“Note to self: No matter what, hang on to that part of you that gasps at a beautiful sunset or gets super excited about a new notebook or a freshly baked cupcake or a dog you just met on the street. Allow yourself to be regularly startled and humbled by joy.” – Nanea Hoffman, Sweatpants & Coffee Pretty sure there are…
Category: blessings
Enough
“‘Enough’ is a feast. — Buddhist proverb I just realized how long it’s been since I pulled together a gratitude list. I’ve had a lot of big, obvious things that top the list — Drew’s grad school graduation and internship offer, Tanner’s grad school acceptance, both kids living back at home for a little while, time…
Rest Day
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” – Ram Dass I don’t know when or how this came to be, but Mondays are rest days for me. The “Sabbath” of my exercise schedule, if you will — which means no running, no biking, nothing. Normally I end up at home doing laundry or catching…
Ahhhh
Blue skies. Soft breezes. Warm sunshine. In a nutshell, today was gorgeous. Thank you, weekend. I needed this.
Little Surprises
I’m gonna be honest. Sometimes I wish I could be a fast and serious runner. The early-corral-assignment, knows-all-of-her-PRs-by-heart, badass type of runner. But the longer I do it, the more I realize that it’s just not in the cards for me. I’m slow. Running doesn’t come naturally for me. Plus, the only thing shorter than my stride…
What Was That?
So life has been weird lately. Depending upon how you look at it, I’m either entering a new phase of life or leaving an old one. My kids are building their resumes, planning careers, and I will likely have an empty house by the end of the summer. I’ve never had a childless house in…
Do-Overs!
“The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.” – Bern Williams, author A work trip up north gave me a second chance at Spring…and I felt so, so lucky and hopeful. As if one spring isn’t cause enough for gratitude, I got to experience it twice this year. It…
It’s the Thought That Counts. Really.
“Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness.” – Richard Bach, writer The two items in this picture perfectly sum up three of my greatest loves* — pandas, baking, and Hello Kitty. And both were surprise gifts recently from two friends at work. While I absolutely *love* both items for what they are,…
A Few Wishes
Last week brought a work road trip and glimpses of what I’m calling a superbloom of yellow along the way. It brought reminders of how we’re supposed to care for our fellow human beings. And it brought gorgeous skies after days of rains that were seemingly without end. My wish for this next week? Bravery…
Please Continue
“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.” — Maya Angelou I have to chuckle at some of the little messages life has gifted me…
Goals
“Ah, how good it feels! The hand of an old friend.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Please forgive this blurry photo, but when you see something this dear, you use whatever you have handy. Which in this case, when I was looking out the window at the art museum, I only had my iPhone. So I…
Change is Good
This weekend brought the GO! St. Louis Marathon Weekend to our house. And if I could describe it in one word, it would be…different. Not bad different. Just different. For starters, and most obviously, the start and finish points physically changed from the Union Station area on Market Street to directly under the Arch. It…
Never Underestimate
Look at you, little bloom, and your big ol shadow. If only we could all see how far we can reach and how big we can be.
Monday
Monday smiles, courtesy of: Violet’s state of can’t even. My beautiful miniature roses. A puppy’s love for his owner. There is always reason to smile. Always. Even on a Monday.
Tough Teachers
“I have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.” – Khalil Gibran During today’s run, I noticed several flowering trees in my neighborhood bursting through, in spite of earlier snows and hard freezes. For whatever reason, it reminded me of this…
I Saw That.
To the mom in the grocery store produce section with the toddlers in nuclear meltdown mode: I saw the look you gave me. The anxiousness. The embarrassment. The fear that I was annoyed or judging you, your children, or the impressive volume and endurance of their shrieking. To you, I say…not a chance. Oh, mom, I…
Of Course
The first day of spring coincides with the International Day of Happiness. Coincidence? I think not. Violet is worn out from the excitement. Wishing you happiness in the warmth and light of the new season.
New Light, New Discoveries
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – unknown This weekend brought a sunrise run after a good number of evening training runs by flashlight. I was surprised to realize how much of a difference natural light makes. During my night runs, my attention is confined to the small sphere…
Little Butterflies
“If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” Sunday afternoon with my Little Sister at the Butterfly House and the Faust Park merry-go-round. Almost 60 degrees in February. What a wonderful day. We even spotted snowdrops blooming and a little bee friend. It’s hard to believe she’s been my Little Sister for a year now!
Just Gotta Look Around
“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.” – Camille Pissarro, painter Tiniest old church tucked in a rundown area… Smiles from a building under construction… Random dominoes embedded in the pavement in the middle of an intersection. Beautiful blessings abound for those willing to take the time…
I’ll Get There Eventually
“Aging is the extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.” – David Bowie So I aged a little bit today. Every now and then, it’s possible to catch a glimpse of something in ourselves that really isn’t as it ought to be. Maybe we’re not as patient or kind as we thought we were. Maybe we could…
Blessings on Ice
This is Archie, the resident cat of our neighborhood hardware store. He was overseeing shopping preparations last night as people poured in to buy flashlights, batteries, candles, water, etc. Not only is he a hard-working kitty, he’s a big, purring love bug. With a three-day icy forecast, I stocked up on everything we needed to settle in…
The Heart Knows
“Let your heart guide you. Listen closely, it whispers.” – unknown I’m not sure when it started, but I seem to have developed a thing for spotting hearts. Rocks, tree knots, oil spills, ice patches, leaves, grease spots, mud clumps…you name it, they’re everywhere. Over time, I’ve tried to share some of my heart sighting photos on Facebook and…
I Know He Watches Me
This video actually made me cry. I’ve always found it fascinating that sparrows are referenced a few times in the Bible — they seem to be important to God. “Not one falls from the sky without your Father’s knowledge,” Matthew 10:29 says. This verse pops into my head more often than most, probably because I watch birds…
Let Your Heart Be Light
Our annual trip to the Way of Lights at Our Lady of the Snows looked and felt a little different this year. Our car was a little more crowded with some new faces. But that’s the great thing about love — the more we give, the more we have. The circle can always be expanded. New…
hey there, friends 