A day in the life...

Have I ever mentioned that I love Facebook memories?!?

Yep, I do.

And it's not just the exotic beach vistas.

Sometimes it's the exotic laundry facilities.

Other times it's the gratitude at finding internet access!

And some times it is being reminded of some particularly wise words of wisdom...

On this date, January 23, through the years we were...

2013  -  living at the Cove, El Frances, Samana, D.R.

 Wow! Internet again! Two days in a row. Wait; three times in two days! That won't be the pattern, I'm sure. But my neighbor with a car needed to get online for an hour so she invited me to come again. Yippee!!!

 Looks like I won't have time to post much this time - mostly just catch up on what's happening back home.

…

 After getting dropped off in town yesterday, we found a nice little French restaurant, a place to rent a four-wheeler - which we will probably do sooner than later, a little shop where I shall return to buy a huge cool tote bag, the supermercado, and then we successfully caught a gua-gua back to the cove. A very successful day.

2014  -  living at Kenney Grove County Park in Fillmore, CA

Mostly from the fruit stands out on the highway. I'm so excited about them.

2015  -  living in a campground on Dauphin Island, Alabama

Overheard at the monthly potluck at the campground: 

Those old people like to dance!!!

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Tater Tot. It's what's for dinner.

And...

We finally stopped at the bakery here on the island. Oh, my. Bacon bread and cinnamon rolls are good enough to eat. Oh, yah. Cheese Danish awaits evaluation.

2016 - living in Las Galeras, Samana, D.R.

(Walked 2.15 miles along the beach and to town)

'Twas a good walk. Until the dogs! Puppies first. Very aggressive puppies. Stuck with me all the way along the beach! And then bigger dogs. Not fun to deal with. But then things got better when I got to the boulangerie. A great selection, my reward for getting there so early. Mmmmmm.... How about one with chocolate for mi esposo and maybe some flan for me? Si. S'il vous plaît. Exquisite.

…

Well, I think that's the first time I've ever had to de-snag my drying laundry from the cactus plants growing nearby.

2019 - living in a house in Flint, Michigan

 Philip Yancey of his grandmother: She left me the gift of grace, which I can never repay. Because it was grace, she never made me feel I had to.

A timely gift

Ten year anniversary

That’s how long we had been married.

That’s also how long we had volunteered our time with the teens in the youth program.

They were wonderful and amazing kids and felt like family.

We loved them and they loved us.

On that anniversary they surprised us with a lovely gift as a thank you for those years invested in them - a beautiful clock that fit perfectly on our new chimney.  The soft tick-tock-ticking became the metronome for family dinners and office tasks done in that room.  The mellow gong on the hour and the half marked the days of our lives from that time forward.  

That clock helped keep us on schedule for the next 30 years until it was packed away in storage with the rest of our most special belongings while we lived on the road for the next few years.

But now…  

Now we have moved back into a real house.  As we finish renovating one room at a time, we pull out cherished possessions from their storage boxes and discover where they fit in this old house.

Today marks another anniversary of sorts. It was three years ago today we first looked at this house - which would become our new home.  What a perfect time to welcome the beloved chime clock back into our daily rhythms.  Ah, yes; such wonderful familiar sounds, the ticking and the gonging, punctuating the days of our lives in a new place and time.  Sounds of home.  Again.

Kids these days!

When I hear adults argue about whether or not climate change even exists or whether humans have any responsibility...  I am astounded.  

Kinda' reminds me of youngsters bickering...
"I didn't do it."
"He started it."
"It's not my fault."
Bah. 

When I read about a young lady who has inspired thousands of young people by her example to care about the planet, I am also astounded... by their maturity and their passion and their sense of responsibility.  

They kinda' remind me of adults actually adulting, taking responsibility and making tough decisions for the long-term good of the planet...  
What a concept.

Photo credit:  Bob Sims at SimsShots Photography

2020: seeing more clearly

I don’t do resolutions.

I do have hopes and dreams.

Evidently some people still make resolutions, but most do not fulfill them.  

Lately I've seen the idea of choosing a word or a phrase for the coming year and have tried it a couple times.  It seems to be about noticing what is stirring in me and what I sense to be important.  

And here it is 2020 - a time to see more clearly. 

At least three things come to mind:

• Vision
• Focus
• Perspective

VISION speaks to me of the big picture.

FOCUS reminds me to choose one thing to zoom in on.

PERSPECTIVE implies that my vantage point is not the only one that matters.

I do think about my long-term vision. 

I ask myself questions from time to time.

• What is my vision for the rest of my life?
• My hope and dreams?
• My direction?
• Where do I want to be at the end of this year?
• This decade?
• What do I want to do?
• Who do I want to be?

Then I need to focus.

To narrow my focus.

To zoom in on one aspect or a few specific smaller things rather than ALL the things.

I need to choose one task at a time.

But I also need perspective...  
I want to remember that each person around me probably has a different perspective than I do - and that I would be wise to listen to them and to learn from them.  Pausing to see any situation through someone else’s eyes helps me to understand things that I never could otherwise. 

So how am I doing?

• I want to keep looking at the big picture and clarifying my vision.
• I remind myself that perspective is dependent on vantage point.
• But I most need to learn to focus.  My head is always full of so many things and I need to zoom in on one at a time.

I hope that 2020 is a time for me to see more clearly.

Vision... the big picture 

Get a better perspective

Focus on one detail