Just keeps rollin'

It's been a rather fun several days. A lot of living has been packed into these five days, starting on my birthday. I took off work Wednesday through Friday, and R took off on the weekend (a rare luxury for one who doesn't get paid time off!), so we were able to spend some really good birthday times together. We did end up working together at the flea market on Saturday morning, but that was actually my idea. Flea markets are fun to work together - and even I can make some nice little spending money off our household junk gently-used treasures.

From Wednesday's flowers for mom, birthday burgers, nature walk, and bocce fun (with a win!), through today - helping R's daughter move - it's been nonstop. After the move today I'm definitely sore on top of the already plum tuckered that I was from all these days of fun. Mind you, I'm not even remotely complaining, even about the move; it was great to be able to hang around his daughter and her friend.

So yeah, five purely wonderful and memorable days together doing a little of this and a little of that - together.

Together is my favorite way to do things, after all.

Especially when it comes to walking down unknown roads.

Things I've learned from chocolate candy wrappers: Love is a flower, friendship a sheltering tree.

I'm so grateful for love and friendship of all kinds. My five days off were plum full of them!

And also for all the abundant, but sometimes hidden, blessings that abound.

Week 31 of Photo 52: Photographer's Choice

You just gotta keep your eyes out for them, and enjoy the sweetness when you take hold of them.

And sometimes you find them, but you still have to chase them around a while. With these, rejoice even to take hold of them - no matter how fleeting.

Yeah - and tiki drinks aren't bad either...

Especially when surrounded by happy wishes!

My Thursday night work friends get together was full of laughter and fun - and even a few family members as a bonus!

Friday night held some more family fun.

It's good to have R's oldest in town, though only briefly. Proud pops!

Time for some more laughs, along with cruising and dining on the Mighty Mississippi!

I'm not sure that life is but a dream, but we surely do love to go gently down the stream, err, the Mighty Mississippi.

(This is the only kind of cat's eye I care to stare into!)

Yep, definitely a proud pops!

He has much to be proud of!  (I loved the glowing light on her face and just had to take this shot.)

Week 30 of Photo 52: Dramatic Light

And this one, because the light was even more dramatic.

What Year 43 will bring is as much a mystery as Ol' Man River himself! 

Hopefully it will also be as lovely.

Even if the loveliness I see out this window comes with darkness and distortions, occasionally raging and flooded waters, insects - and most assuredly mixed in with images from behind me.

Loveliness too rages, right along with the rest.

Ol' Man River, that Ol' Man River

He must know somepin', but he don't say nothin'

He just keeps rollin', he keeps on rollin' along

Without further ado, number 42...

My mom loves flowers - especially yellow roses, which were my dad's favorite. I've definitely sent mom flowers for her birthday or mother's day before, but I've never surprised her with flowers for my birthday. I've never done anything for her for my birthday before. Until this year, that is. She did have a little something to do with my birthday, after all, you know.  

So here is what I sent her.

Photo is from the Teleflora website

They will arrive this morning, my birthday, with a typically silly card attached, informing her that while having the pleasure of my awesomeness for 43 years should be more than sufficient thanks, that I thought she should get a little something extra this year.  

So that's it - that's my number 42: simple and sweet. I'd been racking my brain for a big and fabulous finale to the challenge; to really go out with a bang. Some ideas occurred to me - but then this just popped in and I just knew.

Somewhere in the depths of my aging pea brain, knowing how terribly much I want to be a mom, and how much I have and would give for it, and how much most moms do go through and give for their kids... and sort of murkily seeing this too as part of my juxtaposed life just made me know to do this. It's a jumble, but when you know, you know.

So....  New at 42 challenge: completed! 

Probably most people (my supportive friends and R aside) won't see my list as very exciting: no hot air balloons, sky diving, or swallowing of snakes, but it is special to me and I'm thankful for being able to learn and grow - and have an altered perspective -  through this challenge.

Thank you so much, my friends, for your love and encouragement, your humor and suggestions, and for sometimes actually joining me in the NEW!  There really were times I wanted to hang it all up, but you helped me to not. The NEW certainly won't end now that I'm 43; hopefully there will be plenty of NEW yet in my future, which I will appreciate so much more as a result of this year's focus. 

After all, His mercies are NEW every morning - great is His faithfulness! 

Much love,

HJ

Update 10:49 am: here is a photo of the actual flowers. My mom was kinda over the moon to receive these. She was thoroughly surprised and touched. She also said she almost didn't open the door, figuring the delivery person had the wrong house and would figure it out in a moment. She thinks I may have started a new tradition!  ☺

Two more sleeps

Well, here we are...  two more sleeps until my 43rd birthday. My 42nd NEW is already done, but I'll wait til then to post it - besides, the effect of it will not happen until Wednesday.

NEW chimes!  Love it!! 

I commented on Facebook about how I recently saw blogs about other people doing new challenges. This is funny to me because of course I'd never heard of anyone doing such a thing when I first challenged myself to do it. Like when you come up with a BRILLIANT idea for an invention, only to discover that your invention has actually been around since 1854....  what? Someone already thought of slicing bread?!? Well I'll be!

These two blogs were crazy challenges though - one was for 365 new things. Okay - that's somewhat doable, but still... there are days when getting out of bed is just darn good enough! Well, that's my opinion anyhow. The other blog was for 1,000 new things.  One thousand - in a year!! That just seems outrageous to me. Fortunately, it's so outrageous that I don't feel diminished at all in my meager 42 NEW, which I was feeling a bit upon first seeing the 365 new. As I thought about it though, I realized that they have their reasons for picking those numbers - and I have mine for mine.  It's okay. That's their thing; this is mine.

NEW fruit! 

Besides, my lovely friend, and long time blog follower, stated what I'd kind of been feeling about it, which is that I've focused more on quality over quantity - at least quality in my eyes. She also said that the 1,000 person probably has to do things like eat a leaf, or wear their shirt inside out on purpose one day. Hee!

If I did 1,000 NEWs, I'd have to have counted getting stalked and threatened by a duck!

There have also been a few times lately that I've thought about how some of my good friends have been doing really HUGE new and amazing things - just because it was right for them to do. So brave and awesome!!  And here I am, like... "Oohhhh - get me - I just got flowers hand-painted on my toes!" ☺

Yeah, it's hard to not compare ourselves to others, sometimes - especially we people-pleasers - but it's one of those things to stay mentally and spiritually strong against, I think. We are all on our own walk, after all. Somehow it seems I've accidentally grown in this way a bit over the last year or so.

Getting a custom made necklace is NEW!

As I reflect back, I acknowledge that I've definitely done more than 42 NEW this year. I've only counted those that I considered challenge worthy, for whatever reason that struck me at the moment. (Yeah, there may have been some whimsy involved!)  Some I combined into one that could really have been two or more. I'm good with my choices, of course; I only mention it to say that the challenge made me see that there are so many opportunities for NEW - big and small - all around us. We just need to look... and make a decision.

Seeking ways to love (in action) kids again is an old NEW; one I've had to repress for a while in order to manage life.
(Photo is from nokidhungry.org - check it out!)

It may take me a while to process through all that the whole NEW at 42 experience really means to me, but it's been quite good. It's been good to acknowledge and appreciate the naturally occurring NEW, and to seek out and step out into the NEW. It's been good to continue to acknowledge my losses, alongside seeking the NEW.

Yes, it's been good to accept that I'm juxta girl.

When I chose juxtaposition as the theme for one of January's Photo 52 themes, I simply had no idea how much I'd internalize it. Truly, I just chose it because it sounded like an interesting and challenging photography theme. It certainly was, but for some reason, it also continues to help me process through the deep grief and deep gratitude that is my life.

I'll be the first to tell you that we may not always get the NEW that we long for, but life still longs to live.

"People always say, 'I don't know where the Lord is leading me.' I always say, 'It don't really make a whole lot of difference.' The important thing is to be where He has led you to already. If He has led you into a marriage, then be faithful there. If He has led you into being single, then be faithful there. If He has blessed you with many material goods, then be a good steward of those goods. And if He has blessed you by allowing you to imitate His life of poverty, then imitate it with great joy."  (Rich Mullins)

So very grateful for all the support and encouragement I've received all the way! 

With love,
HJ