Laugh With Your Family, Not At Them

I am very sad after reading some excerpts from a newly published book. It's written by a wife and mother of three. They all live a healthy and relatively wealthy existence. What made me so sad was that the whole book was one long whine about her family. She makes fun of them on every page, in a mocking manner. I want to take this opportunity to apologize for the complaining I have done over the years about my family. I never want to sound like this woman does. I think my life is full of humor because of my family and I hope that what I share with you all is taken at face value. I love my family; my husband and my children mean the world to me. Without them I would be empty. For every dish I clean, for every sticky counter I wipe, for every hair I pull out of the drain, for every roll of toilet paper I must replace, for every dinner I cook, for every vacuum cleaner bag I change, for every smudged window I wipe, for every toilet I clean, for every article of clothing I don't get to buy so I can buy something for my children, for every load of laundry I do (actually hubby does laundry- boy, do I love that man), for every bed I change, for every cent I spend on food, for every finger print I clean off my walls (yes, I do wash my walls), for every greasy phone I pick up after the kids. . . I thank my dear Lord. I thank Him for entrusting me with these precious jewels (diamonds in the rough as they may be). I thank Him for the comedy that is this messy life of mine and pray I always have someone to pick up, clean up after, cook for and most importantly, laugh with.

Persistent Petunia

Despite my perpetual neglect, these pretty pink petunia's were persistent in producing a pulchritudinous plant.

Since You Asked, Parsley

Isn't It Great?

Ask me how I am . . . Okay, my back hurts from working in my strawberry patch for 2 hours. My neck hurts from sleeping in a funny position for 4 hours. My hand hurts from the blister I got from the wooden shovel I used in the garden. My feet hurt from walking 2 plus miles at the gym. My stomach hurts from laughing so hard while I walked with a friend. My allergies are bugging me from the new puppy. And my brain hurts from working on some children's stories I hope to get published. How am I? I am great!! I love my strawberries, they are sweet and bright and do not talk back to me. I talked to them for 2 hours and they agreed with everything I said. I slept for 4 hours in a row, that's wonderful for a chronic insomniac. My wooden shovel was a birthday gift from my family a few years ago and I smile whenever I use it. I love to walk and I love to laugh, combined it's a big ole' endorphin party. The new puppy is a joy and hours of fun a day. And finally, pain has long been known as an inspiration for writing, so bring it on.

ouch ... ouch ... ouch ... smile ... smile ... smile ... ouch ... ouch ... ouch ... smile ... smile ... smile ...

A Lovely View

This is my kitchen window. I have a lovely assortment of items on a pretty glass shelf that sits above my kitchen sink. In the center is a vase filled with sea shells, sand dollars and beach pebbles. I smile every time I do the dishes for the memories I have from vacations gone by with my family. This vase has items from two coasts and four different beaches.


Today, as I stood at my kitchen sink, doing the dishes, smiling as I often do; I looked closely at the vase and my smile disappeared. That's just lovely, I said to myself. . .




. . . a closer look revealed a stupid, stinkin' stink bug at the bottom of the vase. So, I did just what you would expect a neat freak like me would do. I turned the vase half way around so I couldn't see the bug. Now, he (the stink bug) and me, both have a lovely view.