I know it’s a little weird, me being a writer and author, not having some kind of journal ritual in place already, but I really don’t. Since I was twelve I kept a handwritten journal almost daily until about the age of 23. Life got crazy and busy and the tradition fell away, but I remember loving it so much. It was nice to take time at the end of my day to reflect and appreciate all the good (and vent about the bad). I wasn’t sure if I was into the idea of doing an online journal for everyone to read but then I started thinking it was exactly what I needed; a place to share thanks and appreciation and maybe inspire others to see the good each day in their own lives to, a place to get creative outside my comfort zone of writing books, a place to be uniquely and unapologetically me. I think this could be good, so I’m going to give it a try. I thought about LiveJournal and Prezu, but I think my own blog on my own site puts me at ease about sharing my thoughts with the world. So, here goes.
The best part of my day was by far the walk I took with my family after dinner. We are building a new house right now so we are staying with my parents while that’s happening. Their neighborhood is so wonderful and charming with ponds and walking trails and trees everywhere. It’s perfect. So me, John, Charlotte, and my parents all walked the pond route. My dad and John raced with Charlotte and there was so much laughter and joy. We saw the local geese families and how big their baby geese are getting. The lovely greenery was against this really moody cloudy backdrop with the thunder rolling in the distance. Seconds before we reached home the clouds broke open finally and it rained.
When my parents headed back at first thunder and it was just Charlotte, John, and myself I was really able to step back and appreciate the little family I have. We are blended but blended so perfectly that it’s the most natural thing in the world. For the first time in my life I’m allowing myself to be happy it feels like and it’s amazing. Your whole mindset, your whole attitude changes when you look at what you have and you appreciate it wholeheartedly and you say “Thank you, God!” for all the big and little things in life.
Since moving back in with my parents, my dad has got me hooked on Home Town on HGTV. Cooking up some really good ideas for this house when it’s finally built (projected date somewhere between September and October). John like the industrial look and I like historic and/or farmhouse look so we’re thinking of ways to combine our tastes. It’s been quite a challenge! Needless to say, there have been some heated debates on the subject, but I think things are coming together and we’re in a pretty good place now with it. I’m sure I’ll be sharing my design ideas along the way. I actually studied interior design at Purdue the first year and a half of my bachelor’s degree before I changed majors. It was always an interest of mine, though I lean more towards decorating than figuring out where the plumbing needs to go.
So, not so bad for my first nightly journal post. Talk to you all tomorrow!
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