"In my practice and my personal life, I have found that all negative patterns of behavior and emotion are due to unexamined pain from the past intruding into the present.
When people commit to finding and feeling that pain, they invariably learn they can not only survive it but benefit from it. They learn that their pain, from which they have tried so hard to run, is indeed their true source of power."
Keith Ablow, MD

Bleu, Blue, Bleu

Texas Longhorns!

This morning, Nicole(and her great b/f, Charlie) and I moved a bunch of her belongings into the Taos Coop in Austin. The location is ideal...right across the street from the University of Texas campus...and I think Nicole will be very happy there. We discovered that her co-op is just a hop, skip and a jump from the co-op I lived in 28 years ago. Small World. Here's Nicole with her new roomate, Asha. Turns out they are both psychology majors and middle children and well, I suspect they have lots in common. Go Get Em, Nicole!

Be Lights For Each Other...

"The world needs all of our power
and love and energy,
and each of us has something that we can give.
The trick is to find it and use it,
to find it and give it away.
So there will always be more.
We can be lights for each other,
and through each other's illumination
we will see the way.
Each of us is a seed,
a silent promise,
and it is always spring."
Merle Shan

What's in your stack?

Self-Portrait

Anxiously...note furrowed brow...considering my next step. Turns out it was a step full of promise.

Rejuvenate

Rejuvenate:
a : to make young or youthful again b: give new vigor to c: to restore to an original or new state

Yesterday, I was able to spend 24 hours with a couple of dear friends and rejuvenate my spirit. This "Bucket Full Of Fun"...sweetly prepared by one friend's daughter-in-law... was packed with delicious food, a fun game, cards, fingernail polish of course! and lots of love. I am thankful that for 24 hours I was able to laugh, cry, talk and dream of a brighter tommorrow. "Rejuvenation" is a good follow-up to "melancholy".

Melancholy

Melancholy...depression of spirits, dejection, a pensive mood

Melancholy is the word that comes to mind as I consider this little girl sitting in a bone-dry bird bath. She holds a shell as if waiting to hear something...she's been waiting for a very long time. Whenever I go to the lakehouse I think, "something needs to be done about her." Then I walk on by.
Last weekend I stopped. I sat down on the grass and took her picture. I let myself feel the melancholy emotions she evokes in me. I knew the "shell" had a message for me but I didn't hear it until just now. I heard, "Don't keep walking by your emotions, Susan. Stop and think about them. Name them. Do the hard work of listening to and healing your spirit."
I will. I am.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step."
Chinese Proverb

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference.

Three cuties...Nicole, Cali and Nathan..."chillin" on a warm summer day.

Barista!

Ana in her Starbucks apron, looking pretty as a peach! I am impressed with Starbucks; the training they provide is thorough, the company values are admirable, the salary/benefits are above average and the product is excellent. I think Ana's found a part-time job that she will really enjoy.

Me and "Lennox", the workhorse of summer.

Simple Pleasures...

...walking barefoot in the soft, green grass of summer.

PeekABoo!

Growing Up

Nathan has been taking Drivers Ed every day for the past 3 weeks. The classroom portion is over and now it's time to get behind the wheel. WOOHOO!

OK, I could tell you this photo of the Harry Potter movie poster was INTENTIONALLY blurry but the fact is, I intended to get a clear shot to entice you to go see "Order of the Phoenix". The best laid plans are sometimes superceded by better laid plans and I think this blurry shot is an example of that phenomenon. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will be thrilled with this movie. Ana, Nicole, Christy and I think it's almost as good as the first one and that is saying a lot!

Dressed up...

Monkey Grass!

For Melanie

I spent a couple of hours with my sister-in-law today. We talked and cried and talked and cried and even laughed a little bit. Years ago, she cross-stitched the following verse for me and it's a perfect reflection of our relationship...

"We've shared so much laughter and so many tears,
Our spiritual kinship grows stronger each year,
We're not sisters by birth, but we knew from the start,
God put us together to be sisters by heart!"

Dawn

"An angel, robed in spotless white,
Bent down and kissed the sleeping Night.
Night woke to blush; the sprite was gone.
Men saw the blush and called it Dawn."
Anon