When my husband was eighteen, he bought his own car.
It was an older Saab that looked like a Volkswagen beetle. (but don’t tell him I said that!)

My husband worked hard, earned money, and always seemed to be able to save.
His first job was delivering newspapers on his bike.
Later, he worked for a man who had a large property complete with a barn and many out buildings.

One summer, while we were in high school, he painted all of the buildings by himself…an interesting job when you are Irish and fair skinned with freckles.
Needless to say, he had a lot of sunburn…but he looks back on that time fondly.

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I was enjoying my morning walk…praying…admiring the beauty around me.
We have had so much rain for the past few days…there was a misty feel to the morning.
I could literally see droplets of water hanging precariously from the leaves.

In the midst of the quiet of the early morning, I heard a strange noise.
I listened intently as I tried to discern where the sound was coming from.
I would hear it…then I wouldn’t.
I realized that it was coinciding with my own footsteps.

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If you have a computer, you have to deal with updates.
Those little reminders that pop up to tell you there is a new version of something that must be installed on your computer to ensure that it runs efficiently.

You can click the “install” button right away to make sure your computer is up to date, or you can choose the “remind me later” button.
I often wondered how many times you can request to be reminded later before there are serious problems.

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My oldest son ran track all through high school and college.
He ran the 400 meter race.
I told him that he appeared to have after burners which kicked in on the last curve.
My son is currently in law school, and no longer runs track.
Now, he runs for exercise.

I was amazed at the amount of training and perseverance required to run on a track team.
The race itself lasted only a few minutes, but the preparation beforehand was intense.
Running required skill, stamina, and determination.

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I was fascinated by a tree.
The roots of the tree were girdling around the base of the trunk.
One large root was trying its hardest to break out.
I saw one obstacle in the path of this tenacious root…a cement storm drain.

How I wish I had eyes to see beneath the surface of the ground.
I would love to see the extensive root system that is underneath us all the time.
All we see is what is above the ground…the beautiful trees that provide shade for us.
We don’t give much thought to what is underneath them…holding them up.

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I heard them before I saw them.
Geese flying in the V formation, honking loudly.
Their honking broke the quiet of my morning walk.

My prayer time is becoming more what God intends, and less what I had in mind when I set out.
Some mornings, it is simply observing…like this morning.
I am finding that the simplest thing has His signature all over it.

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I was blessed today by the story of Henry.
Henry is a man who has been in a nursing home for ten years.
Henry spends his days, unresponsive, in a wheelchair.
His head rests on his folded hands.
Henry was having seizures and his wife could not care for him.
He was placed in the nursing home for round the clock care.
The nurses and therapists were at a loss as to how they could reach Henry.

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Mr. L was a nice man…a little loud, but funny.
Everybody liked him.
I did, too…except for what he called me.

I would secretly cringe if I saw him on the other side of the street.
I wanted to disappear so that he wouldn’t notice me.
But I was too slow, or he was too quick.

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I had a wonderful stay at home day the other day.
I have been blessed to be a stay at home Mom, but this was a different kind of day.
This was the kind of day when you have nothing planned.

The kind of day when the playlist of your favorite songs fills the house.
The kind of day when you have lunch at 2:00 as you read a good book.
The kind of day when you begin something…only to walk away, play the piano for a while, and then come back to the task…renewed.

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