I have way too much stuff!  That has become abundantly (pun intended) apparent as we have completed our move into a smaller home than we have had in the past.

Doug and I have a lovely, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in Arlington with a large study and a sunroom, and a huge yard.  I still can’t find a place for things in the space we have, and it is unsettling.  I am “an accumulator” and so is Doug, so when we combined our belongings in marriage, we ended up with lots of duplication.  Consider that “Chef Doug” has more kitchen stuff than everyone on the Food Network combined, and I have an angel collection that rivals heaven, and you come up with “too much!”  I’ve decided that this is not emotionally, mentally, or physically healthy, and I am on a roll!

I purchased two of the recent best-selling books by Marie “KonMari” Kondo (The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy) about finding serenity through tidying up, and am beginning the process of discarding.  I find her approach radical and fascinating, and am (mostly) following her recommendations, so far with very satisfying results.  Her thoughts about keeping only what “sparks joy” has brought about some wonderful insights, some really funny conversations with friends about underwear, and a lot of getting rid of things that will contribute to the law of circulation.

This will be a long process, as this whole move back to Texas has been, and I am feeling optimistic about it at this point.  I’ll get back to you as I tackle more rooms, more stuff, and find places for the things that “spark joy!”

This picture is how I feel sometimes when I want to blog… I have so many wonderful ideas – at 2 am when I get up to go to the bathroom!  By the time I’m awake and online, that train of thought is way down the tracks to the Land of Senior Moments.

I did have this thought last night, though, and since it has been MONTHS since I last blogged (more on that later), I thought I’d just get it down.

Watching the news yesterday evening, which I don’t often do (more on that later, too!) I saw a storyline that made me think      “How awful!”    As the story progressed, however, it became apparent that my thoughts needed to be focused more on “HOW AWE-FULL,” as so many people came to help a family in much need.  Tears floated on my eyes,  I felt the presence of the Divine filling up my heart, and my “Inner Knower – Spirit Within, focused me in the direction of Good and God.

As a senior in my own right (I’ll be 65 in July)  I’ve decided to change my way of thinking about a lot of things in my past.  Things that felt so bad at the time they were happening, turned out to be such blessings…from awful (in my mind) to AWE-FULL in reality.

A second divorce when I was 49 with three children at home to raise brought some scary moments, financially, emotionally, mentally, physically.  I worked two jobs, juggled a third, and still had to be present in every aspect for my children, at that time aged 14, 11, and 5.  It was all-consuming, exhausting, and life-altering in personal growth and self-awareness.  For 23 years I was single, although I dated a little, and at one point, when my youngest was in high school, I had a nice and very pleasant relationship with a man for about 10 years (longer than either one of my previous marriages). It worked well in part because we maintained separate homes, finances, and, as it came to pass, ideas about our future together.  When that ended, I was steadfast in my frequent statement “I will NEVER marry again.” (Words, I might add, that my closest friends and sisters have thrown back to me in humor many times over the last few years.)

I met my darling Doug online in Dec. 2006, married him on Jan. 21, 2010, and have realized many times since that every moment of each past relationship, each “mother moment,”  each night that I cried myself to sleep, and each day that I woke up to new challenges, have been blessed by the Divine and brought me to NOW – my AWE-FULL, and beautiful life.  

Oh, my gosh!  I have three successful, responsible, fun adult children who have added wonderful spouses and grandchildren to our family.

I have a husband who enhances every day of my life, spiritually, emotionally, and in every other way.

I have awesome friends and family who keep me laughing and crying, living life to the fullest.

I am blessed with abundance, love, peace, joy – each day is God-filled, good-filled, and gratitude-filled.

I’ve changed my thinking and changed my life.         http://scienceofmind.com/

 

Happy first day of fall!  

It’s not very cool yet in Argyle, TX, but there is the hint of cooler weather to come, teasing me with its shorter days, earlier sunsets, and almost comfortable temperatures in the evening shade.   Texas football, turning leaves letting go of their branches and twirling softly to the ground (making a big mess!) and plants that seem to heave a sigh of relief are all heralding the change of season.

Doug and I are taking a trip to the east coast for two weeks to see friends in RI, visit my youngest son in NY, and take in the New England fall colors.  We’ve just finished our last trip moving, cleaning out our storage unit in Pierre, SD, saying goodbye to lovely friends we made there.  We thankfully enjoy being in the car together, yet making the almost 2,000 mile round trip at least 7 times in the last few months has been tiring – glad that part of our adventure together is over and the next chapter is beginning as we look for the business opportunity we know is sure to come.

The cooler weather just makes things easier all the way around!

 

                                                                          

    “Your hopes, dreams and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them.”    

                                                             American philosopher William James

 

I spent a good part of this evening sitting on our patio in Pierre, SD, looking at the clouds,  watching their sun-tipped edges drift into and out of my vision.  So many shapes, constantly shifting and forming new images, about which I made up little stories, did some daydreaming, and just enjoyed the relaxation of it all.

Doug and I “watch clouds” together, and often have different viewpoints. It is interesting to me how people can  look at the same things, yet see them differently, hear the same words but understand them differently, bringing their own experiences, values, beliefs into their perceptions and interpretations of things.  How valuable to have others’ insights – being open to varied ideas certainly broadens our world!

 

I see an angel here… (I see angels all the time!) What do  you see, feel, hear in your mind when you look at this image I copied from the internet?

Are you taking time to balance your busy-ness with the many blessings of life?  Even the simple things like cloud-watching can be an exercise in the divine!  Enjoy!

and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

AND NOW IT IS TIME TO MOVE!

Our circumstances have changed in the last 24 hours in such a wonderful way.

All our efforts with the insurance company we’ve had to deal with (and who will remain unnamed) have come to fruition!  We received a call yesterday morning that they will make an exception in our situation, and pay for a truck with a hitch to tow our moving trailer, which they do not usually do.

As our truck is still under repair in Wichita Kansas (and not expected to be ready for us until the end of July), it was such welcome news, setting us into a flurry of activity making plans to complete our move, and relieving a lot of concerns about timing.

All is just as it should be – God’s timing is perfect timing! How often I need reminding there is a time for everything, and it may not be in “Theresa Time!”

Psalms 46:10  “Be still, and know that I am God”  … this evening I will make time for that.

 

…that’s how I described myself to Doug today – at loose ends.  We had planned to have some guests for dinner, great friends who are moving at the end of the week.  Those plans fell through, and I felt “in an unsettled or uncertain situation” (definition from The Free Dictionary by Farlex).  It wasn’t really the change in dinner plans, I’ve surmised, but more our moving situation at present, an insight that caused me to rethink the importance of things.

I’ve realized that it’s unsettling to me to have “my stuff” in different places, with some belongings in boxes in our house, some in a storage unit, and still more at the house in Argyle, TX, which we have rented until we make some definite decisions about where we will start up our restaurant in the DFW area.   Our timeline has changed with the wreck (see earlier post) the first week of June, and now it seems our truck will not be ready for us to drive until the end of July.  The closing date on the sale of our home here in Pierre is Aug. 10, leaving about a week and a half for us to make our previously planned three trips to move ourselves with our moving trailer.  

Now what?!? It seems like all is unraveling into many “loose ends.”

Some soul-searching (and a discussion about spiritual growth with my husband) leads me to the conclusion that none of this matters.  We will figure it out, our truck will eventually be returned to us in good shape in Wichita, Kansas, we will spend (an exhausting) 10 days or so moving ourselves or we will make different plans, we’ll end up in Texas just as planned, our life together unfolding in just the way it needs to.  

In the meantime, we have our wonderful marriage, families who love us, friends in many places, a nice home and very pretty yard to enjoy, our cat Zoe ( a never-ending source of amusement and mischief), and plenty enough “stuff” to be more than comfortable.  As I take in that abundance and my sense of gratitude once again expands my consciousness, (how often I forget and have to be reminded!) all my “loose ends” start neatly tucking into the beautifully woven life I enjoy, and I remember that God is always present, and all is well.  

Continue reading “At loose ends…”

We had quite wind storm here in Pierre Sunday night, straight lines winds up to 122 mph documented just west of here.  I was already up when it hit, having been restless and not able to sleep. As the winds and rain picked up quickly and the severe weather sirens sounded, I woke up Doug to go down to our basement, not sure of what was transpiring.  We quickly gathered shoes and cell phones, just in case, and turned on the TV to watch the radar.  Wicked wind was the cause for alarm – and, in the midst of it, snuggled in a blanket next to my husband,  and Zoe the cat snoozing on my lap, I felt safe, knowing all is well.

Safety – security – love – oneness with our Creator – surety in Source…. True Sanctuary!

Did you ever notice that the word “change” is embedded within “challenge?”  

My husband and I are making some big changes this year – we’ve just sold our home in South Dakota to move back to Texas – in AUGUST!!  (What were we thinking?!?)

We are, at least at the moment, planning to open an upscale diner in the DFW area.

The challenges are many.

We had three goals on our last trip down – to attend a family wedding, to pick up a moving trailer we’ve purchased (we are moving ourselves), and to look at some potential sites for our restaurant.  On the way down, we were involved in a wreck just south of Wichita, Kansas.  As we slowed to pass the third (yes, third!) accident in front of us, a young woman who was behind us failed to slow down and hit the small (borrowed) trailer we were pulling behind our truck, breaking the tongue of the trailer completely off and sending it rolling.  Her car became airborne, flying over our truck and landing up-side-down in front of us!  We helped pull her from her car, breaking out the driver’s window to extricate her.

Thank God, none of us were hurt – a miracle indeed.

She had been talking and texting on her cellphone according to several witnesses who stopped to help, and so was cited for distracted driving.

This incident brought many challenges to us, dealing with insurance companies, changing our plans to pick up our moving trailer (did you know that rental agencies will not allow you to tow with a rental car?)

We had to be towed from the scene because the gas line in our truck had ruptured, spend an unplanned night in Wichita, and find a rental car that would hold all the belongings we had been bringing down that were in our truck and the small trailer.

Kudos to my darling husband who navigated all those issues with grace.

These challenges brought quite a few changes to our plans, delaying things by several weeks while we wait for our truck to be repaired in Wichita, and necessitating another trip to Texas to get the moving trailer.

Yet, we have had some wonderful discussions together, raising our consciousness in several ways.

GRATITUDE – NO ONE WAS INJURED!

BLESSINGS –  instead of choosing anger over the situation or being fearful that things would not work out, we chose to bless the young woman and the events.

FAITH – we believe the unfolding of all this will serve a higher purpose that we may or may not know right away, or ever.  Perhaps this experience will serve the young woman involved in a “growth opportunity” that benefits her, perhaps Doug and I needed the extra time in South Dakota for some reason?  Who knows?

What we do know is that God is present, saturating our lives with good.  And that any time we choose, we can lift the “lle” from the challenges of our lives into a change for the better, and use the lle as a reminder to love life’s experiences!

 

 

I received a lovely thank you note yesterday.  I didn’t recognize the name or the address on the envelope, so, of course, I was intrigued, and even more so once I realized it was a beautiful “thank you” card.  As I read the written note inside, it quickly became clear that my husband and I were being thanked for our help last December during a hotel incident in Santa Fe.  While enjoying our complimentary breakfast in the dining room, a man fell, hitting his head on a stone pillar.  I, being an RN, and my husband a former EMT, went into action without even thinking about it, controlling the bleeding and curious on-lookers, helping calm the man’s wife, making sure an ambulance was on the way, checking vital signs, etc.  We were happy to be of service, both of us being quite sure that Divine Intervention had brought us to breakfast a little later than usual that morning.  Before the ambulance left with the injured man, his wife – such a lovely woman – thanked us profusely, and asked for our mailing address.  The letter was from her, and I alternately teared up and laughed as I read her note of gratitude recounting the situation.

Little miracles happen every day –  our job is to pay attention and be grateful!

It is a really windy (again) day in Pierre, South Dakota… too windy to plant the seeds I’ve been wanting to put out in our garden.  The seeds  I have chosen so carefully would be everywhere except where I want them! I have planned my garden well, selecting the types, colors, sun needs, height, spacing to grow just where I want them in order to enjoy a beautiful, successful garden.

Every day, we each plant seeds of thought in our lives to be grown, sometimes with little or no thought.  What are you planting today?  Will you allow the winds of apathy, anger, dis-ease, or unrest to spread your seeds in an unholy way? Today, make a sacred contract with your conscious mind to plant seeds of love, peace, joy, and wholeness right where you want them to grow, inside you, your loved ones, your community and the world! Lavish them with spiritual practices – prayer, forgiveness, gratitude, meditation, and watch them flourish.