Vacation!

I woke up this morning to blue skies, sunshine, and…palm trees!!  Yup, this is not the east coast!!  Family and vacation plans have brought me to California and northern California at that.  So I woke up yesterday morning in little ole Johnson City, NY and today I am in the “city by the bay.”  

Traveling is always an adventure and I usually do pretty well at travel prep.  Or at least I thought I did until I found out how my sister-in-law Kristi prepares to travel.  She brings a whole new meaning to organization!!  Anyway, I don’t know if it is because I am getting older (I am over 35…), or because of lots going on, or if it is personal stress (yes, lots of that lately!) but I have been considerably less organized than is or used to be normal for me.   I was thinking about this as I unpacked in the hotel and realized I hadn’t packed my solution for my contacts.  I remember it being on the bed (where I had all my stuff piled to pack) but somehow, it did not make it into my suitcase.  I usually comfort myself, and did today with the fact that I can find a Walgreen’s or Walmart and buy the contact solution or whatever else it is I have forgotten to pack.   This is true and huge relief!  But it also means vacation money spent on things I already have.  Granted, it all gets used, but I am sure you know the feeling! 

Anyway, the packing questions (will I need this, do I want that) and that frantic feeling that accompanies vacation prep make getting on the plane a relief.  I no longer have to think about whether I need this or that.  If I forgot it, I have to get it when we get there.  If there is a task that should have been completed before I left – oh well!  It didn’t get done and it won’t for the next week.  All that is left is to enjoy the flights (as much as possible) and anticipate arriving at your destination!  Although I intend to step up my organization game, it has occurred to me that perhaps it is a good thing that I do not travel outside the United States.    

Ordinary or Extraordinary?

May 16, 2012

Today’s blog is going be random things.  There are so many things going on in my life right now that I am rather overwhelmed.   It has been a while since I wrote a blog post because honestly, I didn’t know what to write about. (Yes, I know I keep saying that!)  But I have promised myself to do better at blogging, and since I don’t know what to write about random things seems a good place to start. 

I woke earlier than normal this morning – 5AM.  Yes, normally I would not be excited about waking up so early, but today was different.  The window next to my bed was open and I awoke to the most beautiful birdsong.  I would love to wake up to that song every morning, except that at some point I would stop finding the beauty in the song and it would become background noise.   But this morning I appreciated the beauty of the song and the joy of a new day!

I am well tanked with coffee this morning too.  My coffee consumption increases when I rise earlier than normal.  There is something about early mornings – cool and quiet, that makes coffee taste better.  And holding a mug of something warm in your hands is very nice too.  I keep trying to cut back on my coffee intake.  I have tried eliminating coffee entirely and find it impossible to do so.  Perhaps if I liked green tea it would be easier to give up coffee.  But I don’t like green tea and do not find most teas an adequate substitute for coffee.  So instead of trying to give it up I have tried to cut back on the amount of coffee I drink.  Again, I am finding this just about impossible.  Maybe when my life is not in such turmoil it will be easier to cut back on coffee.  But right now I need my friends in life and coffee is a very close friend. 

So a little more tired than normal, and having consumed more coffee than normal I am planning out my day.  It will be filled with ordinary things.  I need to get the oil changed on the van, wash and vacuum out the van, do homework, do laundry, run the vacuum…I will wash a few dishes, listen to the new Matt Redman album “10,000 Reasons” and sing along with my favorite songs.  I will pray for my kids, pray for my family, and probably take a nap this afternoon.  Today is not a special day, and yet it is incredibly special for it is made up of the ordinary things of life.  Some of these things I thought were lost to me and I am amazed at their blessed ordinariness!   Yes, I drink coffee every day and I hear the birds every day but somehow today, the ordinary seems to be extraordinary.  May your ordinary be extraordinary to you today!!