This and that...

A quiet Saturday morning with the sun trying to peek out but so far unsuccessful. Today we are shutting down our pool as the weather as been overcast and the trees are beginning to drop acorns and such and pool maintenance becomes more work than pleasure. I must say that I only spent 10 minutes in the pool all summer. However, Kimberly laid out by the pool or went swimming most days she wasn't at college or working. She by far has gotten the most enjoyment.

Angela's college classes are from 7 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. 5 days a week and Kimberly goes a couple of days a week from 8 a.m. to 6:50 p.m. with an hour to drive home. Kimberly has decided that right now she is tired of Biology before she even applied to dental school. Although she is only a couple of courses away from applying, she wants to transfer and work towards becoming an accountant, which was her 2nd choice. I had hoped she would finish her pre-dentistry classes in case she might want to go back to that but she has to make the decision. Our only requirement is that she get a degree so whatever that is...just do it!

We are adding a bathroom downstairs or should I say that I'm helping with the decor and Steve is doing all the work. It is wonderful to have someone who can figure out how to do anything. He started with nothing but cement floors and has already built out the walls, set up the plumbing, is currently working on the electrical and will soon doing the tiling. He is one of those people who can pick up anything and figure out how to do it and loves it! It certainly isn't one of my talents, I guess that is why we work together so well. :-)

So far it seems today is going to be another just getting things done days. Since I've been sick last year, we've spent more time at home than we have in 22 years! I love to go and do things but realize that I still have to limit the amount because I get so tired. The girls and I went out one day shopping and after about 2 hours, my legs and feet were killing me! I used to be able to marathon shop. I can't do that anymore nor is it really necessary.

July 4th we spent at home putting in landscaping, Labor Day spent at home working on the new bathroom (we did go to a friends house for a cookout but not out of town) and so I guess Thanksgiving and Christmas will be spent tiling our other 2 bathrooms! ha. My brother said, "well I guess if you are staying home you aren't spending money"...wish that were true but adding/changing cost a whole lot more than going out of town. However, the benefits will last longer so I guess all is not lost.

Yesterday Steve had a test run as part of his yearly physical and so as I was waiting I got into a discussion with a few men in the waiting room. The first man said he had brain and lung cancer and was waiting to hear if his wife had cancer, the other man said he was a 5 yr. survivor of cancer and the other man said he is the only one in his family who has not had cancer yet. As we sat and talked, the man who had the brain and lung cancer couldn't say a sentence without swearing and was just mad at life, the 5 yr. survivor was full of joy and just laughed heartily at the simpliest of things and the 3rd man whose family all has cancer was very interested in hearing about how I had gone through cancer this past year.

It was quite interesting as each man shared their feelings, which is pretty uncommon for men to do but I was the only female in the room and we knew that none of us would see each other again so the conversation became quite interesting! The 5 yr. survivor just told the funniest stories about what he went through with the cancer in the Netherlands (believe me, it seemed barbaric in comparison to our hospital standards). He viewed it as something he had to do and found it to be very funny. The second guy whose family all has cancer says he faithfully gets check-ups and was very serious about health issues and the fact that God/faith is what got me through. The 3rd guy with the brain and lung cancer couldn't wait to go out and smoke, only wanted to swear, thought doctors were stupid and just wanted to get back to work.

As I sat and listened to each one tell their side of the story, I couldn't help but be immediately drawn to the one that was so joyful, encouraged by the serious one who took his physicals faithfully and disheartened at the one with the cancer who was blaming the work he did, the building he worked in and people in general. It again showed me that it doesn't matter what you face in life, it is how you face it.

If I only had a short time to live, I want to live it....not begrudge each day. I'm not judging, as I too have walked the road of uncertainty....I'm just saying, we have to work sometimes no matter our situation to find joy but there is joy in every situation!!

Last night we were watching a documentary on the history channel of 9/11. One of the tapes had a man on the phone saying, "Monday night football saved my life!" He said that he had been up late, overslept the next morning and was only 15 minutes from being on the 38th floor of one of the Trade Centers. You never know why a situation happens in your life but it could be slowing you down for a reason. We often views the bumps in the road as keeping us from doing what we think we should be doing but remember if you have an ultimate belief that your life is in God's hands...well, we have to let him be in charge!

So today find enjoyment in the things that slow you down, look around and enjoy the scenery because it may be scenery you have passed by many times but were too much in a hurry to notice......as I always say, if God is concerned about every sparrow, how much he must be concerned about me, you, I , us....let him be the manager of your life's situations!

Now go and take on a wonderful day!!

Have a great week!
Love to all,
Leah