love

See What I Mean?

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My friends are skeptical about my claim of packing light. This post will be unusual because it is photographic evidence and comments regarding my “luggage” for my trip that starts tomorrow.  I will fly to California tomorrow and spend five nights with my son and his bride.  We will stop off to get a few products like deodorant and shampoo before we go home for the evening.

Exhibit One

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Foreground is jeans and tennies for wearing. See the backpack in the background?  A pair of pants, a pair of shorts, a few t-shirts, swimsuit, pajamas, undies are assembled on the bed.

Exhibit Two

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Rolled up to stow.  Jewelry and undies in the small bags.

Exhibit Three

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Room to spare in this regular student size backpack (Wal-mart).

Exhibit Four

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My purse has a journal and small notebook that I carry most of the time everywhere.  Plenty of empty space here.

Exhibit Five

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These items will load in the morning.

Exhibit Six

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Purse, backpack, white denim jacket, Nook bag.  I weighed the whole lot and it comes in at 16 pounds or so.

Almost ready for take-off!

One thing wrong with the whole deal.  He won’t fit in my bag.  Already the pain of missing him has started.  I will have to enjoy the company of our children doubly for his not getting to be there, too.

 

Difficult Times

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The past few weeks have been trying. Several areas of my life have been in turmoil.  I came home early from the 9 to 5 Monday.  I couldn’t stop crying.

I did what was needed to manage the situation. A little dinner, a little nap, a lot of Scripture and prayer. By the evening, I was better. Drained, but better.

Tuesday was better and today is going fine. Tomorrow is Friday Eve.  So all is well.

The weekend holds promise for a blessed time with the clowns…I mean the girls. Our party theme is clowns and our menu is salads.  I am going retro with a Jell-O molded shrimp salad.  I was thinking maybe my aunt’s Southwestern Salad would be a good one, too.

I should not have been so down after Saturday’s adventures. Fishing, breakfast at the lake, a nap, a buggy ride at the lease.  He and I had a great day.  I was feeling ill on and off all day Saturday, though.  I still don’t know if I was stressed and depressed or fighting a real illness.  That is the thing about the depression. It simulates the symptoms of a cold or the early stages of the flu.  Body aches, fatigue, fuzzy head.  I usually manage the thoughts and feelings pretty well.  Especially the thoughts.  The feelings and the body symptoms are the difficult part to manage.

A lot of prayer, some rest, some talking to golden friends, his nurturing love, His nurturing Love, all worked together to put me on track.

The cherry on top was a short video of a high-kicker from Cali! That made everything grand, again! Funny how grands will do that!

I cannot overstate how grateful I am for the healing I have experienced the past few years. Recovering from the devastating grief our family has suffered has been a slow process.  I still reel from it if I let myself think too much about who is missing in our lives.  But, the future is full of hope.  The future is full of beauty.  The future is full of love.  All the love from all the past loved ones will continue into the future through our generation to the next.

I recently read a book that asked what I would want to be remembered for at my passing. I hope I am remembered for believing in love and the power it holds to restore and renew and prosper the mind, heart and spirit.

My political statement: His Love Matters.

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