It's Monday Again

Well, Good Morning Everyone, it's Monday again. Why does everyone seem to hate Monday so much? Is it due to (typically) it being the first day of a work week? Is it because most of us hate going back to work after relaxing for 2 days? What is it about Mondays that just tend to make people cringe?

Regardless, today is Monday. The kids and I have stuff to get done, but we aren't overwhelmed with an excessive amount of activity. Just some grocery shopping and a doctor's appointment for my 8 year old son. We may meet up with an old friend we haven't seen in a few years, that would be nice. I really hate losing touch with those I love.

So, as I journey through today, I will keep in mind a quote I read last night;
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
― Emily Dickinson

With this in mind, I offer to all of you the gift of hope today. Hope that your day goes well, hope that whatever difficult thing it is that you're struggling with will be resolved, hope that you feel hope in yourself and your future as you travel along today's path.

Happy Monday Everyone!

A Precious Gift

Yesterday, my children and I attended a function for their school that they had attended before the May 20th tornado. The school is no longer there and they are in the process of rebuilding it.

A large local church hosted both schools that were demolished for this event. The children were all given a free copy of their school yearbook, new packages of school portraits, a handmade quilt or blanket and a teddy bear.

You see, those who brought this event about, realized the importance of closure and of trying to maintain a sense of normalcy in the wake of a disaster. The children were elated to see some of their friends again and to see their teachers, principal and other faculty members from their school.

For all of us, this event brought a sense of healing and a bit of closure to the day when our lives changed forever. There was laughter, relief, tears of joy, tears of pain for those lost and of course, the overwhelming sense of thankfulness that we were all able to attend this event and that we were all healing.

When my 9 year old daughter broke down into tears at one point, while signing a lost student's yearbook that was going to be given to the child's parents, I found myself on the edge of totally losing my composure. I found myself crying with her. And although for a moment I was concerned about "losing it" in public, I realized that no one there was going to judge my daughter or myself for showing those emotions - they all felt the same thing.

Which leads me to the point I was at when the children and I stopped to visit with some friends after we left the event. We found ourselves watching our children play and discussing our thoughts and emotions in the aftermath of the tornado. Each of us felt that we were all blessed to have come through the tornado safely, even though we lost our possessions.

"Lucky" isn't a word that comes even close to describing the emotions we feel. We were blessed, with the gift of safety and the gift of another day, another chance.

When the worst happens, we often wonder why we were spared when others weren't, we can feel guilty for surviving or we question why the event even happened at all. The truth is, there are simply no good answers for those questions, there are no explanations to assuage our guilt for feeling "lucky."

The conclusion that I've reached is that sometimes there are no good reasons for why things happen or why they happen to certain people. I have just realized that each and every day of our lives is a precious gift, something to be thankful for and that each day is a new beginning. Today is a gift that is too precious to waste, yesterday is another stepping stone in our past path.

This morning, I am thankful that my children and I are alive and safe. I recognize this day as another gift that's been given. What do you have to be thankful for today?