Gratitude

Today I am grateful for meeting new people, and for the have-a-photo-booth-at-your-wedding trend.

Progress

‎"The great work begins." - Tony Kushner

Run for your life

I ran for ten solid minutes without stopping tonight during my workout.

Ten minutes sounds like it isn't a big deal. But ten minutes is an unbelievably huge deal to this asthmatic overweight woman who, before 3 months ago, had never run in her life. Ten minutes is a big enough deal to give me hope that this weight loss journey will continue on a positive path. And I needed that hope, I needed a reminder that this slow process will change my life forever.

Hope is a funny thing. For it to be something completely untangle, it sure can change everything. I'm glad that I have choosen to keep the hope.

Morning commute

It takes me about 30 minutes to drive to work in the morning. Once upon a time I would have scoffed at the idea of living in a suburb and commuting to work. I was an urbanite, a city girl.

But something has happened over the past year of commuting to and from work from the suburbs... I have discovered that I actually enjoy that commute time. In the morning, listening to npr and catching up on the news of the world, I get my mind ready for the day ahead. I drink my coffee and become a human capable of interaction with other humans.

In the evening, I listen to nothing. Absolutely. Nothing. I turn my radio off and enjoy the sounds of silence. It is my transition time - a time when I sit with my thoughts and decompress after a long day at work.

I cherish this time and I am more than a little surprised to find myself growing more and more comfortable with the idea of being a suburb dweller.

Carolina Summer

Floating along a river outside Brevard, NC.

When I was a kid we spent nearly every waking moment of summer at the pool. Swim team at 7:30 am followed by a solid day of playing, lunching, and more swim team at 5:00 pm. Dinner was either a picnic at the pool or we would head home. Either way we got home in time to take showers and play for a little while before we crashed hard into exhausted slumber.

I think about those summers often and am so grateful for all the memories that arise. I don't think there are many things that are better than a Carolina summer. The weather is hot. Sometimes nasty hot. A thunderstorm is almost guaranteed around 4:00. But it is a perfect background for a kid's adventure, for an outdoor romp, for an active life. I sure do love Carolina summers and I sure am glad that they still make me feel like a kid at heart.

Sanctuary

I have played this song at least 10 times a day for the past week. I can't get enough of it and I don't exactly know why... something about it has grabbed my heart.

"with Thanksgiving I'll be a living Sanctuary for you..."

Summer lovin'

I tend to be a fairly moderate person when it comes to patriotism. I don't spout off my opinions that often, nor do I really pay much attention when those around me do so.

But there is something about Independence Day. There is something about gathering with your community, putting aside differences, watching the sky alight, "oohing and ahhing" together that makes me feel rather patriotic.

It makes me genuinely thankful to live in a country where I get to fight for my rights and work hard to create a better tomorrow. God bless America.

The heart of a city

Yes, Charlotte is a banking city. Yes, it is private money and corporate policy that drive this city into the future. But it is the people that give it a pulse. It is the community coming together to create art, to educate children, to work for something bigger than themselves. I love this city, more than I ever thought possible.

One step closer...

“I apologize for those who feel offended,” Republican Senator Mark Grisanti said, adding, “I cannot deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife.”

Porch reading

"Touched to the heart, Mrs. March could only stretch out her arms, as if to gather children and grandchildren to herself, and say, with face and voice full of motherly love, gratitude, and humility 'Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this!'"
- Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

All the world's a stage...

"Theatre is a language through which human beings can engage in active dialogue on what is important to them...

... it allows individuals to create a safe space that they may inhabit in groups and use to explore the interactions which make up their lives...

... it is a lab for problem solving, for seeking options, and for practicing solutions."

- Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed

Big Sky

Sometimes I am just overwhelmed by the beauty one can experience sitting at a red light.

Summer Day

“If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”
Will Rogers

“A dog wags its tail with its heart”
Martin Buxbaum

“Dogs never lie about love.”
Jeffery Masson

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit." - Helen Keller

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies." - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything." ~William Shakespeare