Sarah

Kind of an odd picture, huh?  But Sarah brought out the fun in you.  You see, the day before this picture was taken, Sarah bought the most outrageous pink nail polish you can imagine.  She talked me into painting my toenails with her.  It was joy.  We hiked Angel's Landing in Zion's National Park the next day.  On the way down from the hike our feet were hot and sweaty so we took off our shoes and socks and dug our toes in the cool sand. It was so fun and felt so good. Brad took the pic.  Sarah never made you feel stupid or self conscious for being silly.  She just laughed along with you. And it just made life all that much better.  Thank you Sarah.

Bucket Lists and the Demolition Derby

I have been working on a bucket list.  My bucket list doesn't contain many things on it.  I'm easily pleased.  Just seeing my family get together and having a good time is enough for me.  Or reading a satisfying book.  But ever since Nathan told me about the Demolition Derby in Ogden and showed us pictures I have wanted to go and this was the year!  Nathan told us about it and got the tickets.  Way to go Nathan!  What a great kid!  The Demolition Derby is called May Mania and what a blast!  I thought it was going to be fun but had no idea.  The noise, the energy, and the people were all so great.  Right up until the end I was gasping and cheering.  It was so fun.  And yes, we're scheduled to go to the next one.

I loved standing in line for a corndog and kettlekorn too.  It was such a great time to people watch.  There were all kinds of people there. Even grandmas and grandpas like B and I. And the smells coming from the different vendors was divine.  I could have had a bite of everything and gone home almost perfectly happy.  Not to mention very sick and very fat!

Nathan and Aubree, Rachel and the kids all went.  I think Rachel was as surprised as I was at how much fun it actually was.  And when that black car in the top pic got pushed up on that cement barrier, people were cheering (and no one was hurt) I thought "Could it get any better than this?"  It did.  There were 12 trucks in the ring for their match which was crazy.  It was wall to wall trucks that ended up in a tangled knot of trucks with no one able to move.  In the last match of the night there was one car pushed up on the cement and he was so angry at being put there he literally willed himself off the wall, minus a chuck of cement from the wall, and then proceeded to take off after the car that put him there! Which he nailed.  Oh my!  It was such fun.  I felt alive for the first time in a long time.  It truly was a night of joy.

Sun

Today Toby is enjoying the spring sun.......me too.

Joy with Fritters and Friendship

The day after Pink Day B and I had a sweet friend and neighbor stop by and give us the marvelous gift of these Bowman's apple fritters.  Notice there's only two in the picture.  She gave us four.  We promptly ate two within minutes.  With no shame.  And the other two, were saved (with difficulty) for the next day.  There is nothing quite as joyful to me as a surprise of apple fritters.  I love them dearly but hardly ever indulge myself.  I feel like it's selfish, fattening and just plain not good for me.  But when someone gifts me with some, they have to be eaten.  And right away.  Before they go stale. 

How grateful I am for thoughtful, generous friends.  How grateful I am for something so delicious as an apple fritter.  We all need friends. We all need to feel important and special sometimes. And sometimes we just need an apple fritter too. Thank you Pat for the joy and gift of friendship and fritters.

Beginning

BEGINNING.....

Today is a beginning for me.  I have had many beginnings. 

Fifteen years ago my daughter Sarah,who was 20, died in a car accident. (Which is the subject for another time.) Last night I began reading the journal I was writing in at the time. It was almost like I was watching it happen all over again.  It was sobering. Tucked in my journal was a journal page I had taken from Sarah's journal.  It was like a snapshot of who Sarah was.  She described her hairdresser coloring and cutting her hair, being sad for missing the opportunity to visit Rachel more while Rachel lived in Logan, me coming for a visit, Jer getting his Jeep registered, and warming up her car every morning.  She saw so much joy in her life.  She felt joy in her life.

Today I choose joy.  I choose to see it and feel it like Sarah did.

I have been sidetracked and bogged down with the negative part of life.  But there is soo much good out there. So much joy. People are good.  Life is good.

So today is my beginning in being led by joy.  I am excited to see where it takes me.