A pepper mission

When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand.  It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it. – W Clement Stone

With a quote like that, one might think that I'm going to discuss how I've finally discovered my mission in life, and that I know exactly what it is I'm to do at this moment in time?   Nope...not yet.  I have discovered that I'm curious why our cat has taken on the mission to steal our peppers.  She definitely has made it her burning desire (aka hot pepper) and mission to carry them off the counter to play with.  There's no stopping her when she has it in her mouth.  She is so focused.  It's like there's no one else in the room.  So much for an addition to our dining experience.  We have resigned ourselves to them simply being toys for our cat to occupy her time with.

My next mission will be to discover why the one pepper that she has chosen as her favorite, never ripened like the other three?  Over the week long playtime, she has carried off all four of them and batted them around, but three changed colors and her favorite one remains green.  Why is that?  I'm not sure that this is a common enough situation to research on Google or not?

Ah, the simple life of a cat!  Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the moments in life when you're able to focus on your mission!

The quiet approach...taking a little sip of water first.

Ah....a careful choosing of the green one.

Oops, it dropped...or maybe it was hot tasting?

Mission forward, now to get off the counter.

Watch out for the dishes (oh my...why is it
that I took pictures with a messy counter anyhow?)

Rounding the corner.

Look at that FOCUS!

Back tracking...

Nope, this is the way to go (I wonder if she was
drooling??)

Ready, set, launch!  Mission accomplished!

Don't stop changing

What if you could pick one day of your life, and everything would stop changing, every day would be similar and comparable to that one day, you’d always have the same people with you?  If you could do that, would you do it?  Would you pick that day and make that choice?  - C JoyBell C

What is it about people who frequently say, "I wish things would stop changing."?  Wonder what they would say if they had the choice to keep things just as they are at this moment in time.  Would they really make that choice?  I can think of some pretty amazing days in my life where I might have felt that way.  Like that special moment sitting on a beach, feeling incredibly relaxed, no worries, no stress, just calm appreciation for the moment.  I'm so much nicer when I'm enjoying life.  Who wouldn't in a dreamy scene like that right?

Well...how do we know if it is really so nice if we don't have anything else to compare it to?  If everyday was perfect, with the same people, in the same place, would it be interesting or challenging enough for you? Would you really enjoy it as much as you think?  Would you wish things would stop changing?

Now think for a moment about one of the worst days you've had.  What were you doing?  Who were you with?  What if you were stuck in that moment and nothing would ever change?  Would you make that choice to accept it and stay in that horrible moment?  Or would you fight with everything you had to change it?  If you think about it, did you like who you were during that moment?  How you were behaving?  Would you want to be that way forever?  I know I'm definitely not as nice as I would like to be in those moments.

How many times do we settle and just take the bad days as something out of our control?  Sure things happen that mess up schedules, or routines, or our health.  There's something common in all of it though.

We are the common denominator in our good days and our bad days.  We are the ones who can make things change or accept that things change.   It is our choice!  Think about how exciting life really can be because of change.  No matter how hard or wonderful some moments of change can be, change is what makes life worth living and enjoying.

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the moments of change in your life - here's a few that I've enjoyed over the past few weeks...

Anticipation

Changing colors and persistence

Hummingbirds, rain and double rainbows

Break through moments

A little help from family and friends

Cool colors

Warm colors

Success and growth

Beautiful moments

Patience and forgiveness

Sunsets...and peace!

An adventure from the routine

A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints. – Wilfred Peterson

Well, well, well, finally another moment in time where a random thought strikes.  To be really frank, I've had tons of random thoughts in the past weeks, but they were so random, it seemed like too much work to write about them.

A little over a week ago, our family entered a new phase in life.  For my husband and me, the empty nest phase, for our youngest a phase of adventure in a big city.

Sending your youngest child off to college is a whirlwind.  It is another adventure together, worth remembering and living through.  So many roller coaster emotions!  The prep work beforehand, the patience needed while watching her pack and not being able to really help.  The hugs and tears of the meltdowns and wondering will the packing ever really get done.  The packing and repacking of the car when she remembers one more thing!  A less than restful night of "sleep" before you hit the road.

Then the long trip there, with the quiet and somber thoughts of are we doing the right thing, this is so far away.  The excitement and anticipation when we arrived there and the rush of unloading all the items that did get packed.  The reality setting in when seeing her new room, meeting her roommates, seeing what the noise level and hustle/bustle of a big city is really like.  It was hard not to be excited for her despite those tiny little tugs at your heart as you begin to miss her and the routine you had in life up to this point.

There's always that last moment, where you have to say "goodbye" and let her go off on this new adventure alone, without you.  Seeing her walk away into the big crowd of people.  Oh, man, that's a big deal!  There is a reason the school placed a small box of Kleenex in the gift bag for the parents.

Tears continue with the moment you arrive home.  Her car is there, but she's not.  Then you walk into her room where the whirlwind started and find a carefully placed note reminding you "I'm somewhere else for a just a little while".  I couldn't hold them back anymore, I had to finally let the tears from all the emotions flow.
But then...I realized (a day later), that I was just being selfish.  The break in my routine from 18 years of her being there is going to be tough, but I can grow out of this just as much as she can.  

Reminding myself, it is easier nowadays with technology.  I can see instantaneously what she is up to.  She keeps us posted by sending text messages and photos of her life and happenings.  We get to live the adventure with her.  The ease of this new routine officially hit us when we shared our first Skype call with her.  It had only been 4 days and she had discovered new things, started reading new books, meeting new people and growing up even more!  Ah...another proud parent moment!   Yep, we're gonna make it through this new phase!

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the moments where you discover a break in routine is just what you need!

Oh boy...I wasn't sure she'd really
get it all packed!  

Full and ready to go!

See mom!  I could do it!

Happy to be in the loft!

New friends, new adventures - love the smiles!

One more group hug before we
say "goodbye for a little while"

Yep - we love you too!
Sniffle... guess I still need a few Kleenexes?
Time for a Skype call!!

On my challenged garden

I grow plants for many reasons:  to please my eye or to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience, for novelty or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow. – David Hobson

A late spring. A season of very dry weather.  A life full of long days and little energy to devote to gardening.   Is it any wonder my garden looks like it needs lots of TLC to help the flowers blossom and thrive?  The old faithful marigolds seem to make it no matter what.  I'm pretty sure next year, they will be the only flowers I plant.

I've been patiently watering my glads to see if I really didn't wait too long to plant them.  It was Father's Day this year.  That's pretty late.  Just planting them again this year was an experiment.  Last fall when I went through the long process of waiting until they died off naturally in the ground, pulling them out and letting them dry in the cool garage, removing all the unnecessary stuff to reveal the corms (or something like that) for next year's planting, storing them in a paper sack, and then setting them on a shelf until spring was A LOT of work.  I had my doubts.  Maybe I should say, I still have my doubts.

But then...last night I discovered some hope.  There might just be one that survived the challenge and will actually bloom.  Ah, the novelty, the nostalgia, the joy of seeing something actually happen that I hoped for. I can't wait to see what color pops out!

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the moments that please your soul!  I'll be back soon...whenever the random thought strikes me again.

Marigolds are so hearty!

Only one orange one in the bunch.  I know I
planted more.

I can't wait to see what color blooms!

Guess I have more late starters happening.

And another one...

Still crooked, why is that?  

Oh yeah, Copper is still ready and willing to
head off on an adventure in the yard.   Wonder
what we'll find next time?  

Grow through life

Don’t go through life, grow through life. – Eric Butterworth

I'm sitting here wondering what it will be like in a couple weeks.  In a couple weeks, we'll be driving home after dropping off our youngest at college.  She'll be 6 hours away from home.  I wonder who will grow the most out of the experience?

I keep reminding myself, it is one of our roles as parents to help our children discover life and grow up.  I'm convinced that we as parents grow through each milestone just as much as the kids grow.  When our oldest moved away, I remember crying for a week (I hid it, no one knew).  But during that week, and the three years since she has moved, it's been a joy watching her discover life and grow up to be who she wants to be. As I parent I remain proud of her.  I grew too, which helps with this second round of letting go.

As the time quickly passes by this month, I'm sure there are days when I've simply gone through life.  More times than I'd like to admit to. You know, the days when it's a blur and it's hard to remember what did happen that day.  That's when I try to step back and take a breath and look around to see what has changed and what's left to do before she leaves.  I desperately want to help her get ready.  It's hard not to when you see the piles of half packed stuff.  I try, but then she quickly reminds me it's her journey, not mine.  Another opportunity for both of us to grow.

There's the part of me who has been there and done that that wants to tell her what to do and how to do it. But then, would she grow on her own and be who she's meant to be or would she be just taking on my perspective?  It's her life to discover, not mine to relive.  Lucky for both of us, she's confident enough to say "Mom, I've got this, it will be fine, just let me do it."

As parents, we think are our kids really grown up enough to be on their own when we first help them out the door to discover the big world out there?  Are we really grown up enough to let them go?  We have to, it's simply part of life.  If we look at it as an opportunity for both parties to grow, it is an exciting adventure where we can watch each other grow.  Letting go is always an opportunity to grow.

She quickly reminds me too...it'll be something to blog about....!  (Hint,  hint, time to get back to blogging mom!)

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Sunday - enjoy the moments where life gives you opportunities to grow!

I may not get glad flowers this year, but the marigolds
always bloom where they are planted.

That wrinkled leaf is still there....maybe it will
produce a flower.  Maybe it will in two weeks...
the flowers will be here reminding me of how
she'll bloom where she lands...6 hours away.
Glad she is discovering a new place to grow!

A sense of accomplishment

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.  It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s a day you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.” – Margaret Thatcher

Yesterday I talked about priorities.  I made a choice to concentrate on the priorities I had been putting off for far too long.  I do enjoy the sense of satisfaction when I accomplish what I set out to do.  How about you?  Do you feel satisfied when you get stuff done?  Maybe it is preparing and running your first ever 2 mile, 5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon, etc. or simply working through your to-do list and crossing off items.

Once you set your mind to do something you have to work at it to make it happen.  You can't just sit idle and wait for things to happen.  I didn't run a marathon yesterday or today for that matter.   But...I did accomplish something close to the ground, after a short 4 mile run!  Mission #1 accomplished - ah...now that I've weeded through some things, I can definitely see my priorities better.  I think I'm on to something.  Time to head out and get on with more!

Happy Sunday - Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy your accomplishments of the day!!

No more weeds!!

Now the flowers can take off and grow!

Now I've got to put some controls into
place - time to find the Preen!

It's so nice to see things clearly now!

Soon, this flower will bloom where it has landed!

Thoughts on weeds

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them. – A A Milne

I've been thinking a lot lately about priorities.  I'm wondering if by accepting the fact that I can't always do everything I want to do, is it an okay thought or not?  It really hits home when I walk around my yard and look at the pathetic flower gardens of this year's crop.  I can definitely tell they have been low on my priority list.  Last year, I made them a priority, and they were a lot more fun to water and look at.  I personally love flowers, but a green thumb effect takes way more time than available this year.  I guess it is just a matter of deciding what's really important to you.

I wonder if that's what AA Milne was talking about in the quote above?  Weeds in the garden can teach us some lessons.  The weeds tend to blossom and spread faster than the real flowers.  They have a level of admirable tenacity.  Their lack of fear of taking over and carrying on can be inspirational.  Well, at least that's my observation when I look around at the flower beds.  I could think the same about the glads I planted again this year.  I did put a lot of effort into preparing them for storage last fall.  I waited much too long to plant them because I wasn't sure of when the last frost was really going to be, and they were low on my priority list.  Planting them on Father's Day this year is really too late, but they too are showing some tenacity. Guess through the weeds I can still see some of my original priorities, which is comforting that I didn't really give up everything.  

If your priorities take you down a different route, is it worth the guilt to hold on to the old priorities?  Maybe it is just better to get to know the new priorities, learn from them, weed out what isn't essential to your priorities and enjoy the feeling of getting to know something new.  

Happy Saturday!  Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy sorting out the priorities in your life!

You can see what is winning the space here.

I find this plant interesting, how did it get
all wrinkled as it grew?

Baby marigolds.  They are generally very
easy to grow...not this year!

Old faithful - 8 years now this plant still blooms.

First pass of the "weeding" session.  Just what
I needed...another "to-do"!  Maybe the blossoms
on the weeds will be pretty enough to enjoy and
I won't worry about it?