Category Archives: Flowers

This particular day

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Remember that this particular day will never happen again. ~Susannah Conway, from this i know: notes on unraveling the heart

A few moments from today:

Sleeping in until 6:15 am (yes, this counts as “sleeping in” when you typically get up at 4:30 am), Sam stretched out beside me, his warmth and deep breath lulling me back to dreams.

Roses from my garden, white and deep red, in a Mason jar on my writing desk. The open window lets in cool air, bringing with it morning bird song and the smell of rain, which mixes with the scent of the roses. I write in my notebook, but not about that.

Walking with Eric and the dogs, we see a man park his truck, get out dressed in nice work clothes (button down shirt and slacks), pull a pair of dirty work boots out and put them on. With a rake slung over his shoulder, he walks towards the ball field. We walk one lap around the dog park, and when we get back, he’s still raking lines in the dirt as if it were a giant zen garden.

I clean up the house a little more, folding sheets and sorting laundry. At first, the dogs follow me from room to room, but finally settle somewhere and sleep.

A blog post that brings me to tears of gratitude and recognition, exactly what I need to hear, and I wonder once again “how will I ever thank her?”

A shower while Eric barbeques steaks for lunch. The 1/2 side of organic beef we bought at the beginning of the year allows such extravagance, midweek and midday.

Another walk, at a different park. We try to identify trees, guess the types. Everything I don’t recognize, I call an Elm–Honey Locust, Kentucky Coffee Tree, all of them Elms.

In the backyard, reading this i know: notes on unraveling the heart, the sun making leaf shadows on the pages. Sam drops a toy for me to throw, and when I do, he jumps across my chest, over my lap and the chair to go after it, like some crazy agility move or circus trick. Later, both dogs are sprawled out next to me, Sam hoarding all the toys.

This particular day will never happen again…

Something Good

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1.This quote: I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. ~John Burroughs

2. The Conversation: Transformation episode. This is a really great show. On this episode, Amanda de Cadenet talks with Melissa McCarthy, one of my favorite actresses. She also interviews Diane von Furstenberg, Glenda Bailey, and Miley Cyrus. Here’s a short clip (go here to view the full episode, Melissa McCarthy’s interview starts at minute 10:23).

3. The day I lost everything & how you can lose everything too on Writing Our Way Home. A good reminder from Fiona Robyn.

4. I am the one, on Painted Path. Another good reminder from the always wonderful and inspiring Julia Fehrenbacher.

5. The Little Guide to Contentedness on ZenHabits. And yet another good reminder from the kind and gentle Leo Babauta. Also from Leo, but on his other site, mnmlist, Living for Everyone Else, in which he says:

When it comes to others, be helpful, compassionate, grateful. But don’t live up to their expectations. You’ll be freed of the shackles of meaningless customs, so that you can live as you want.

6. Radio Time Machine. This is fun. I first heard about it in an interview with the creator on NPR this weekend. I am listening to 1986 (the year I graduated from high school) as I write this, and Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love is playing while I have flashbacks.

7. Sense and Sensitivity on Psychology Today, an article about Highly Sensitive People. You know at least one of them, (hint: me).

8. Thing Finding Thursday with Michelle Ward from Tanya Geisler. This whole series is really great, but this one is especially good, and there’s singing!

9. Create your own writing retreat from Jennifer Louden. More and more, I’m thinking that retreat is super important, and I also know that “retreat” doesn’t mean you have to go somewhere private and/or exotic for a long period of time. Small retreats at home are perfectly workable and beneficial, and you don’t have to be a writer or a meditation practitioner to go on a retreat.

10. You: A Love Letter by Sunni on The Daily Breadcrumb.

11. Being here: starting the work of letting go by Jenn on Roots of She. I shared the link to the first part of this exploration in my Something Good list last week. This is the follow-up, which asks the important question: What is stopping you from letting your stuff go?

12. How to Listen by Bindu Wiles. I really liked this, since just this week I’ve been thinking so much about Right Speech.

13. When You Have a Bad Day on Be More with Less. I don’t need it today, but I’m going to save the link for when I do need this reminder from Courtney Carver.

14. And on the day I need the above link, this might help too: 75 Day-Brightening Stories of Generosity on Marc and Angel Hack Life.

15. Droopy, wilting, fully bloomed roses from my garden. I love them as much when they are almost dead as when they are new.