a challenge within a challenge

I miss my mom. She's left the earth for heaven for thirteen years now, but I can't seem to let this day go by without honoring her. I've decided to do something a little bigger than just my written words this year. I want to reach out to you for help. To honor her and my father, I want to challenge you. 

To anyone who reads these words, I challenge you to reach out to your parents: write a note of love and gratitude or give a phone call out of the blue right now or send a text just to say you care or find her/him/them and give a warm and generous hug. And do this for you—not for me—not for them—do it for you. 

You will thank me when the day comes that they are not there at your fingertips to love. You'll have to be like me, reaching out with faith, with all the ties that bind keeping your hope bright, looking forward to the day when you can be together again. 

eleven

Eleven is supposed to be a lucky number (I wonder who was the first person to think that up.) . . . but I digress. Since I was informed that eleven was considered lucky, my brain picks up on 11:11, day or night, and my heart makes a wish; I create top tens plus one in a list instead of top tens—kind of like a baker's dozen but one less than a dozen (if that makes any sense); and all the little moments when words on a page or numbers on a menu remind me of how knowing eleven could be lucky changed the way I see the world. 

It's amazing what a bit of perspective can do to help us feel lucky—to realize how much is going right. Sometimes it's just the sight of a couple of numbers to flip the switch. Eleven makes me happy now with two ones side-by-side, separate but a real team. And anything that simple to give someone a smile has to be pretty lucky. 

Eleven is lucky. 

the deal of a lifetime

I want a deal—not just any deal either—I want the deal of a lifetime. I want an eternal companion I can share mutual trust, love, care, and the goal of growing together forever. 

That's a lot to ask, so I figure if I give my everything and can have that, I've been given the deal of a lifetime, and I'll never let it go. 

It's hard to even wish for this to come my way since I believed I had it once already, but when only one person wants this type of deal it turns out to be more than anyone bargained for. It turns into a mess. 

So I'll just keep my eyes wide open watching for a gem. I'll keep my heart open to knowing when it is getting what it needs—the real deal, the whole shebang, the deal of a lifetime. 

always moving

Sleepless

Wishing

Hoping

Praying

Wanting to make a difference

Working

Cleaning

Trying

Organizing

Making room for more of what I want

Thinking

Feeling

Planning

Doing

Keeping watch for change to break like dawn over each horizon

a happy one

The lights flick on outside, the house begins to simmer down, and in the quiet night I realize that spring is on its way—another spring to want a garden and plant new trees, another spring to see if I can find a swing of things that will be effective. I want my garden to finally be a happy one this year. I want to look forward to the warm summer nights when I go out in the garden and watch vegetables grow and see the stars begin to pop through the dark blue fabric of night. I look forward to spring because it always offers a chance to find more of me again.