The Ordinary Has Been Brought to You By...

 

I've been wanting a fire pit out in my back yard. A couple years ago I bought a small one but time, weather and cats have made it unusable. With my finances being limited I couldn't just run out and purchase a replacement. Even as I still wanted that fire pit. I watched the sales for bricks, but something more important always came up preventing purchase. The fire pit was a want, not a need.

 Yesterday while trying to figure out how to spend my afternoon since my son was off on an adventure as was most other people I know, I had an idea. I began gathering bricks that we purchased twenty some years ago and had used for various projects. Collecting enough I built a medium size fire pit in the yard away from the house and any trees. I then went and moved a table, umbrella and chairs back around to the back yard from where I had moved them a couple years ago. I haven't had time to go out there anyway so moving them to where they have a better chance at being used seemed to make sense. The outside cats have found these things interesting as they have been investigating them since I set them up.

 I also went up to where I have my vegetable plants growing in pots and using a small screwdriver poked holes in them to allow excess water to drain out. I need to find a way for the cucumber vines to climb rather than simply run across the ground with the Wisteria vines.

 For now though, I am sitting here listening to the birds calling from somewhere deep in the woods out back and watching the hummingbirds as they visit the feeders just outside my windows. My son who didn't return from his adventure until late, or rather early this morning, I have not seen yet. I may have missed him if he had to work, but I'm not sure, and I'm not going to call and maybe disturb him either way. My brother and his wife have been off on a grand adventure and were supposed to return last night. Hopefully we will see them today. Normal stuff right? Quiet, peaceful, time for introspection and reflection.

Today is Memorial Day here in the US. May we always remember that there are those who paid the ultimate price, made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy the normal stuff. Never forget that the ordinary has been brought to you by those who died.Pay a price so you won't have to, that you can live free.

Reflect and Remember

 

Good morning all-

My thoughts of sleeping in were just that- thoughts. My dog, Bella decided that it was time to get up and let me know in no uncertain terms. After taking care of the cats and dogs that share our life, I find myself  sitting  here sipping coffee and scrolling through posts and web surfing as I awaken to this new day. Outside the day is bright, well on the way to being overly warm, and the birds are singing their morning symphony. I've already spoken with my mother once, we're wondering when my brother will be home from his latest grand adventure. Soon I will be needing to go out for Aloe due to a sunburn from sitting at the race track yesterday. My son will be leaving out at some point to return to the track in Charlotte for the running of the Coca Cola 600.

What about you? Do you have plans for today or could you possibly be in the midst of those plans as you sit on the beach or in a mountainside cabin? Are you visiting with or waiting for visitors to come to you?

While we plan our day, preparing all we need, the cleaning the cooking the waiting by the door..may we also take time for one more thing.

Remembering and respecting.

The things for which this day is truly meant. Not for parties, holidays, vacations. Not for races, cook outs, boating on the lake. It is a day set aside to remember and honor those who gave the ultimate gift.

We all have our own thoughts and opinions on war. War is death, it is ugly, it is destructive, it is painful. It does not matter the length of the battle measured in days, months, years. It is the number of lives lost. A member of the military serving who is killed in action has  family. Whether it is parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents to their own personal families including spouse and children of their own. Then there is the extended family of the one left. The loss injures the heart and life and leaves a vacancy. Lives which may have brought about amazing things, ended too quickly. Yet even in their pain and anger, there is a pride in the fact that the one who is lost, was lost doing what they believed in. They were sent into battle so that battle would not overflow to here. That the home and people they loved, would be protected. They fought and died to protect the freedoms that we have had for so very long.

Even if you do not believe in war.......even if you believe there has to be better ways...show respect and honor to those who fought for what we have. Respect and honor those who sacrificed it all for their beliefs and their country. Respect and honor the families who watched their loved one walk away, then watched them being brought back in a box.

Stop for a moment today, in the midst of your parties and plans, and reflect on the true meaning of today. We personally can be happy and enjoy the freedoms we hold dear, because without those we lost, we could be living a totally different lifestyle today. My brother recently was able to repair my flagpole that was broken by a falling tree. I now once again can fly our flag in love of country and respect for those who fight to protect her.