Weekend Reflections 6/18

Looking outside...it's sunny. Currently 72 with a high of 78. It's been like this off and on all week with intermittent rain. I have enjoyed it and I am not looking forward to hot weather next week.

Listening...to silence. The Boy and The Doctor are at work and The Artist is sleeping. He's 15, he sleeps a lot!

Loving...a pot of petunias and a green lawn and leafy trees.

Thinking...that I should get dressed, but my jammies are comfortable.

In my kitchen...a cup of hot chocolate right now. I made my first batch of summer jam this week. Mulberry/Raspberry. It was an experiment. Not sure how good it is, but it was nice to get back into canning. I think I'm doing Apricot-Pineapple next week.

Wearing...purple pajamas.

Hoping...that whatever is wrong with my car is covered under the warranty. 


Reading...need to finish Summer of Dreams by Elizabeth Camden. It's a novella, so it shouldn't take me too long.

Today...The Doctor is driving with my sister to pick up her children who have been with their father for three weeks. It's always a good day when the kiddos come home!

Quoting..."Where there is kindness, there is goodness and where there is goodness, there is magic." -- Cinderella

Feeling...So many things. This has been a devastating week in regards to tragedy. My heart just aches for those who lost loved ones in Florida; in the nightclub shooting and the family who lost their son to an alligator attack. My heart aches even more for those subjected to the disgusting rhetoric and cruel comments made because of politics and the anonymity of the internet. America is better than this. America should be better than this. Better than name calling and accusations. Better than hollow expressions of fake sympathy. Better than judgments. Better than taking a tragedy and trying to capitalize and gain votes.

I am so tired of generalizations that all Christians or Conservatives are hateful or all Liberals are morally evil. It's not true. Yes, we have extremes on both sides. But, I still believe that deep down, we are all good people. Sometimes we don't know how to show it and sometimes people let these little chips on their shoulders grow so large that they stagger under the weight of perceived wrongs. Differences in religious or political beliefs does not equal hate. It should not.

A week like this one isn't the time for political rhetoric and name calling. It isn't the time to make self-righteous comments on Facebook pages. It's a time to mourn with each other. It's a time to find something good to do in memory of those who lost their lives this week. Give blood. Smile at a stranger. Say a prayer to whomever you worship. Pay for the people behind you on the bridge or in the drive-thru. Light a candle. Volunteer somewhere. Be kind. Do good. 

Planning...we got The Boy registered for his fall classes, although I don't think waitlisted means he's actually taking the class. Freshmen get the dregs of what is left and what is left means waiting. Hopefully he will make it into the classes he needs. Otherwise, he will be talking to someone at school when he starts so he can get scheduling worked out! Now we're on to finding him housing. Wish us luck!

Gratitude...for my husband, who is an amazing father to our boys. And to my Dad who, with my Mom, raised four very individual daughters and who was the best father a girl could want. I miss him every day.

From the world... 


Stephen Colbert had a fantastic response to the Orlando shootings. "Love is a Verb". 

"But I do know that despair is a victory for hate. Hate wants us to be too weak to change anything. Now, these people in Orlando were apparently targeted because of who they love. And there have been outpourings of love throughout the country and around the world. Love in response to hate. Love does not despair. Love makes us strong. Love gives us the courage to act. Love gives us hope that change is possible. Love allows us to change the script. So, love your country. Love your family, love the families of the victims of the people of Orlando, but let us remember that love is a verb and ‘to love’ means to do something."

What about you? What are you reflecting on this week? How has your week gone?

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