A Dog's Life...

Last week I house and dog sat for my brother and his wife who were out of town. It was exhausting. Lucy, the 1 year old puppy, seems to have a limitless supply of energy. She would wake us up every morning around 5:00, snuggle for 45 minutes letting us think that we had a break and then come walk around our faces until we got up.

She didn't just want food or to go out either; she wanted to go for a walk where she would actually run after every bird, squirrel or leaf that moved. Nevertheless, it made me into a morning person for the week. And it hasn't quite left. I did sleep in the first day I wasn't with her to catch up on sleep, but now I've been getting a start on my day a little quicker than normal. I am much more appreciative of my sleep.

Work hard, play more, sleep well.

It's really a blessing to be able to help out my family. Not everyone gets a chance to serve others. I forget that far too often. It is an honor, not a burden, to serve one another.

(Side note: They just got a new puppy yesterday. Welcome to the fam, Norah!)

Frozen grapes.

Today was a day of patience. Work seemed to linger on for days before an hour actually passed. It was during this time that I recognized how patient people are with me. I'm a handful, and yet the world seems to keep opening it's giant hands to me.

I came home after work to a messy house and thought about how nice it would be if I could clean it before the hubs came home. [I'll be honest that my first thought was how nice it would be to come home to a clean house, and then it switched to how great it would be to surprise him. Overall, not too selfish.]

I never ended up cleaning. I took a call from a friend instead. I've been trying to take more calls. I sometimes press silent so I can have some down time. That's an odd mindset since typically I end up having a good laugh and feeling more rejuvenated after talking to a friend. Be patient & laugh more. That's a good mantra to end the day.

Don't worry,  I didn't forget the grapes! I've mentioned how I'm thankful for the internet's ability to connect us. Well, someone on Twitter reminded me that frozen grapes are delicious (red of course, I've never tried frozen green grapes). On my walk home from work I was able to pick up some grapes and freeze them as I made dinner so I could enjoy each little morsel all night long. What a blessing.

[Patience while they freeze, please.]

The beginning.

It's not that I haven't ever been grateful before or realized how blessed I am. I used to be very good at it, in fact. And since my mind rarely shuts off I figured it would be healthy / awakening / beneficial to me [or more likely those with whom I interact] to give a little more of that thought-time to the goodness of life.

A blog in itself is a huge blessing to someone like me who can never seem to keep actual papers or journals organized and uncluttered. It is still shocking to remember that this wasn't available when I was born. We have access to information and relationships that were once unfathomable; I appreciate the generosity of those who share all of these emotions, logic, knowledge, humour, and beauty on here. Even the negative sides of the internet can be eye-opening. My mother used to always tell me that I could learn something from everyone: how I want to be or how I don't want to be. (She'll be a blessing for another post...or many)

But let's not get overwhelmed on the first day. This is a journey of gratefulness...