One Two Punch...

The day began with loving from the moose currently living in my house...Maximus to Maxi-moose...trodding on toes with his giant feet, slimy tongue finding bare legs after a shower, tripping/stepping over and on bones and toys...it isn't lego, or the infamous army men my boys used to have laying here and there, but it is certainly reminiscent, as is my reaction in the middle of the night, mid-day, evening...you get the idea :).

I love said moose and impatiently wait for him to mind his manners, including chasing the fluff ball we call a cat. Arms grow strong as we walk and train...at this stage of the game I'm almost certain the trainer is actually the trainee...

This morning as I sip from my cup of heaven, this 'thing,' this giant at 5 months old greets with a paw to get my attention, straight to the face, slicing a line on upper lip...and so the day begins, the training continuing with patience, most of the time.

I sit in thankfulness for so much...for furry companions who while away any loneliness I feel, providing comedic moments to lighten sorrowful states...I am thankful for the angels God put here on this earth for nothing more than giving love and affection and company...their every focus on their family of humans, until said cat darts across the yard at least..."Now the race is on, and here comes pride in the backstretch..." Sawyer Brown.

I have been taking time to find extra projects to add to the peace that covers my mind, my heart...gifts planed, sanded and carved by my hand for children, building a deck round this tiny cozy home to create more space...to avoid pressure, I live on island time...with no set schedule in mind, just an hour here, two there, I progress and feel the pride of keeping promises I have made myself.

As always, it is not just this realistic or unrealistic summit reached each day...oh dear friends, some days I count brushing my teeth, showering and smiling at one person at least, a success...there are days the trauma, the flashbacks, the images pressing against the front of my brain demand inertia, demand digging out every worm of decay and destruction from mind, heart and spirit. These days happen with less and less frequency, less urgency...but as though building up inside, as though standing in the circle of calm within a class 5 tornado, it builds into a maelstrom of such cruciality that calm must flee in the face of absolute clamour for immediacy, for action.

I listen often dear treasures, for I much prefer the lower category of storm...

Dig in my friends...dig in and hang on, life brings change as with the changing of the seasons...so we too will rise up with love that surrounds in comfort and peace, with hope for a better future, with faith for dreams and goals.

God bless your days ahead with a sense of purpose, with grace for the low times, with strength and courage for all things new and filled with a sense of adventure...God bless each one with a sense of wonder at the beauty so evident in everything around us.