Today's Dealing

I tried to make it to a church today. I got up but when I needed to iron the jacket I wanted to wear it took me to the cleaning closet to try and find the new ironing board cover I know I have somewhere in this house. Well, it was a mess and about 30 minutes later after cleaning out the closet it was 15 minutes until church started. Needless to say, I didn't make it. But, I do have a cleaned out cleaning closet and one more bag of stuff is thrown out into the trash and that's one more bag of stuff decluttered from my house. I'm trying to declutter. I am throwing out anything I haven't touched in say a year, or two or three since I moved into this house. One room at a time. It is a formidable task and one I don't really like, well, that's not actually true...I do like getting uncluttered but I don't like doing it alone. It's a lot easier for me to have somenoe to keep me on task. See how I get sidetracked just trying to get this posted. Now, I am sidetracked into the fact that I have lived in Memphis, TN for 5 years now and I don't really have close friends that I could let the guard down to ask them to come over and help me while I declutter my house. I know I would let my sister help me and I would let Steffanie help me, she lives in Nashville. I would let Deb help me...bu there really aren't that many people that I could trust to let them know what life is really like for us behind these yellow shingled walls of the exterior of this house. Now I am getting a little personal. But, hey, who's going to read this anyway?

Tomorrow is 4 months since my Dad passed away. His birthday is also tomorrow. Not sure how I feel about that. It still seems so surreal because I drove home to see him and we said our goodbyes and he died. We buried him really quickly. Then we came back to Memphis. It's like, well he could still just be at his own house so far away ... it's easy to pretend. But then reality does hit when like yesterday, my son asked why the toilet wasn't filling up like it should...I said I don't know...then I thought about it....that's a question I would ask my Dad. I would call him and say, "Hey Dad, the toilet isn't filling up like it should. What should I do." and he'd tell me. When we lived close he'd come fix it for me. Until he got too sick to be able to do that too much. It's hard to see your parent and loved ones get sicker and sicker until they just aren't themselves anymore. I know it was even harder on my Mom. Tomorrow will be a Day to Deal with as well for an entirely different reason. I am going to have to think of a special way to remember my Dad tomorrow.

We took some Fall pictures today. Fall makes me happy. I love this time of year. I was born just a day or so before Fall began. I love the color changes and all the pretty leaves. It's just my favorite time of the year. It isn't as pretty down here in Memphis. I think because it doesn't stay as long. I think next weekend we are going to venture outside of Memphis for a little ways and see if we can discover some other beautiful fall places outside the city. That sounds like a nice little road trip. Maybe we'll take a picnic lunch and take the dog or maybe not! :) That sounds like something worthy to do to get out of the house and into nature and see God's beauty around us.

I was listening to some instrumental music yesterday. Actually some hymns. This was one of them: For the Beauty of the Earth.

The first version was written in 1838.

For the beauty of the earth

For the glory of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies.
Refrain
Lord of all,

to Thee we raise,

This our hymn of grateful praise.
For the beauty of each hour,

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale,

and tree and flower,

Sun and moon,

and stars of light.
Refrain
For the joy of ear and eye,

For the heart and mind’s delight,

For the mystic harmony

Linking sense to sound and sight.

What are you thankful for today in the Beauty of the Earth created by our Heavenly Father? Raise your praises to the Father for the beauty of the hour sing your grateful hymn!

There is much to be thankful for. What are you grateful for today. Today I am grateful for the beauty of the earth and the joy it brings to me even on an otherwise sad and and melancholy day. Every day there is something you can be thankful for in it. For each day everyone is going through something and if nothing else you can be thankful that you are not going through what some others are going through...even if you don't know it. Think about it and then THANK HIM about it!

Many blessings, Dina