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.