That's Life

A peaceful sunrise at Daytona Beach
from my camera in 2022

This week's writing prompts from Joyce led my thoughts to pondering lessons learned, reasons to be grateful, and acknowledging the benefits of adversity. If you want to link up with your own responses to the questions, click here.

1. What's something you enjoy now that your younger self would never have appreciated? .I've learned to be at peace with patience, which I define as "choosing to wait instead of fretting." Patience is a choice.

2. What was peaceful about today? .The retired life is, for me, relatively peaceful most of the time. Oh, there are the appointments for doctors and dentists, car maintenance, unsavory TV news, and life-threatening traffic (all of which are players for us this week). 

Ford dealership comes to our home
 for oil change and other services

To answer the question as to what has been peaceful about today: coming indoors to air conditioning after our daily bike ride, preparing a quiche for lunch and watching my husband get a second helping, and just in general deliberately focusing on the everyday blessings that can disappear at any time for all kinds of reasons. 

3. It's National Blueberry Day (July 8). Will you celebrate?  You can have one of the following right now-a slice of blueberry pie, a warm blueberry muffin, or a stack of blueberry pancakes...which do you choose? I would not refuse any of these options, but I do like fresh blueberries in pancakes. 

This or that-blueberries or raspberries? blueberries or strawberries? 

.Any of the above. . . . . maybe blueberries the most??? But with that said, the blueberries need to be fresh (No! to the canned ones that come in boxed muffin mixes)

4. Do you need a break? . Yes. From what? .The heat. I KNOW I'm not alone with that feeling. It's been a hot summer in so many places, including Great Britain and Europe, not just here in Florida.

5. What has surprised you most about getting older? .Relationships -- the ones that have lasted and the ones that have not. I'm realizing this is just life and not really unusual nor necessarily a bad thing.

6. Insert your own random thought here. .All 3 of my children have birthdays in June-July. Now fully grown with families of their own, each one of them is employed with the desire of their heart ("What do you want to be when you grow up?"). 

One is an international aviation pilot, one is a free lance graphic artist, and one is in the entertainment industry. I am pleased with their achievements.

learning life skills
1978

family hike in Colorado Rocky Mountains
1982

Children are a gift from God;

they are His reward.

Psalm 127:3 The Living Bible

 

Scripture tells us that children are a blessing from the Lord. While this is true, the word, "blessing," means more than happy, or fun times with rewards. "Blessing" is also God's means of "continuing education" for adults, whether they are parents or not so that we learn how to cope with life. That means sometimes our blessings feel more like the opposite!

Children are a catalyst for adult studies in sacrificial service, countless coping skills, balancing priorities, learning when to hold on and when to let go, and adapting to what is natural in the seasons of life. As stated earlier, this is just life.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara