A "Tiny" Walk

Rebekah, Tiny, and I ended a very full, very challenging, time-crunched, project-filled, three-day weekend with a nice long walk.

Here are some of the highlights for you to enjoy this morning.

Have a most blessed day - and remember to seek to out the blessings. They are there.

Serenity

It has been another tumultuous week.

We had another sudden death in the family on Wednesday, my mother was in the ER Thursday overnight, and then I went into the ER on Friday and was admitted through Sunday, where I was ultimately diagnosed with an aneurism (it's stable and only requires monitoring for now, but medical eyes will definitely be on me going forward).

I then took two days off work to follow up on doctor's appointments and move medical information around.

So here we are on Wednesday, and I have no new recipe lined up for Sue's Diner. But last week's recipe is especially appropriate now, so I don't mind leaving it up for another week. That recipe might just be the "food" that someone, somewhere, might need.

Last night I got outside for a short walk, a bit later than I'd hoped, but in enough time to enjoy the gorgeous sunset, a bit of that "peace that passes understanding," and just enjoy doing something "normal" for me for a change.

It's also good to remember that in the midst of chaos, God reminds us of His presence in moments (and views) like these. They're such true blessings, aren't they?

I hope you find those blessings today and cherish them.

Happy Wednesday!

Blur

The first chapter of my high school psychology textbook from my senior year at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox has a list of ten characteristics of a mentally healthy person.

I remember sitting in my parents' basement in the early summer of 1980, re-reading them and making all ten my goal.

Now I only remember one of the ten - and that's because I could scarcely envision what that particular precept meant, for I had never experienced it. And that was the ability to lose oneself so completely in an activity that you lose track of all time. Here I was, not quite nineteen years old and had no idea what that meant.

I'm not sure when, how, or why that changed. It could be that, once I grew physically healthier (I was chronically sick for all of my childhood and into my young adult years), I could finally concentrate on a task without the distraction of feeling unwell.

Or perhaps my focus switched in early adulthood because I loved homemaking, raising children, and home-schooling so much. 

That sense of losing track of time happens to me quite often at work - and even more so on the weekends I work on fiction.

At work, of course, I'm often responding to emails, texts, calls and am very cognizant of deadlines. But when deadlines are met, and I can pour myself into a project, time just rushes past - until the next ding, buzz, or ring.

Yesterday morning I awakened early and posted my Bible verse, coffee greeting, and blog on social media. And then I leaped right into editing "House on Top of the Hill," promising myself I would get outside for a walk in the sunshine.

I made it outside at 6:10 p.m., just as the sun was going down, and the wind was picking up. It was an exhilarating walk, so no complaints. And then I jumped back into a chapter. When I looked up, it was almost 9 p.m. and I was now way behind on life "stuff" I still needed to get done that day.

But how did the hours blur past that fast?

How did an entire day last for just an hour? Because Sunday felt as if only one hour had passed.

Seriously.

Happy Monday!

A Glimpse of Autumn

Until March 2020, my early morning walks were for me alone, a time to clear my mind before the day began.

But after Rebekah was furloughed that month, she started making healthier changes. So I invited her to walk with me. That's been our habit ever since.

Four to five days a week in the early morning before we start our work day, we walk and talk together.

As we walked and talked, I became aware of my surroundings in different ways, simply because Rebekah notices things I do not.

Coupled with the fact that Timothy keeps upgrading my phone include better and better cameras, I started noticing details in those walks I wanted to capture.

I'm no professional photographer by any means. But I've captured some scenes that make me smile.

Here are five of my autumn photos from 2020 and 2021. I hope they add a bit of warmth to the start of your week.

Happy Monday!

Spring Fever

The "spring forward" time change can be rough for a couple of days, but I'm loving the warmer temperatures for walking and the signs of spring I see around me.

The first two photos are from an early morning walk with Rebekah yesterday.

The rest are from Sunday's afternoon walk with Timothy.

The photos are bare of flower buds and other signs of new life - and yet, you can see how the earth is ready to "spring forward," too.

What signs of spring are you noticing?

Blessed

On this day in 2014, my freelance career ended as I became an official employee of The Herald-News in Joliet and of the Shaw Media Network.

I'm also sixty-one and a half today. And in the midst of a pandemic and that it brings, I am feeling really blessed.

I was sick on the day I was hired (I didn't know it at the time) and was feeling pretty overhwhelmed. I had worked as an independent contractor for so many years and corporate rules had changed. I had never used  aMac. And I had no idea how to work any of the programs.

In fact, my last employer was Rax Roast Beef in Joliet. I was nineteen.

At the time I was hired, my three young children and I were officially homeless and had lived with relatives for nine months.

My husband had dementia and was also living with family. 

But the job enabled my family and I to move out in May to a small, two bedroom apartment in walkng distance from the job and near public transporation for my two youngest, who were both working and attending school at Joliet Junior College.

I walked back and forth to work nearly every day carrying every file and every piece of paper I might need and my laptop in this case. Through the years, I wore out the wheels of many, many cases since I put about five miles a day on them.

On top of the case went a cooler/lunchbox, which held enough food for a long day, in case I got busy and had to stay. I had no transporation and no money. 

I walked in nearly all kinds of weather: rain, wind, snow, heat, and on ice in zero degree weather. Zero degrees was my limit. If temperatures dipped below that, I made other transportation arrangements.

But I never not made it to work unless I was deliberately working from home.

After the first nine months at The Herald-News, the kids and I moved into a small, two-bedroom townhome and life felt a little easier. 

Two of my cats (Faith and Midnight) knew the routine and were not always happy to see me leave.

But I always left, no matter how much they tried to persuade me otherwise. The cats always seemed to beg for petting once I was suited up and ready to go. Strange...

Faith really liked the days I did work from home. Through the years, my time did become more flexible, and I gradually started working two days from home.

Bertrand the Mouse, went back and forth to work with me. That's how the world works. Real aimals stay home. Pretend ones can hitch a ride.

I have a huge collection of hats and wore a different one every day starting with Day One. Here is my "editor in the yellow hat" picture.

I also wore out my many pairs of thermal boots. Here is one such pair, from those early days.

Walking back and forth to work meant I could experience the seasons as they unfolded and bask in them. Here is one view on Springfield Avenue in Joliet.

And here is another view on Springfield Avenue in Joliet.

And here is one view from Glenwood Avenue in Joliet.

Bertrand, of course, didn't mind the cold.

At work, I had coffee, small gifts from friends, and plenty of inspiration tacked up to keep me grounded, motivated, and inspired.

This is Chloe "Lucky" Hawk, my office plant. A job shadower presented her to me. She is the only plant who has ever stayed alive (and flourished) under my care. I still have her.

Bertrand, of course, liked hanging out at the office...

...and reading the news...

...and getting a little exercise on my desk "jungle gym...

...and finding ways to amuse himself when I worked late, which happened a lot on Friday nights.

Eventually, Fridays became so busy, I stayed put and worked from home.

Of course, since writing fiction is my hobby, Saturdays could get a little busy. See Bertrand playing editor?

In October 2019, right before the start of the pandemic, my two youngest and I moved into a three-bedroom townhouse two doors down from the two-bedroom, where Timothy remained.

What a godsend to have the extra space! Because a few months later, we had a pandemic and went home work.

Because for six years (2013 to 2019) Rebekah and I shared a small bedroom, which also doubled as my home office.

Now she finally had her own room. And I had my own bedroom/office.

This is the view of my office space the day before we moved again into larger townhomes, just this past August. I was working; Rebekah and Jasmine were packing; and Rebekah had just had her first gall bladder attack ever and landed in the ER.

As you can see from above, it was a busy day.

Of course, when we started working from home again, Chloe came home, too. Home agreed with my office plant because she kept outgrowing her planters.

Here is Chloe today in my current home office work space. Chloe and the cats (Frances is pictured) have learned to share a window view.

This photo shows how much I love my job.

I was interviewing a photographer in The Herald-News conference room. He was known for his wonderful candids of the people in Nepal.

He sat with his camera on his lap the entire time. He claimed he had a knack for snapping candids of people without them being aware that he'd taken them.

I was skeptical, of course, but whatever.

After he left and I returned to my desk, I opened an email from him. 

Attached was this photo, taken during the interview.

My skepticism vanished.