NOT JUST ANOTHER SEPTEMBER

We've all been blasted from complacency here in Southeast Texas by Hurricane Ike. I, for one, am extremely fortunate to have suffered only minor setbacks because of the storm. My house and property are intact, and we are very comfortable even though we are still without electricity on day 15 of the aftermath. You won't find me complaining about having to camp out in my own home when others have lost their homes and everything they owned including their beloved pets. Of course, there are also those who have lost family members or friends or even their own lives. The distress and anguish of many is beyond any comparison to the inconveniences of being ranked with the "lucky" ones. I am grateful for time spent with dear friends and for generous hospitality given to us for ten days. We love you, Susan. I am grateful for loved ones who cleared our long driveway of fallen trees, limbs and debris so we could reach our house when we returned home. Thank you Derek and Allison for lending your help and strength while Uncle Sonny was recovering from surgery. Also, thanks for letting Abby stay with you for almost a week. It may have preserved her teenage sanity during this time. It is no surprise to anyone who knows my sister, Tanya, that she spared me a great deal of stress by helping me gather the valuables from my house on the day of evacuation. She took an entire carload of things back home with her, including my two dogs, Yeti and Daisy. She picked them both up from the kennel on her way out of town, and they are still with her at my parents home. This is after she spent the entire day before from 5am until 9pm at the hospital with me during my husband's surgery for prostate cancer. My sister seems to always be there when I need her the most. How blessed I am to be her little sister. I'm also grateful to Mom and Dad and my brother, Carl, for their love and support during this difficult time and for helping take care of my dogs. I'll continue this tomorrow because I don't want to leave anything out. I have soooo much to be grateful for. Til then......

THE POWER OF COMMITMENT?

Have you ever noticed how the minute you "commit" to something, like giving up chocolate or coffee, brushing your teeth three times a day, keeping a journal or, of course, the universal "diet and exercise" you not only fall off the wagon immediately, you break both legs in the process! I think the latent willfullness from childhood rises up and says to our subconscious minds, "Nobody is going to make me do anything? Not even ME!" Anyway, this is my current explanation for self-sabotage. Kind of embarrassing now that I've seen it in print; so much for 53-year-old maturity. On the bright side, now that I've figured out the villain behind this mind-boggling phenomenon surely I'll manage to get more than one gratitude entry a week posted to this blog. One can only hope. I am grateful for my sister's and brother's healings from cancer this past year. Our God thinks of everything. Thank you, Father and Our Lord Christ Jesus. I am grateful for Abby and Kate and Sonny who fill so much of who I am. I am grateful for solitude and peaceful, quiet times like now, with no TV. I am grateful for God's provision through my wonderful husband. I am grateful that all of my close family members are still living. I am blessed, truly blessed.

Late Afternoon

Late afternoon has always been a favorite time of day for me. Probably because it has such a "lazy" feel to it. It brings back memories of Mother and Daddy sitting in lawn chairs under the shade of our big old oak trees enjoying a cup of coffee together while us kiddos played in the yard. Depending on the shift Daddy was working, this might be followed by a sit-down dinner at home or a family outing to the burger joint. We would usually drop by my Aunt Bessie's and Uncle Archie's for a short visit before returning home for baths and bedtime. A few things I'm grateful for: lazy afternoons, aluminum lawn chairs, parents, coffee, oak trees, going barefoot, cousins, orange soda with crushed ice, Chevy station wagons with no carpet, Mimosa trees with pink blossoms, no homework, sleeping with the windows open to the sound of crickets.