Like/Love Lists.

I don't think I've sat down and just wrote out the things I like/love in such a very long time. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I might as well begin.

I love Anne Lamott. She is a cheerleader, although most likely every bit of her would cringe at being compared to one.

I like this qoute by Sally Fields when she was talking about being on stage during her high school years...she said, "Here is where I lost myself and found me." I think North Carolina has been my stage.

I love the rebelliousness of leaves. Yesterday when I was mowing the lawn, the lawn mower went over leaf after leaf, grinding them up underneath itself, unrecognizable...and then out of the corner of my eye, there falls another one right into the path I just cleared. It made me smile. They never give up.

I love my nieces. One is a songwriter, complete with the written phonetics of her hummings. Daaah dah da, da, dahhh. The other would charm a fly to a swatter.

I love little girls who hold on to you as you leave and do not want to let you go, who give you colored paper turkey's to hang on your refrigerator.

I love a little boy who admires the soldier that your husband is, showing every army fatique item that he is very proud of.

I love friends that stick out EVERY eetie, bittie thing with you throughout many, many years, and still like you and still like your family. That's grace, man. There's no other way to explain that one.

I love prayers that end with, "and the bottomline, no matter what, may we love and serve one another well, despite any circumstance. Let me know that on my end, I-loved-well."

I love husband's that still really want you to come to the company's Thanksgiving Day Potluck luncheon...he likes my company...HOW GREAT IS THAT?!?! I know, I know, a husband should like their wife's company, but it still tickles me that he does.

I love friend's that miss me, because I miss them back.

Now go write your own list. You'll like it.

Numbers and Time.

Where I am from it's 7:33am. Where I am located now, it is 5:33am. Where I am going today, it's simply 4:33am.



I am driving to my mother's home today. From Phoenix to San Diego. We have been staying with my sister-in-law and her husband here in AZ. Here I have given myself permission to fall asleep at 8pm their time. I have given myself permission to not go with them to drop my mother-in-law off at her home after sharing in last night's supper, but to stay home and read instead. I have done minimal people pleasing, and a lot of listening to what it is that I might need at this moment. Let me tell you...I have enjoyed myself more than ever by doing this, and I think it's nice when people get to know the tired, introverted me as well as the one that is awake and on. I am going to know this family for a long time, so to put on false fronts, well, that would be too much effort.



I haven't seen my mother in a year and seven months. And I do not remember if at anytime in my life I have ever been away from her for so long. I cannot wait to be in her home and wear her slippers and sit with her on the sofa in the morning, drinking decaf...all before everyone is up. I haven't seen my siblings in the same amount of time, as well as my niece's. I have missed them. Our last gathering was over my mother's father's death. This time we will have an early Thanksgiving together, along with family pictures. It will be two full days together.



I think Ess Gee and I should start driving now.

A little bit of what's up...

Lots of times before I write on this thing I have a good deal in mind of what I will write about, but not today. Bear with my stream of consciousness.

What I have been reading:
Stories of Holocaust victims. I went to the Holocaust museum in DC for the second time in my life and came back home and hit the library up for at least 5 books about soldier's, survivors, and children of survivors of the holocaust. I read through two of them. That's all I've decided to get through for now. I will return the other 3. It sounds callous, but two books about little girls and their travels through ghetto, through loss, through memories, is two stories too many right now. One story is a lot, period. One story is, sadly, one too many. Heartbreaking that there are sooo many more to follow.

What I've been thinking:
Of taking a Spanish class come next semester. I have convinced myself that I would love to speak and learn another language and Spanish seems most useful (and close to Italian, but much more convenient). Funny to think about learning a language for convenience sake. But I think I would speak it well, and the challenge is inspiring to me, so I just might go for it.

What I have been listening to:
My husband reading to me. He read to me about this teacher who, along with her fourth grade students, had an eulogy for "I can't". They held a funeral for that phrase. The students were to write down all the things they believed they could not do, and then they were to put their now crumbled up list into the compost pile outside of their classroom. That way their "I can't's" could grow into something much more useful. I told Ess Gee he and I should write a list of things we say we cannot do, and then burn it in our fire pit. We then discussed just how very disguised adults "I can't's" are. They hide themselves in "I don't have enough time for.... Or 'that's just not that important to me's'". Adults are good fakers.

What I have been seeing:
The leaves along the 40 highway/freeway. (I never know if it's highway or freeway here. In California you are always on a freeway.) Pinks and oranges together sort of take me off guard, reminding me of Old Navy commercials. I set the Old Navy commercials aside and then move on to the yellow's and limey greens and gold's and saturated reds.

What has made me laugh:
A good friend of mine recently got a hot tub for free. Who gets a hot tub for free? And who gets into hot tubs anymore? It's so very Tom Sellick, but I love it that she and her family has one.

That's good for now. I'll update more later.