Strange summer

Strange doesn't even begin to cover it for this summer. Some of the strangeness has been welcomed, but some hasn't so much. But I guess when I look at the sum of it all, it's been a blessing in total.

Cassidi has been GONE the entire summer it seems. She got out of school on May 29th and has been on a trip or at a sports camp all but 5 or 6 days. This has meant I can sleep in, stay in lazy clothes the entire day, and not have to cook on the days I'm not working. It should have meant that I was productive with all my free time and came up with some wondrous idea of how to save the planet or something like that. Instead I've been a slug. Oh well. Maybe it's just been my body's way of recovering from the crazy school year. She comes home Sunday from a beach trip with a friend's family. We have a basketball and softball camp left before school starts back August 10th. One smart thing I did was do school shopping already. So, we won't have any last minute trips to a city to shop (probably my least favorite thing to do in the world!!).

The weather has been completely bizarre. The winter was a very cold and snowy one for a change. I enjoyed that. But then the spring and early summer were all about rain. I did NOT enjoy that. I'm a sun lover and when it's gloomy outside, I'm gloomy, too. Usually in the middle of July, it's sweltering hot and humid. Right now I'm laying with an afghan over me contemplating if I should turn on some heat. I know I live in the mountains, but this is kinda ridiculous. The crazy weather has me wondering just what in the world is going on with our planet. I'm afraid our planet is doomed in more ways than one. But I keep trying to be cheerful and find the smiles in each day willing it forward one day at a time.

The really sad part of this spring/summer has been all the illness around us. So many people are fighting cancer. It seems like every week we hear of yet someone else we know that is diagnosed. And if it's not cancer, it's something else life threatening. I even had a massage client die. He was very young (51) and developed pancreatitis. I had only worked on him twice, but the day he died, he was scheduled for an appointment. I had found out the day before that he was in the hospital, so I wasn't expecting him. But I was shocked to find he had passed away. When I worked in the crazy corporate world, the amount of stress I experienced and saw in others was awful. And now that I'm a massage therapist, I see much the same in the clients that grace my table. I'm glad I can help in a small way to alleviate some of that stress, but I know it's not enough. We have to find a way to stop all this disease. Sooner rather than later!!

Jennifer has decided that she's had enough of the wild west and wants to return to the East Coast. She just got a job in the north east corner of Virginia. She'll start September 21st. She'll be coming home for a short stay before officially settling in. We don't have all the details, but it's great news that she'll be closer to home. A 6 or 7 hour road trip to reach her is far better than a 30+ hour trip!

I watched some silly tv tonight and laughed. It felt so good! It made me really think about my laughter quotient. I really do not laugh enough in life. I need to start making more time to laugh!! Not just giggle or laugh for a minute. But really gut giggling laughter. Laugh till you cry laughter. Laugh until your sides hurt laughter. I'd say laugh until you pee your pants laughter, but that's way too messy. But hopefully you get the gist. I want to really let my body laugh. Happiness is a great medicine for the mind, body, and spirit. Now to find a source for all this laughter. That will most likely be a challenge. But AFV plays every day and YouTube seems to be a good source as well. I'm just going to have to get creative in finding humor.

With the crazy petting zoo of animals that we have at our house, I shouldn't have to look far. The dogs are always getting into things they shouldn't be. The new kitty has an abundance of energy and is driving everyone (human and animal) CRAZY! And watching the wild life out the window or off the porch is often entertaining. The squirrel playing on the bird feeder would make a great video for AFV. Maybe it won't be as difficult as I think to find sources. I think I just need to open my eyes more and allow myself to see the world around me. Gosh knows my husband and girls provide enough entertainment for 10 families. I just need to focus on the positives and wake up to them more, too.

So, here's to laughter - the best medicine in the world!!