Rhyme and Reason from my Empty Nest

                                                                       HELLO FROM UP ABOVE - my 2nd children's picture book - has a timely message for all of us. Adults and children alike. It's marketed to the 2-to-8-year-old, but we all never outgrow our longing to know certain important truths. Our God is near. He created us unique. We are special to Him. We yearn to discern how much He loves us.  Maybe we knew these important truths when we were younger. Maybe we took them to heart when our heart was more open and less crushed. When we hadn't yet traveled all the bumps in our road. A hectic life can cloud our view of seeing His gifts each day. Those gifts we more often take for granted. Those gifts we often overlook. We diminish the gifts we currently have wanting more...wanting different. Maybe we wer...

                                               When you've been together as long as we have, you gotta look for new ways to foster greater connection. It's important. It's not so easy to do.  Have the two of you become too predictable? Have we? Do you feel like you've done almost everything together already? Take restaurants for example.  On Friday nights can we find you at the same place at the same time? Does the hostess at said restaurant know you by name? Do you order the same entree again and again? I'm scared to ask if you dine with the 5:00 crowd or with the 7:00? I plead the fifth to protect the innocent on that one! Is your weekly television schedule pretty set where Mr. Remote Control already knows what shows to select? Hopefully not News then Wheel of Fortune then Jeopardy! Is your tv turned off or left on during dinner? Has that changed in your Em...

                                                                             What happens when your dream vacation doesn't end up to be a dream after all? With  all that planning,   all that packing, all that traveling to get to your destination.   All those shekels saved and arrangements made. Time to set up care for your dog. Buy fresh litter for the cat. Someone to water the plants. Someone to get the mail. You arrive ready to relax and revive. You're ready to dive into a cool pool or into a new adventure. What happens if the pool is closed for maintenance and the tickets for your grand excursion are now sold out! Is the prized vacation a wash out or now an opportunity to redirect expectations? We in America do not often enough take mini vacations throughout our days. We p...

                                                                                                                                              It's that time again. Time to assess. Time to analyze where best to invest - our time, our money, our energy, our heart in this new year. This requires true evaluation. This can lead to real inspiration. This could foster our needed motivation. We're better off if it does. We're already into the second week of this New Year. Can you believe it? Hopefully we haven't already lost our motivation. How's it going so far for you? My "word" for 2024 was joy. My goal was to choose joy in the midst of all li...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       I am sitting at my desk on Giving Tuesday composing this post and questioning ...

                                                                          Today is a big day for all of us. W e get to cast at last.  We've been watching and waiting and watching some more. Too many ads ad  nauseam. We are excited to get this behind us. That is something we can all agree on!  Are any of you going to join me to stay up all night watching the election results? I typically do random acts like organize closets or roll coins. It helps to pass the time and calm my nerves. This may be why you have time to read my blog right now. Are you passing time... reading while pacing and praying?  I'm hoping to get some sense of the results before I lay down my weary head. One can hope. Foolish I know.  Will my one vote make a difference? Truly? A single vote has made an altering d...

                                                                  Apartment #3401  For now, we call it home. Home Sweet Home. Apartment Sweet Apartment. I've found apartment living to be not so bad after all. After all, good things do come in small packages.   Four months ago, I wouldn't have predicted this positive response. Today, I can truly proclaim some of the benefits of apartment living. A big 'ole house is great but a simple 2-bedroom apartment has its merit as well.  No one in their right mind would choose to move 2x in 4 months. Right?   Ideally you would move directly from one address into another.  That's what we used to think. We couldn't so we didn't. Now we're glad we didn't. 😊😊  Packing and moving a large home of 24 years was exhausting and back-breaking. My aching back needed ...