.

Along with the drinks,
I picked up a pint of ice cream
and some spoons.

Out in the parking lot,
feeling a sense of history,
I passed out little cups of happiness.

A smile played on my lips
as I remembered
the many times
my mom did similar things for my brothers and I.
What a blessing to have had such a happy childhood.
What a gift to be able to pass on the tradition.
I pray that you are able to recall a happy tradition
and that you are able to create it anew
with loved ones
who will carry the memory happily into the future.
May your days, your nights, your forever...
be blessed!

Captured Calm

As I glanced into my rear view mirror,

on the way back from our favorite Metro Park,

I grinned.

There,

on my middle child's face,

was an expression that made my heart glad.

Our hike,

through the massive trees

and down near the pond

had been well received by all.

I picked up the camera from the cup holder,

instinctively turned it on and held up the camera to my mirror.

Cross my heart their was no one behind us

and my eyes,

after checking this fact,

never left the road.

Back at home,

as I looked over the pictures,

I had to let out a sigh

and send up a prayer of thanks.

I was glad that I had agreed with my oldest daughters plea for an adventure.

All afternoon I had worked on paperwork that has been piling up.

I made it through the whole pile with only a few loose ends to tie up.

I thought while I worked,

I thought about words of wisdom I had heard today.

The first were from Pastor Angie's sermon this morning

when she talked about her own path to accepting the phrase,
"Bloom where you are planted."

I think about my life, it is not what I expected,

and yet there are so many blessings,

so many opportunities

that I think I need to do a lot less fretting

and more enjoying the life I have been given.

The second wise words I considered came from my dad who loves me enough to call it as he sees it. I was whining about my mountains of work which, though I freely admit were my fault, never -the- less were getting me down. My father assured me I wasn't the only one in the world who felt that way. Sigh... parents... useful critters...

At dinner time

when my dear ones had an itching for an adventure,

I knew it was a good idea.

So off we went joyfully and appropriately leaving our cares behind us.

We enjoyed each others company,

found bugs,

admired flowers,

saw a heron fly in and land looking for food...

Happy moments to treasure.

My life is good.

I am grateful.

May your day,

your night,

your week...

Be blessed with happiness.

May we all,

"Bloom where we are planted"!