For the first time in years, all of our roses are in full healthy bloom - fragrant pink ones, dainty peach/yellow ones, large red ones and for the first time in many years, we even have beautiful little roses blooming on the rose bush that originally came from hubby's grandmother's garden - one of his nieces gave it to us a few years ago, but this is the first year we've seen it bloom.

As I sit and eat by the kitchen window, the beautiful fragrance, the singing birds, the warm sunshine and the laughter of children playing in the distance all whisper in and embrace me with LIFE.

I am so grateful that I stopped by here at the forum..because after reading here for awhile I feel happier, lighter. I am trying to come terms with my really and truely "empty nest" for the first time in 40 years..and it has certainly helped to visit here.

I am feeling a bit woozy now after downing some vodka drinks..to take the edge off things..so I think that I might just go watch a Midsomar Murders dvd..I am collecting them.

But I must add that I am so grateful for my children and their children,too

I am grateful for my husband, two sons, two daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren. In fact I am getting ready to babysit my youngest grandson in about 30 minutes. What a great idea - a gratitude journal. Seeing it in black and white reminds us of the abundance of our blessings. Thanks for the idea!

What a great visual! I love gardens and butterflies too. Thanks for the entry. Am wondering if you can tell me how you got the my book link in reply box and how you got it to link to your book. I have written a book and would like to link it but don't know how. Thanks so much.

Hi Savvygrandmother,
First of all, welcome! I'm glad you found us. Did you introduce yourself in the 'welcome' thread? I know everyone will enjoy meeting you.

As for the "My Book" thingie...hmmm, see if I can remember. You have to go the personal configuration section "My Home", select the option to edit your personal preferences. In the box where you put in your signature, you have to use what is called UBB Code...I think that's what it's called. There's a link just above the text box that says UBBCode. Click it to find all the codes you can use (or just click here to see what I'm talking about: http://www.boomerwomenspeak.com/forums/faq.php#html

I tried to copy the one you need into this post, but it kept inserting the title of the book, so I couldn't get it to show the coding unless I removed one of the brackets. So remember when you go to use this line of coding, to include the bracket in front of the first instance of the word "url" (at the very beginning of the line).

url=link] TITLE [/url] - You would cut/paste your own URL link for your book overtop of the word "link", then type whatever you want people to see in the space called "TITLE" (delete the word 'title' though). (And again, remember to insert the bracket in front of the first instance of "url" at the very beginning of the line!)

So for example, mine reads:

url=http://ca.geocities.com/eagleborntofly_website@rogers.com/index.html] My Book [/url] (but with the first bracket included!)

Was that as clear as mud??? Hope it helps!

Thinking while reading thru the forum..about so many things that are discussed here..by us..I am reminded of the gift of life..that we all enjoy here..and the wonderful presence of our summer..in different parts of the world. That this can sometimes be enough to perhaps lift us up over the clouds?

I have the enormous priviledge of working with young children..who are still near to the Source/Life/God..and who exude the energy and pure joy that this can give. I cannot help but be affected by them..and for this I am grateful..and I am sooo grateful for the great gift of life

Today I'm very grateful, in particular for encountering someone who spent all day helping me, probably far beyond "the call of duty".

I've been poring through travel brochures and websites for the past couple of weeks trying to put our fall trip together (another gift from Gary). We've tried several different tours, all of which required several days of waiting for confirmation and none of which worked out (tours were cancelled, no seats left, or the dates for back-to-back tours wouldn't match up).

Meanwhile, our travel agent is away for 2 weeks, her replacement is away for part of this week, and then we're busy with various things for awhile. So it has been frustrating trying to get something finalized before we get tangled up in our own hectic schedule.

Yesterday I was thinking that maybe I should give up because maybe Someone knew something I didn't (two years ago, the same thing happened, so we didn't book anything - that was the year Gary got sick, and he was hospitalized and died right at the time we would have been away). So yesterday morning, I prayed for guidance. Three things happened: Romans 8:11 (All things work together for good for those who love God); then I kept hearing "Italy, try Italy" (not one of our choices thus far). So I dug around the itineraries, found one that matched up with the second tour we want, then emailed the tour company directly and asked for help.

Well, the woman on the other end of that email has been amazing! We've been emailing back and forth all day, me with questions and dates, she responding with answers and dates. We finally found a match-up that I really liked. She knew that those seats would probably be snatched up by Wednesday so she went ahead and put an "exceptional hold" on them for us. There's still no 100% guarantee that we'll get them, but I'm so flabbergasted, touched and grateful for this amazing woman, her patience with me throughout the day and her tireless efforts to help me put something together.

The third thing that happened was that during our nap this afternoon, I dreamt about a very dear priest friend of mine I haven't seen in about 20 years, though we've kept up to date with each other through a mutual friend. When I woke up, I remembered that he's studying in Rome for a few years! It turns out that with this particular itinerary we'll be spending several days in Rome so should be able to meet up with him.

I have the giddy feeling that Someone is helping to orchestrate this in the loveliest way...working out everything to good indeed!

Sounds to me like a celestial orchestra is playing especially for you.
Often its the intent (the agent caring)that boosts us.

One thing I share with my children when someone lets them down is that "They meant it at the time." and to strive to be a person who always follows through.For I do believe few people are really "bad" just not as evolved.And I recall times I was on the learning path.And give thanks to those who showed me a better way. In fact Sins of emission are vaste and if you think about it.Not doing what we should have done is a sin if we know it.So my mission is to follow through with a task...a person and a choice.Changing opinions too is allowed for me.I wrote something about being Never Fixed..I will share it Eagle.
Life is wonderful
Mountain ash

Never Fixed ©

Fife, Scotland
2005

To be able to change a way of believing
To see that time has taught other views
Even after years of standing true to opinions
That is a blessing indeed a salvation

Not to be fixed like a spoke in a bicycle
Going round in the same old way
Shows insight and clarity
Rather than dogma and dreary sameness

The piper is paid by whoever calls
And then must play to order
But we each own our ideals
And can keep for ourselves the best tune

Holidays when breakfast can become brunch
Or time is given freely to ploys of our choosing
Hint at having the key of the castle
The castle being internally kept

Choice and ability to walk up the other road
And stray from what is usual
Gives a glimpse of alternative mindsets
And with that a relaxing of rigid beliefs

Mountain ash

Mountain Ash, My first reading of your post and beautiful poem "scared" me from delving too deeply, I didn't want it to fit, and I wondered what you were seeing that I wasn't. But an honest re-reading and a sigh of reluctant acquiesence later, I know it does fit. I'm currently in the fight of my life, for a life "fixed". Constant affirmations to "change a way of believing", constant refocusing from the dreary prison of old beliefs to the "other road" that I really want to be on...we've opened up a pandora's box in therapy, and it's a constant struggle to not just give up against that enormous woundedness we found, one that has undermined me my entire life. How to undo 50 years of unshakeable conviction (a belief nurtured by the most significant people in one's childhood) that one should not exist? It's unbelievably painful to look that wound in the eye and admit it really does exist - I think that all along I've harboured a fervant hope it was just my imagination or misperception. The depth and extent of the conviction might have been exaggerated by childish misperception, but the origins of the conviction are very real. And even now, it's still so painful that I continue to temper it with giving "benefit of the doubt", just to give myself a wee shred of hope that maybe it wasn't quite as devastating as it looks.

Anyway, this is a gratitude journal. So let me refocus all of that and say that I am tougher than this. I know without doubt that this is all working out for some greater good, that the lessons learned through all of this will somehow serve a greater purpose.

I shared a dream with Dotsie months ago. A very powerful dream. I know it's my "calling" now, the way to fix what's broken, the key to getting out of the dark dungeon into the rest of the magnificent castle that my life and self are.

Thank you for your beautiful poem, Mountain Ash. I don't know how you chose this particular poem to respond to my post about the woman who helped me, but it's uncannily appropro to everything else I'm going through right now.