blessings – Sew Beach Life

Look Up And Appreciate The Splendor

We’ve all experienced times in life when it seems like everything is good, maybe not perfect, but still pretty darn good. You may not be rich, but you’re rich enough, especially in the things that matter. You know that you’re loved, you’ve got a roof over your head, food in your belly, and you’re doing ok. Honestly, most of our life is probably lived like this.

Yet somehow, we become complacent, get used to the relatively smooth sailing as we go about our daily lives. We get caught up in the little problems and daily distractions of life. We forget to look up, and say thank you for this beautiful life. When is the last time you took the time to watch a beautiful sunrise?

Literally watched the sky start to light up from the horizon, with a little glow of orange and coral, until the color spreads, turning apricot into pink and purple streaks across the sky in front of you? Wow! What a beautiful way to start the day. Thank you Jesus!

No matter what stresses the day may bring, no matter what good news or bad gets brought to you today, life is good. God made it good. Appreciate the splendor, and beauty, and wonder of life. Look with the eyes of a child at every little thing, and appreciate the beautiful life you are living.

Is life completely perfect? Of course not, we won’t experience complete perfection until we’re in heaven. But we are certainly blessed, and receive gifts from God every day, in the people and world around us. Let the love into your heart, and let it shine out through the life you’re living.

Bloom Where You’re Planted

Dan and I watched a movie the other night called Passengers. It was about a guy on a spaceship that was travelling to an outpost to start a new life. He and all the other 5,000 passengers were placed in suspended animation in these special pods for the 90 year journey. Something went wrong with his pod, and he woke up on the ship with 89 years still left in the journey, rather than waking up 4 months before arriving at their destination as planned.

It was a very thought provoking movie, because I think we all go through periods where we struggle and rail against how things are versus how we thought they would be. As a child you think that adulthood will be this wonderful thing because you can do whatever you want, rather than just what your parents and teachers tell you to do. And it is a wonderful thing, but you have to deal with your responsibilities, so it’s not as easy as your childhood fantasy envisions.

As a young couple you imagine having children, and how awesome it will be to become parents. And it is awesome! But you cannot fathom just how overwhelming it can be until you’re living the reality. The complete and utter exhaustion you feel when your infant is waking up every two hours to nurse and you can only daydream about ever actually sleeping again. The unbelievably large number of times that you will have to clean pee, poo, and “spit up” off your baby, yourself, (and any and every) nearby surrounding. The utter defiance of your strong willed nearly two year old who no longer wants to wear what you picked out, but insists upon choosing her own outfits as she learns to assert her independence. Thankfully, these moments are balanced out by hearing your child excitedly exclaim “Mama!” or “Dada!” as soon as they see you. And the peace of feeling them contentedly snuggled into your arms or sitting on your lap. And the sheer delight of hearing them laugh or giggle, truly one of my favorite sounds in the world! And the overwhelming joy that fills your heart when they hug you, or give you wet, slobbery “smooches”, or say, “I love you”.

Don’t even get me started on how completely wonderful it is to experience these things as a grandparent. My heart nearly burst the first time Lila said “I love you” back to me! And the aching joy I felt when I had her giggling and laughing uproariously when we played “This little piggy” during a car ride, sustains me when we have to go months without flying up to visit.

Life can be very challenging. We all go through tough times where we worry about our family, our friends, our finances, our health, and every other situation that tests us. But constantly thinking that life would be better if only we lived, worked, had, or did something or somewhere else, robs us of the joy of loving where we are at.

Do you ever stop to consider that the trials you are going through are moments of learning? They are teaching you something, and preparing you for the next moment in life. Are you learning patience, compassion, forgiveness, and love? Are you gaining wisdom and experience so that you can deal with the next challenge in your life?

Instead of yearning for the next thing, the next place, the next person, appreciate the wonder of this moment in life. In other words, bloom where you’re planted! Don’t worry, life will keep on happening. And soon enough you’ll grow, leaves reaching toward the sun, growing stronger, and branching out.

What Are You Thankful For?

We all have troubles, and things that worry us: physical limitations and health scares; jobs (or lack thereof) and money issues; and any number of situations and problems among our families and friends. But don’t let that become the focus of your life.

Focus instead on the wonderful things in life, the things that you are grateful for, the things that make you happy. I am thankful for my faith. Unbelievably thankful! Even when there are struggles, and bad situations, it calms me to know that in the end it will all be ok. I don’t have to worry, it is in God’s hands. And I am constantly reminded of the goodness in life.

I can see my neighbors flag flapping in the breeze, amidst the palm trees as the sun rises this morning. And I know that despite any political or partisan bickering and nonsense, that I am blessed to live in the greatest country in the world.

As I reminisce about my nephew David’s wedding a couple of weeks ago, I am grateful for my family. We all flew in from Florida, Colorado, and Tennessee, or drove across the state of Michigan to meet up and celebrate the marriage, and to welcome Caitlin into our family. It was so much fun to spend time with people I love, to laugh and be silly! Photo booths are designed to bring out the silliness, so you should just embrace it and have fun (which we obviously did!)

I am grateful for my sweet husband, and our unconditional love. For his good heart, his strength, and all his “handyman” skills. For his willingness to dive in, work hard, and get things done. Even after years of working together to turn our old “fixer upper” into a beautiful home, he wasn’t phased by the idea of tearing down a non-load bearing wall in our new “fixer upper” home to open up the kitchen. Of course this means we’re living in a bit of a construction zone. And since we don’t have the money to replace the flooring throughout our house, we’ll be living with a holey floor for the foreseeable future. But that’s ok. We have a roof over our heads, and each other!

I am thankful for my parents instilling me with a strong work ethic. I am grateful for the blessings of intelligence, for the creativity and sewing talents God chose to give me.

I am so grateful for my beautiful, wonderful children, and their spouse and fiancée. I love seeing my children happy and blessed with people that they love. And I’m so, so happy that my daughter and son-in-law brought the blessing of Lila into our lives. This sweet granddaughter of ours is such a joy! When we FaceTime, it’s so cute to hear her ask “Where’s Grandpa?” if he’s not nearby when I answer my phone. She loves to have you sing nursery rhymes over, and over, and over again. It’s so fun to hear her giggle and belly laugh uproariously when we do “This little piggy” for the twentieth time. And to hear her sweet little voice ask for “A, B, C!” so that she can (try to) sing the alphabet with me. I love her quick hugs, and slobbery “smooches”, and to hear her say “I love you” back to me. She fills our hearts with joy, and I am so grateful for every moment that we get to spend with her, whether it’s running in circles around the hotel, or last minute snuggles before we checked out.

Do you let the wonder and curiosity and joy of playing and running in circles into your life? Do you appreciate the awesome beauty of the world around you? Do you pray and place your troubles in God’s hands? Do you feed your faith by attending Mass, reading The Bible, and living a prayer-filled and grateful life? God, gratitude, and happiness go hand-in-hand. Open your heart, cast your troubles upon Him, and live!

What A Week!

From Illness To Gratefulness

I am finally recovering from a week of influenza and it feels so good to be upright! I was literally down for the count for a week, laying in bed, slowly walking to the sofa or dining table, and back to bed. I hate being sick, feeling dependent on others, and not having my normal energy and routine.

My husband was a champ! He made me food, did the dishes and laundry, and took excellent care of me. I told him how much I appreciated him taking care of me, and he said, “You’re always taking care of me and would do the same for me. It’s not a big deal.” While it’s true that it may not have been a big deal to him, it meant a great deal to me. When you are naturally a caregiver, it’s interesting to see it from the other side.

When you are constantly taking care of others, of the household, of your children, etc., you can easily get irritated or feel a little bit resentful. “Gah! I just vacuumed and you’re tracking dirt everywhere!” “Ugh! Sweaty, gross gym clothes to wash and they are laying on top of my outfit in the laundry basket and getting it all stinky!” And of course you’ll make eggs for breakfast when you’d much rather make banana pecan waffles topped with strawberries and blueberries because you know he’d prefer the protein.

I generally don’t complain about the inconveniences (OK, other than the tracking in dirt!), because caring means that you are doing these things out of love. And really, it’s not hard to do any of it, and it really isn’t a sacrifice. It’s just the way it works for your family. Everybody has to do their part to make their family life work. Maybe your family dynamic is different, and you’re the main breadwinner, and someone else has more time for the household. Or maybe you are responsible for everything yourself. Everybody has to participate in making life work.

But working joyfully, and cheerfully giving, that decision is up to you. I can tell you that life is happier, you are happier when you move through life with a happy heart. Is life always easy? Do things always go perfectly according to your plans? Of course not! We all have worries and concerns. Maybe you are struggling financially, maybe someone you love and care for is sick, or injured, or dying. Maybe you just feel like life is beating you down. We have all been there. Everyone has struggles. How we face those struggles is the question.

Do you think that you have to carry the burden alone? On the surface, it may appear to you that you do. But you don’t. There is always someone you can talk to, someone who will listen, someone who will lighten the load.

Talk to God, talk to Jesus. Surrender your heart, look, and listen for the little spark of joy. There is beauty and happiness everywhere. What are you grateful for? What can you do for others? What small look, gentle touch, gesture of friendship or love can you give? Because that is the secret. Opening your heart to God, praying and listening for His voice. Giving of ourselves, rather than just focusing on what we “deserve”, what I think the world “owes” me. Be grateful to the one who gives us all the opportunity for everlasting life.

And don’t forget to say thank you to the people God has placed in your life. The ones who take the time to care for, or be kind to you. Pet the cute kitty who snuggled you while you were sick. Hug the loving husband who kept you fed when you didn’t have the strength to make your own meal. And talk to God, open your heart, feed your soul. Be grateful for whatever crazy, wonderful life you have.

Lila Prints

Clean it up Grandma!

We recently replaced the trim around our mirrored coat closet doors. While wiping down the filled nail holes so I could paint, I looked at the mirrored doors once again. It’s not that I don’t see them every day, because I do. I walk past them probably 20 times a day. And I once again glanced at the Lila prints all over them.

I know that I should clean them off. Some people might be horrified by the fact that I’ve left dirty fingerprints on my closet doors for nearly two months. But they’re a tangible reminder of Lila’s last visit. And I miss that baby girl!

Jennifer is very good at Facetiming with us on a very regular basis. In fact, we got to see and chat with her and Lila earlier today. It is awesome to have the everyday technology to be able to see and hear people you love by simply making a phone call. I love the way Lila’s face lights up as soon as she sees me on the screen. I enjoy seeing her run around the house (with Mama chasing after her to try and keep her in view!) It’s fun to see her pull book after book off the shelf to look at, “read”, or just toss on the floor. She played with a new wooden puzzle this morning, and carefully removed and replaced the pieces. She likes her stuffed lambs, and it’s cute to see her hug them and carry one around.

We are blessed to have the technology to keep the connections. I love being able to see Lila wave “bye bye”, and to blow her kisses when we have to say goodbye. I love that she tries to reach through the computer to touch me. And I so wish that I could reach through the screen and have her here with me! But for now I have to content myself with the Lila hand and foot print ornaments from the last two Christmases.

These simple little gifts are so precious! They are a reminder of just how little she was that first Christmas, and how much she has grown in the past year. And since I have them, I guess I really should go clean the Lila prints off the mirrored closet doors!

Grandma loves you baby girl!

Good Morning!

It’s Another Beautiful Day

Early morning is a peaceful time to write and reflect. It brings the promise of a new day no matter what the frustrations of the previous day were. Yesterday I went to yoga, had just eaten breakfast and finished my chores to settle in for some sewing when the power went out. Not just a little flicker, but out and didn’t come back on. Dan was gone on a business trip, and we pay our bill online, so I didn’t have any paperwork to reference for an account number or the phone number to call the utility company. I used my phone to search and was able to report the outage online, and the power was estimated to be restored in 3 hours.

Normally this wouldn’t be that big of deal, I could go for a walk, read a book, etc. But it was a windy, chilly 55*F, so a walk didn’t sound fun. And I am participating in a pattern test, and really needed to get sewing so I could turn in my fit photos on time. I enjoy pattern testing. You get to participate in trying a new and possibly challenging pattern. Your input helps perfect the pattern so that it will fit multiple body shapes and sizes well, and ensure that the instructions are easy to follow and will help give sewists the direction they need to achieve professional results. I take it seriously and put pressure on myself to do a good job. Not being able to sew was a bit frustrating.

Fortunately the wind died down a bit and it didn’t get too cold, and the power came on sooner than anticipated. Things improve. We experience stressful situations, things don’t always go the way we like. But every sunrise is a new beginning, a new opportunity for a good day. I love early mornings. It’s the perfect time to appreciate life. With coffee in hand and the cat snuggled against my legs I can write, watch the sunrise, and know that it’s going to be a beautiful day!

So take a deep breath, forget your frustrations, appreciate your many blessings, enjoy the sunrise, and have a beautiful day!